Life on Mars

Recent news has revealed the possibility of life on our planetary neighbor, Mars. It is not simply an astounding moment when humanity may finally open up to new perspectives on the origins and diversity of life, but also a redefining of what it is to be human. There are those in the scientific community who doubt the data, not surprising in a community where many prefer gradual change rather than radical redevelopments (such as the acceptance of the helio-centric model, the Theory of Relativity, etc.). A positive note is that recent polls show over 65% of Americans believe in the possibility of the validity of the findings of life on Mars. What follows is the article:

Martian soil analyzed 30 years ago by NASA 's Viking landers might contain life, according to a controversial new study that one scientist called "bogus."

A scientist has called a report saying soil on Mars may contain microbial life "bogus." The report was based on a new interpretation of data first collected 30 years ago.

The dry, freezing Martian surface could be home to microbes whose cells are filled with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water, said Joop Houtkooper of the University of Giessen, Germany. But other scientists are skeptical of his results, which is the latest in a long series of contentious claims about what the Viking landers might or could have found.

Houtkooper reanalyzed data from the Gas Exchange (GEx) experiment carried out by the robotic landers in the 1970s and speculates the martian soil contained detectable amounts of life.

"It comes out to a little more than one part per thousand by weight, comparable to what is found in some permafrost in Antarctica," Houtkooper said.

Norman Pace, a microbiologist at the University of Colorado, is skeptical of the new claims. "It sounds bogus to me," Pace told SPACE.com. "I don't consider the chemical results to be particularly credible in light of the harsh conditions that Mars offers."

The findings were presented by Houtkooper at the European Planetary Science Congress in Potsdam, Germany this week and are detailed in a recent issue of the International Journal of Astrobiology.

The GEx experiment detected rises in oxygen and carbon dioxide gas in soil samples collected on the martian surface.

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"If we assume these gases were produced during the breakdown of organic material together with hydrogen peroxide solution, we can calculate the masses needed to produce the volume of gas measured," Houtkooper explained.

Houtkooper and his colleague Dirk Schulze-Makuch from Washington State University speculate that an organism based on hydrogen peroxide and water could survive the harsh martian climate, in which temperatures rarely rise above freezing and can reach -238 degrees Fahrenheit (-150 degrees Celsius) at the poles. The hydrogen peroxide would act like antifreeze for the cell, preventing its insides from crystallizing due to the cold.

Hydrogen peroxide-water solutions also tend to attract water, so the alien organisms could scavenge water molecules from the Martian atmosphere, the thinking goes. However, if such creatures were exposed to too much water or atmospheres with high humidity, they could theoretically die through over-hydration.

The researchers think this could account for the anomalous GEx results. The experiment exposed samples to water vapor which might have killed any hydrogen peroxide-water microbes died. The resulting breakdown of their cells would release oxygen and their organic compounds would react with the hydrogen peroxide to release carbon dioxide, water vapor and traces of nitrogen.

Houtkooper thinks the microbes could be detected by NASA's Phoenix lander, which launched on Aug. 4 and will arrive at Mars next May.

While rare, terrestrial organisms are known to use hydrogen-peroxide. The bombardier beetle, Brachinus Crepitans, uses a 25 percent solution of hydrogen peroxide to shoot steam into the face of pursuing predators.

No one suspects there are any beetles on Mars. But most experts have yet to rule out the possibility of microbial life.

"There does not appear to be any basic reason why hydrogen peroxide could not be used by living systems," Houtkooper said. "While organisms on Earth have found it advantageous to include salt in their intracellular fluids, hydrogen peroxide may have been more suitable for organisms adapting to the cold, dry environment of Mars."

But Pace, the University of Colorado microbiologist, thinks there is one very important reason why hydrogen peroxide life is unlikely. "Hydrogen peroxide inside cells is deadly in terrestrial kinds of cells," Pace said. "In fact, that's one way that our cells combat bacteria, by producing hydrogen peroxide locally."

For Pace and many other scientists, the definitive experiment performed by the Viking landers was the gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) test, which was capable of identifying substances by their chemical makeup. That test failed to turn up evidence of organic compounds. "That's the interesting experiment. Everything else can be explained chemically," Pace said.

Some scientists have speculated the oxygen results from the GEx test came from peroxide-containing iron in the martian soil.

Close Encounters

I was lucky to see this in a theater when Columbia brought their selections from the 100 greatest films back for a week in 1999, and I was really surprised at what a well put-together film it is, and how refreshing it was to see a movie that is NOT from the 90's!

The first thing apparent about this film is that it takes its time -- a la 2001-- to really set up effects and atmosphere. And you can really admire Spielberg's way with composing shots to convey information -- and it seems so masterful and exciting, rather than the rather lifelessly formulized direction he often gives now (though I do remember being startled at certain shots in Amistad). You think: "Wow, he really was a very talented, personal filmmaker at one time." Sometimes I feel like now he's become more of a public figure, afraid to offend anyone.

Of course I had seen this movie a thousand times as a kid, and this was the first time I had watched it since then. Two other aspects really stood out on re-viewing: I was surprised how masterful the shocks are in the first half. Certain aspects of the aliens visits are very scary, and these scenes were terribly exciting. I still love the scene in which Richard Dreyfuss' truck is scanned by the UFO -- leaving him twitching with terror afterwards. The trademark Spielbergian "sense of wonder" really does seem scary/wondrous here.

The other really striking thing is how real and nasty the scenes of domestic disintegration are. I was shocked at the nastiness of the scene in which Richard is looking at the paper while the kids are screaming, Teri Garr is nagging him, and in the background one of the kids is banging a human doll against a baby hamper until the head falls off. Teri Garr does a good job at playing a truly hateful, bitter and disappointed wife. Most movies nowadays are so respectful of both sides that you don’t see something this raw in anything mainstream anymore. At one point Richard is saying to his wife "I'm scared, just hold me" while she's screaming "I hate you!" It's really intense and shocking. And when Richard is playing with his mashed potatoes and looks up to realize his entire family thinks he's gone insane -- and his son starts crying at seeing him like that -- it's a scene that might be too intense in a flat-out tearjerker drama, and it adds a great weight to his wish to just get off the planet once and for all. I had heard rumors that Speilberg was getting divorced just before this film… well, there ya are.

In the second half of the film, Richard hooks up with a similar looking but different wife figure. I think the key scene here is when he says to the surrogate wife "I have to [leave you and] go down there [to the spaceships]" and she says "I know," and wishes him well, where his real wife would have said "but what about me?" It's about being trapped in a marriage with a person who inhibits your life and dreams, rather than encouraging you to pursue them.

The special effects are also amazing -- much more amazing, I think, than modern, computer-generated special effects, because there’s still a sense of “how did they do that?” as opposed to “oh, it was all on the computer.” Even when you can actually see lightbulbs and stuff -- the spaceships here really seem incredible. For some reason the realism and detail of modern computer generated spaceships seem very mundane by comparison. Here they found a way to make a bunch of lightbulbs seem really otherworldly -- now that you can show anything you want, that touch of creativity and wonder is gone forever.

Anyway, it's too bad people can't always see this on the big screen. It's so nice to watch a film all the way through without answering the phone or talking out loud, and it's wonderful to be with a big audience who is really into what the movie is doing to them. This movie is prime early Speilberg, everything is in place, and it makes a wonderfully complete entertainment with just enough depth and subtext. Anyway, nice work, Steve!

The Indwelling

I find it a tad hard to look at myself in the mirror these days. I'm only 28 and yet can see the decay of age steadily working its eroding influence upon my fading, fragile youth. Stress is carving lines across my face as the hair of my scalp thins to a barren field. The shadows are gathering 'round my eyes, only a dim spark remaining of a once proud flame. My soul is weary, tired, waiting to sleep, soothed by the slowing lullaby of my heart.

But I do not allow myself to sink into the darkness. Not just yet. There is still something, some destiny I have yet to complete.

I ponder what awaits after the final curtain of my eye lids do fall. Will I dwell in golden Elysian Fields or haunt the catacombs of Hades, wandering through the bones of Terra?

Yes, I am brooding. Oh, how entertaining I can be! Luckily I am sober. If I'd written this last night you would have gotten drunken, depressed me and that would not have been as "peppy" as the above.

So, as always, I am doubting the path I find myself wandering along. I never have followed the well worn, paved thoroughfare of my forebears and present peers. I always find myself veering off on the side roads, seeing sights and experiencing adventures normal people believe only happen in books and movies. True, I have experienced life. I have also learned the value of said existence. What I have gathered from these many kernels scattered along my hidden trails is the belief of not endowing anything with too great a price. Things come and go, ebb and flow. You must be willing to let go of things. The physical as well as spiritual memory can only weigh one down. You can't allow yourself to become fixated. Obesession is nothing more than an addiction which rots away possibility.

I've been thinking about once more trying to sell a comic book idea I have. I'm not quite sure whether or not the various publishers will be more open to my work than before. Why do they not recognize a true artist I ask you. It is a fun little tale with so many adventures involving an unwitting protagonist drawn into a universal state of affairs. To describe it is difficult. None of my tales ever fit neatly into a single category. But hey, I can always try:

My comic book revolves around a sci-fi/fantasy/superhero premise. It is 1930. The world is suffering through the beginning of the Depression. The Midwest is turning to dust, once flourishing farmland rendered desert as the world teeters on the brink of collapse. There is a young man, uncertain of his future. His father is dying of cancer. The farm his family owns is facing foreclosure. He is near losing everything.

Across the stars travels two races: one explorers, the others conquerors. The one race, an ethereal breed who seek out only life and the discovery of new worlds. But they are old, their civilization fading. Once protectors they slowly face extinction, yet they seek to prevent their conquering counterparts from crushing humanity and adding them to their empire. These explorers, the Etheria, see a vibrant planet being threatened by the encroaching darkness of the savage Shaka Ri, a Serpentine race united under a single despot whose grip crushes thousands of star systems.

The Etheria are too small in number and weak in forces to stop the initial invasion fleet so they use the Shaka Ri's own law to forestall humanity's fall. Proud warriors, the Shaka Ri are convinced to postpone the invasion of Earth in an old custom involving war by proxy. The Etheria claim Earth for their own having reached it first. Rather than battle starship to starship, the Etheria offer to do battle according to the ancient laws. The Etheria will choose a champion to face a champion of the Shaka Ri.

And so that farmboy finds himself drawn into the initial battle between Etheria and Shaka Ri which will draw him towards a destiny which will span light years from Earth.

It is a deep, complex story with multiple arcs. I wish I could write them all down. That, though, would take far too long. Trust me. I have the equivalent of maybe eight to ten years worth of material for a comic book or eight to ten books worth. I would much rather see this in comic book form though. The imagery in my head. Astounding.

So here I am hoping that at least something I've written will capture the attention of the powers that be. I just keep hammering away with this keyboard, hoping one of my blows will finally bring the walls down...and not upon my head. Who knows. Maybe one day you guys will actually be proud to have known me.