Aliens. For real this time.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Damn, I can't give arsenic mojo.

Is that positive mojo or negative mojo?

[RStar]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Is that positive mojo or negative mojo?

It depends on the party you are attending, I suppose.

That is a very funny comic strip!

When I first read the article, I was hoping for a silicon based life form as well! So many other things from Star Trek have come to pass in one way or another. Still, it is pretty cool.

One thing I'm unclear of, it would seem that the implications are that this bacteria are new. I understand that the discovery is new, but do we know if these bacteria have been there as long as the lake has? And can it be found anywhere else on the planet?

If it is to be used as a pawn in the game of creationism vs evolution, wouldn't we need to know when it came to be? Couldn't God have created it as well? I don't think He would have to work within a set of rules He created.

Or, does the plain fact that this form of life was able to substitute arsnic for phosphorus enough to prove evolution?

[Alex]

If you believe in God as an entity that would not "have to work within the set of rules He created" then there is no such thing as proof of evolution.

I don't think they yet have a real sense of timeline, but absent a "creator" is unlikely that the bacteria have been there as long as the lake has. It is less than a million years old and it may not always have been so alkaline and heavy in arsenic (it was significantly bigger during the last ice age and was possibly part of a much larger body of water even earlier.

The bacteria are gentically similar to other known bacteria so they are not an entirely independent evolutionary track. Yes, if the report is correct (there has been some criticism of the research, though I'm not remotely expert enough to have a clue how valid it is) it is evidence of evolution but then even most creationists don't deny bacterial adaptation since lesser changes can be observed in something resembling real time (it is at the more macro that the get fidgeting starts).

[Moonliner]

Granted the "For real this time" title of this thread did not live up to expectations. However it looks like there is still hope for the future.

Julian Assange of Wikileaks had this to say recently:

Originally Posted by Julian

However, it is worth noting that in yet-to-be-published parts of the cablegate archive there are indeed references to UFOs.

The truth is out there.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

The truth is that the wikileaks guy is an asshole

[Betty]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

Granted the "For real this time" title of this thread did not live up to expectations. However it looks like there is still hope for the future.

Julian Assange of Wikileaks had this to say recently:



The truth is out there.

I want to believe.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

The truth is that the wikileaks guy is an asshole

Yeah, I really think he went just a wee bit too far with Wikileaks.

Not to count the rape allegation.

[€uroMeinke]

I do kinda appreciate the touch of anarchy and chaos he has brought - sort of like Facebook privacy settings for governments

[Ghoulish Delight]

On the plus side he's brought into sharp focus how abusive of its ability to keep things secret our government has been. However, now that it's apparent, we should focus on restoring a more reasonable balance (100% transparency is neither attainable nor desirable), and much more continued shenanigans by wikileaks starts to become self-aggrandizing and possibly dangerous rather than socially responsible.

[Betty]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Yeah, I really think he went just a wee bit too far with Wikileaks.

Not to count the rape allegation.

I had read it was not rape but "consensual sex without a condom".