Human DNA On Mars, Electronic Dinosaurs On Earth, And Listening Plants

Amsat Oscar 7  the satellite that fell silent for twenty years

NASA bid a final farewell to Opportunity rover on Mars on 13 Feb.
Since being engulfed in a dust storm, the rover has been out of contact
Sad as it is, the Opportunity lasted 14 years, far longer than its original 90 day remit, and is the longest surviving robot explorer on another world (Curiosity is a mere baby, at only seven years).
Besides, it might suddenly re-awaken, much like the satellite which fell silent for twenty years.
Exploration of Mars continues with Curiosity, Insight, and the incoming ESA rover, now named in honour of Rosalind Franklin, whose contribution to the discovery of human dna is now linked to another world...

'Photo 51' which led to the 3D modelling of DNA

Closer to home, Chang'e  became the first mission to land on the 'dark side of the moon' (no Floyd gags here) Equipped with experiments including a biosphere , it will certainly provide a wealth of new discoveries .
The Chang'e biosphere contains cotton, yeast, fruit-flies, potato and other organics -there have been edible romaine lettuce and cucumbers grown on the International Space Station, but these will be the first things grown on another world.
Speaking of plants, a new study aims to prove that plants can hear . There is a realm of study in the field of plant intelligence that is often maligned or sidelined ( talking to the trees, etc). Disparate articles exist, but are often to be found on the fringes - the idea of 'mushroom intelligence' is very quickly absorbed into talk of 'magic' mushrooms, faerie circles and such-like, which tends to discourage any serious examination of the facts ( although the very popular book Supernature did much to redress the balance in the Seventies ) My belief is that there is no smoke without fire - you only have to witness the reaction of certain mimosa to being touched, and you can see clear evidence of plant intelligence.

The interface between humans and computers creeps closer as Neuralink aims to narrow the divide between the two...
Whilst I love dystopian sci-fi, ever since my early encounters with fantastical films ( Forbidden Planet, The Time Machine and Godzilla , mainly), I am heartened to hear of the redundancy of robots in hotels...perhaps I'm just getting old, but yay for humanity resisting the relentless advances of a sea of silicon-based electronica... speaking of which, large deposits of rare earth minerals have been discovered , off the coast of Japan.

Rare Earth elements discovered off the coast of Japan

This has implications for the proposed mining of asteroids (not such a necessity for a few centuries) , and eases the anxiety felt by 'phone zombies'. I try to avoid politics in this blog, but the recent embargo placed by China on the export of rare minerals is weakened by  this discovery - although the Chang'e rover on the moon is probably tasked with locating new fields of potential...





A new theory from Canada tells us that we have an anti- universe stretching the other way from the big bang...which leads me to wonder how ancient peoples felt about their timeline counting down to zero, before rising again at some point.. .hmmm




In closing, I apologise for the ludicrously long delay in this blog post - I am blaming the chaos in my neurology caused by my wretched condition ( P.P.M.S.), diagnosed in 2014, it seeks to disable me both physically and mentally, but I refuse to be shutdown by my own brain. This blog was begun as a form of mental exercise to keep the vile condition at bay.
I find it increasingly tricky, but I shall persevere...
Anyway, thanks for reading, and , until next time
TTFN   G Alias Me


                             
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