I Think I Am

Getting Started

Which Came First
The Black Hole Or The Galaxy?

Closer examination of various images of Heinze 2-10 show that the black hole is the first component in the creation of a galaxy.
Read This Report

New Discovery In The Laboratory

Copyright 2004 The Muppet Holding Company LLC

Natural' Asymmetry of Biological Molecules May Have Come from Space

Excerpt from Science Daily Article;
The researchers first reproduced analogs of interstellar and cometary ices in the laboratory (2). The novel aspect of their experiment was that, using the DESIRS beamline at the SOLEIL synchrotron facility, the ices were subjected to circularly polarized ultraviolet radiation (UV-CPL) (3), which is supposed to mimic the conditions encountered in some space environments. When the ices were warmed up, an organic residue was produced. A detailed analysis of this mixture revealed that it contained a significant enantiomeric excess in one chiral amino acid, alanine. The excess, which was over 1.3%, is comparable to that measured in primitive meteorites. The researchers thus succeeded in producing, under interstellar conditions, asymmetrical molecules of life from a mixture that did not contain chiral substances. This is the first time that a scenario that explains the origin of this asymmetry has been demonstrated using an experiment that reproduces an entirely natural synthesis.
This result reinforces the hypothesis that the origin of homochirality is prebiotic and cosmic, in other words genuinely interstellar. According to this scenario, the delivery of extraterrestrial organic material containing an enantiomeric excess synthesized by an asymmetrical astrophysical process (in this case, UV-CPL radiation) is the cause of the asymmetry of life's molecules on Earth. This material may even have formed outside the solar system. Finally, the solar nebula may have formed in regions of massive star formation. In such regions, infrared radiation circularly polarized in the same direction has been observed.


These findings imply that the selection of a single enantiomer for the molecules of life observed on Earth is not the result of chance but rather of a deterministic physical mechanism.

Strange Green Objects Found On Pizza

A close up of pizza on plate galaxy shows green objects. 1/7/11

PHILosopher At Work

Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits. ( Satchel Paige )

Down By The River

Sacramento river near the Cypress Avenue bridge. 1/9/11

The sun was out and welcome today in Redding. I had an opportunity to take a few pictures in the wonderful afternoon light.

Today's Relatively Appropriate Song;

Optimism Makes Me Happy