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Planets with Life seem Likely

Thursday, June 26th, 2008
For various predictable reasons I've been reading a fair amount recently on the origins of life and the likelihood of its emergence.  So I was particularly interested when the New York Times reported the discovery that there are likely to be a great many suns with planets some of which are bound to be apt for life.  A snippet of the most recent article: ...roughly one in three stars surveyed showed signs of harboring stony planets, and other researchers performing similar studies said the figure might be more like one in two. And though the 45 planets on the Geneva… Read More

Ten Minutes of Darwin

Monday, June 23rd, 2008
Writing the God book, along with the immanent sesquicentennial of The Origin of Species, has me in a bit of a Darwin fever. The guardian has a nice little rundown of some of the key historical moments behind the publication of TOOS as well as a little scientific synopsis. Check it out hereRead More

Ice on Mars!

Saturday, June 21st, 2008

Nasa Reports: Ice Found on Mars

-->June 19, 2008 -- Dice-size crumbs of bright material have vanished from inside a trench where they were photographed by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander four days ago, convincing scientists that the material was frozen water that vaporized after digging exposed it. "It must be ice," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson. "These little clumps completely disappearing over the course of a few days, that is perfect evidence that it's ice. There had been some question whether the bright material… Read More