Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

NASA finds DNA components in meteorites, says they originated in space

space.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 91 posts

Re: NASA finds DNA components in meteorites, says they originated in space

#81

Post by felipemnoa »

jarin wrote: post #77
felipemnoa wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mine would be not seeing what technological improvements we will come up next in the next century.

I think this is probably directly or indirectly responsible for the recent health and longevity kick people have been on in the Bay area. Many people in their 20s-40s are right at the age where we can see some of the amazing things on the horizon, but it's uncertain whether we'll live long enough to see them. If I could live to 120 instead of 80-90, it greatly increases the odds that I'll live to see things like neur…

We are. The genetic advances that we'll make will probably allow us to extend our life considerably in the not very far future. Like next century if not earlier. Damn!

Re: NASA finds DNA components in meteorites, says they originated in space

#82

Post by gregable »

cpeterso wrote: post #71
cloudkj wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And along those same lines, adds more weight to the implications of the Great Filter argument. That is, if the early steps in the path to intelligent life are really not that unlikely, then the later steps to advanced intelligent life are more unlikely.

Or, as Carl Sagan often suggested, intelligent life is likely to destroy itself, perhaps if a civilization's technological progress outpaces its ethical capacity.

Alternatively successful communication over vast distances turns out to be impossible or at least very rare.

Re: NASA finds DNA components in meteorites, says they originated in space

#83

Post by InclinedPlane »

winestock wrote: post #63
bh42222 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It means that the components of life are a "naturally" occurring things, which appear all over the universe, and do not require life to produce them. This in turn implies that life, not just any life, but carbon based, DNA using life, could be more common in the universe then previously thought. And this implies that we here on Earth are even less of an unique snowflake then we thought.

If we, here on Earth, are not unique precious snowflakes, then that makes the Fermi Paradox even more paradoxical.

The Fermi Paradox is like the "bumble bees can't fly" paradox, it merely means we don't understand the fundamentals of technological life in the Universe.

Edit: thanks downvoter, can you point me to your source of knowledge about all technological life in our Universe? I'd settle for just our galaxy if that's easier to come up with.

The problem with the Fermi paradox is that it doesn't tell us much. It could tell us that colonizing civilizations are unlikely or have a limited lifespan, or it could tell us merely that colonizing civilizations don't work at all the way we'd predict.

Re: NASA finds DNA components in meteorites, says they originated in space

#84

Post by eru »

winestock wrote: post #63
bh42222 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It means that the components of life are a "naturally" occurring things, which appear all over the universe, and do not require life to produce them. This in turn implies that life, not just any life, but carbon based, DNA using life, could be more common in the universe then previously thought. And this implies that we here on Earth are even less of an unique snowflake then we thought.

If we, here on Earth, are not unique precious snowflakes, then that makes the Fermi Paradox even more paradoxical.

Or we are the first.

Re: NASA finds DNA components in meteorites, says they originated in space

#85

Post by eru »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #57
hugh3 wrote: post #42

Before anyone gets too excited: Amino acids on a comet, 2009: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17628-found-first-amin... Amino acids in interstellar space, 2002: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2558-amino-acid-found-... and a few more examples exist if you google "amino acids in space". We've known about amino acids in space for a long time. Amino acids exist all over the damn place.

Not left over smudges from the former inhabitants of planet Krypton? Ah shucks :-). The interesting point here was the nuceobases (vs the amino acids). Mars water should be interesting to look at. And of course a sample return mission to Ceres would be interesting as long as we didn't open the capsule in an uncontrolled environment :-).

Are you concerned about the capsule getting contaminated, or about Earth getting contaminated? I'd bet on the Earth's microbes to dominate.

Re: NASA finds DNA components in meteorites, says they originated in space

#86

Post by eru »

jarin wrote: post #66
torstesu wrote: post #8

I have always been curious as to how religion will tackle proof of alien life. Do aliens get to go to heaven?

Although I am deeply unreligious and disagree with much of what the Vatican says regarding birth control etc, I've been impressed with the Vatican's statements in past years re: the Big Bang, evolution, aliens, etc. The Vatican's chief astronomer said that aliens likely have souls and he would "gladly baptize one if it asked". http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/sep/17/pope-astronome...

Don't be fooled by the Vatican and evolution. They believe in guided evolution, not in a blind watchmaker.

Re: NASA finds DNA components in meteorites, says they originated in space

#87

Post by orofino »

calebmpeterson wrote: post #62

While NASA's discovery of nucleobases as opposed to amino acids is certainly interesting, there's a long way between "hey, nucleobases on an asteroid," and "wow, the entire genome of a living creature." There's a big jump in complexity, structure, and organization between organic chemistry and the multi-trillion cell organism we call homosapien. The comparison in complexity is the rough equivalent of finding a few MO…

"nucleobases on an asteroid"

does this star Samuel L Jackson?

Re: NASA finds DNA components in meteorites, says they originated in space

#88

Post by driverdan »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #83
winestock wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we, here on Earth, are not unique precious snowflakes, then that makes the Fermi Paradox even more paradoxical.

The Fermi Paradox is like the "bumble bees can't fly" paradox, it merely means we don't understand the fundamentals of technological life in the Universe. Edit: thanks downvoter, can you point me to your source of knowledge about all technological life in our Universe? I'd settle for just our galaxy if that's easier to come up with. The problem with the Fermi paradox is that it doesn't tell us much. It could tell us…

You were probably downvoted for saying "bumble bees can't fly" paradox since we know perfectly well how they fly. That's an urban legend.

Re: NASA finds DNA components in meteorites, says they originated in space

#89

Post by andrewflnr »

alanh wrote: post #79
calebmpeterson wrote: post #62

While NASA's discovery of nucleobases as opposed to amino acids is certainly interesting, there's a long way between "hey, nucleobases on an asteroid," and "wow, the entire genome of a living creature." There's a big jump in complexity, structure, and organization between organic chemistry and the multi-trillion cell organism we call homosapien. The comparison in complexity is the rough equivalent of finding a few MO…

Why on earth would you compare these to the human genome, instead of the smallest archeobacteria? Evolution adds complexity over time, we know this, we just need something to replicate first. A better analogy than the Linux kernel might be a quine.

There is still an enormous jump in complexity between a few nucleobases and the smallest archeobacteria. Maybe a full Linux kernel is not the best illustration, but the idea of a kernel in general is a remarkably apt one. At the least, we're talking stuxnet or something.

Even the simplest life is incredibly sophisticated.

Re: NASA finds DNA components in meteorites, says they originated in space

#90

Post by calebmpeterson »

alanh wrote: post #79
calebmpeterson wrote: post #62

While NASA's discovery of nucleobases as opposed to amino acids is certainly interesting, there's a long way between "hey, nucleobases on an asteroid," and "wow, the entire genome of a living creature." There's a big jump in complexity, structure, and organization between organic chemistry and the multi-trillion cell organism we call homosapien. The comparison in complexity is the rough equivalent of finding a few MO…

Why on earth would you compare these to the human genome, instead of the smallest archeobacteria? Evolution adds complexity over time, we know this, we just need something to replicate first. A better analogy than the Linux kernel might be a quine.

Why wouldn't one make the comparison with the human genome? If the evolutionay mechanisms credited with responsibility for the jump from nucleobases to archeobacteria (which is still incredible, if true) can't be fully and comfortably accredited with the nucleobase to human genome jump then said evolutionary mechanisms are suspect. According to the notion of evolution inherently adding complexity over time, nucleobases to human genome just requires some very large time. If we do know this with such certainty, then my comparison is both apt and reasonable.
Post reply on HN