Howard Shore - World-of-Newave.info http://answers.world-of-newave.info/howard-shore.htm Latest news and articles about Howard Shore en-us Copyright (c)2004-2008.§/Newave SARL. All rights reserved. webmaster@world-of-newave.com (Webmaster) Sat, 30 Aug 2008 03:35:02 GMT Sat, 30 Aug 2008 03:35:02 GMT Newave Lisa XML Engine v1.0 - http://www.world-of-newave.info/about.htm 60 http://www.world-of-newave.info/images/wi8831.gif World-of-Newave.info - Knowledge and Informational Database http://www.world-of-newave.info/ 88 31 {LITERATURE > RSS FEEDS} - An Assessment: Will Opera Fly? http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/science-fiction/rss-feeds/an-assessment-will-opera-fly-20080873325.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/science-fiction/rss-feeds/an-assessment-will-opera-fly-20080873325.htm Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:00:00 GMT Twenty-plus years ago, when Howard Shore was first hired to score David Cronenberg's dark reimagining of George Langelaan's 1957 short story "The Fly," he immediately saw the operatic potential. The Fly comes to Los Angeles as an opera in September. Scifi.Com An Assessment: Will Opera Fly? {new window}   Www.Scifi.Com - Twenty-plus years ago, when Howard Shore was first hired to score David Cronenberg's dark reimagining of George Langelaan's 1957 short story "The Fly," he immediately saw the operatic potential. The Fly comes to Los Angeles as an opera in September.
Published: August 29, 2008, 6:00 am - Indexed: August 29, 2008, 1:20 pm - Page Size: 45KB
Category: Arts > Literature > Genres > Science Fiction > RSS Feeds

]]> Arts > Literature > Genres > Science Fiction > RSS Feeds {LITERATURE > RSS FEEDS} - Fly Teleports To Opera http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/science-fiction/rss-feeds/fly-teleports-to-opera-2008075163.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/science-fiction/rss-feeds/fly-teleports-to-opera-2008075163.htm Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:00:00 GMT David Cronenberg's 1986 SF horror movie The Fly has been adapted as an opera, with tenor Placido Domingo conducting a score by Oscar-winning composer Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings), the Associated Press reported. Scifi.Com Fly Teleports To Opera {new window}   Www.Scifi.Com - David Cronenberg's 1986 SF horror movie The Fly has been adapted as an opera, with tenor Placido Domingo conducting a score by Oscar-winning composer Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings), the Associated Press reported.
Published: July 2, 2008, 6:00 am - Indexed: July 2, 2008, 4:01 pm - Page Size: 41KB
Category: Arts > Literature > Genres > Science Fiction > RSS Feeds

]]> Arts > Literature > Genres > Science Fiction > RSS Feeds {EUROPE > MUSEUMS} - Victoria Art Gallery Acquires Important Howard Hodgkin Painting http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/europe/united-kingdom/arts-and-entertainment/museums/victoria-art-gallery-acquires-important-howard-20080866833.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/europe/united-kingdom/arts-and-entertainment/museums/victoria-art-gallery-acquires-important-howard-20080866833.htm Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:00:00 GMT The Victoria Art Gallery in Bath, which hosted Sir Howard Hodgkin's first public show in the 1950s, has bought a painting by the artist with a major grant from the Art Fund. 24hourmuseum.Org.Uk Victoria Art Gallery Acquires Important Howard Hodgkin Painting {new window}   Www.24hourmuseum.Org.Uk - The Victoria Art Gallery in Bath, which hosted Sir Howard Hodgkin's first public show in the 1950s, has bought a painting by the artist with a major grant from the Art Fund.
Victoria Art Gallery Acquires Important Howard Hodgkin Painting - 24 Hour Museum - official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage {...} 24 Hour Museum is the UK's official guide to over 3,000 museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage attractions. 24 Hour Museum offers daily arts news, exhibition reviews, listings and in-depth online trails, as well as having a comprehensive, fully searchable, database of over 3,000 cultural institutions. {...}
Published: August 27, 2008, 1:00 am - Indexed: August 27, 2008, 4:51 pm - Page Size: 41KB
Category: Regional > Europe > United Kingdom > Arts and Entertainment > Museums

]]> Regional > Europe > United Kingdom > Arts and Entertainment > Museums {NORTH AMERICA > REAL ESTATE} - Great Office Space! 1111 Howard Avenue, Burlingame (burlingame) $1838000 http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/north-america/united-states/california/metro-areas/san-francisco-bay-area/business-and-economy/real-estate/great-office-space-1111-howard-avenue-burlingame-20080839024.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/north-america/united-states/california/metro-areas/san-francisco-bay-area/business-and-economy/real-estate/great-office-space-1111-howard-avenue-burlingame-20080839024.htm Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:06:53 GMT Stanley Lo Green Banker 199 California Drive, Suite 168 Millbrae, CA 94030 Tel: 650-692-4459    Fax: 650-692-7489 Email: stanleylo@greenbanker.com Website: www.greenbanker.com 1111 Howard Avenue, Burlingame List Price: $1,838,000.00 Property Profile: Address: 1111 Howard Avenue, Burlingame Lot Size: 5,000+/- Sq. Ft. Building Size: 2,626+/- Sq. Ft. APN: 029-231-040 Parking Spaces : 4 (garage) Number of Units: 2 List Price : $1,838,000 CAP Rate : 2.8% Open House: Call office for details    Download Brochure Request Disclosure Package Adobe Acrobat Reader required.    Disclaimer: All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed by Green Banker and its agents. Lot size, square footage, property features and conditions or other information are provided by the seller, acquired from public records or other sources. We advise the buyer to make own investigations or to contract a professional to verify the correctness of that information. If your property is presently listed with another agent, please disregard this offer as it is not our intention to solicit offerings of other agents.   Sfbay.Craigslist.Org Great Office Space! 1111 Howard Avenue, Burlingame (burlingame) $1838000 {new window}   Sfbay.Craigslist.Org - Stanley Lo Green Banker 199 California Drive, Suite 168 Millbrae, CA 94030 Tel: 650-692-4459    Fax: 650-692-7489 Email: stanleylo@greenbanker.com Website: www.greenbanker.com 1111 Howard Avenue, Burlingame List Price: $1,838,000.00 Property Profile: Address: 1111 Howard Avenue, Burlingame Lot Size: 5,000+/- Sq. Ft. Building Size: 2,626+/- Sq. Ft. APN: 029-231-040 Parking Spaces : 4 (garage) Number of Units: 2 List Price : $1,838,000 CAP Rate : 2.8% Open House: Call office for details    Download Brochure Request Disclosure Package Adobe Acrobat Reader required.    Disclaimer: All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed by Green Banker and its agents. Lot size, square footage, property features and conditions or other information are provided by the seller, acquired from public records or other sources. We advise the buyer to make own investigations or to contract a professional to verify the correctness of that information. If your property is presently listed with another agent, please disregard this offer as it is not our intention to solicit offerings of other agents.  
Great Office Space! 1111 Howard Avenue, Burlingame {...}
Published: August 22, 2008, 5:06 pm - Indexed: August 22, 2008, 5:56 pm - Page Size: 8KB
Category: Regional > North America > United States > California > Metro Areas > San Francisco Bay Area > Business and Economy > Real Estate

]]> Regional > North America > United States > California > Metro Areas > San Francisco Bay Area > Business and Economy > Real Estate {LITERATURE > CYBERPUNK} - Howard Zinn's "A People's History of American Empire" graphic novel http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/cyberpunk/howard-zinn-s-a-people-s-history-of-american-empire-20080847710.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/cyberpunk/howard-zinn-s-a-people-s-history-of-american-empire-20080847710.htm Mon, 18 Aug 2008 06:31:41 GMT Howard Zinn's A People's History of American Empire is a fantastic comic-book adaptation of Zinn's classic A People's History of the United States (the best and most important critical history of the life of everyday people in America from 1492 onward), a new edition illustrated by Mike Konopacki and aided by historian Paul Buhle. American Empire focuses on the history of American foreign policy, starting with the policy of conquering America itself, with brutal massacres like Wounded Knee. Zinn is an uncompromising critic of the imperial history of America, the unilateral deeds of its leaders, the atrocities committed by its military and its contractors through Asia, Africa, Europe, and around the world. But the book is also part memoir, describing the emotional commitment to democracy and America that led him to join the military and fight in WWII in Europe -- a campaign that ended with the first-ever napalm drop on a village in France, roasting surrendered German soldiers waiting to be taken away to a POW camp. Zinn is a fierce lover of democracy, of justice, and of freedom, and he makes it clear that America is a land divided by dreams of affluence (no matter the global cost) and dreams of liberty for all. As a wise man once said, "All countries fail to live up to their ideals. America fails to live up to better ideals than most." We can't forgive or forget the atrocities of Iran-Contra, My Lai, Wounded Knee, or the many other shameful moments in American imperial history, because the price of forgetfulness is fresh horrors, in Abu Ghraib, in Guantanamo, in Afghanistan. Zinn shows us that loving American means taming her, controlling the plutocrats who assert the unilateral power to crush dissent, act in secret and go to war. The comic book form is a great way of delivering this message, the spreads mix text, cartoons, reproductions of historical documents and photos, making the whole thing visual, dynamic, and absolutely captivating. A People's History of American Empire... Boingboing.Net Howard Zinn's "A People's History of American Empire" graphic novel {new window}   Www.Boingboing.Net - Howard Zinn's A People's History of American Empire is a fantastic comic-book adaptation of Zinn's classic A People's History of the United States (the best and most important critical history of the life of everyday people in America from 1492 onward), a new edition illustrated by Mike Konopacki and aided by historian Paul Buhle. American Empire focuses on the history of American foreign policy, starting with the policy of conquering America itself, with brutal massacres like Wounded Knee. Zinn is an uncompromising critic of the imperial history of America, the unilateral deeds of its leaders, the atrocities committed by its military and its contractors through Asia, Africa, Europe, and around the world. But the book is also part memoir, describing the emotional commitment to democracy and America that led him to join the military and fight in WWII in Europe -- a campaign that ended with the first-ever napalm drop on a village in France, roasting surrendered German soldiers waiting to be taken away to a POW camp. Zinn is a fierce lover of democracy, of justice, and of freedom, and he makes it clear that America is a land divided by dreams of affluence (no matter the global cost) and dreams of liberty for all. As a wise man once said, "All countries fail to live up to their ideals. America fails to live up to better ideals than most." We can't forgive or forget the atrocities of Iran-Contra, My Lai, Wounded Knee, or the many other shameful moments in American imperial history, because the price of forgetfulness is fresh horrors, in Abu Ghraib, in Guantanamo, in Afghanistan. Zinn shows us that loving American means taming her, controlling the plutocrats who assert the unilateral power to crush dissent, act in secret and go to war. The comic book form is a great way of delivering this message, the spreads mix text, cartoons, reproductions of historical documents and photos, making the whole thing visual, dynamic, and absolutely captivating. A People's History of American Empire...
Howard Zinn's "A People's History of American Empire" graphic novel - Boing Boing {...}
Published: August 18, 2008, 6:31 am - Indexed: August 18, 2008, 9:02 pm - Page Size: 76KB
Category: Arts > Literature > Genres > Cyberpunk

]]> Arts > Literature > Genres > Cyberpunk {LITERATURE > RSS FEEDS} - New Writers Rework Conan http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/science-fiction/rss-feeds/new-writers-rework-conan-2008087516.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/science-fiction/rss-feeds/new-writers-rework-conan-2008087516.htm Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:00:00 GMT Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain have been hired to rework the script for Conan--as in, "The Barbarian"--for Lionsgate, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Scifi.Com New Writers Rework Conan {new window}   Www.Scifi.Com - Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain have been hired to rework the script for Conan--as in, "The Barbarian"--for Lionsgate, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Published: August 13, 2008, 6:00 am - Indexed: August 13, 2008, 1:16 pm - Page Size: 41KB
Category: Arts > Literature > Genres > Science Fiction > RSS Feeds

]]> Arts > Literature > Genres > Science Fiction > RSS Feeds {NORTH AMERICA > REAL ESTATE} - / Commercial Store street level-Office - South of Market - 1057 Howard (financial district) $3000 http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/north-america/united-states/california/metro-areas/san-francisco-bay-area/business-and-economy/real-estate/commercial-store-street-level-office-south-of-market-2008086109.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/north-america/united-states/california/metro-areas/san-francisco-bay-area/business-and-economy/real-estate/commercial-store-street-level-office-south-of-market-2008086109.htm Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:44:54 GMT South of Market 1057 Howard Commercial Store on street level-Office San Francisco, CA 94103 Between 6th & 7th Street 3,000.00. Approx. 2000 sq ft - 1057 Howard Commercial Store on street level-Office / Reception area - 1 1/2 BA Tenant(s) pays for PG&E Garbage / Owner pays for water. Rental listings subject to change at any time. All data subject to errors, omissions, or revisions and is not warranted. For more information/appointment please email - tomas@foundersrealty.com For further information, pictures, and rental applications please visit our website www.foundersrealty.com Sfbay.Craigslist.Org / Commercial Store street level-Office - South of Market - 1057 Howard (financial district) $3000 {new window}   Sfbay.Craigslist.Org - South of Market 1057 Howard Commercial Store on street level-Office San Francisco, CA 94103 Between 6th & 7th Street 3,000.00. Approx. 2000 sq ft - 1057 Howard Commercial Store on street level-Office / Reception area - 1 1/2 BA Tenant(s) pays for PG&E Garbage / Owner pays for water. Rental listings subject to change at any time. All data subject to errors, omissions, or revisions and is not warranted. For more information/appointment please email - tomas@foundersrealty.com For further information, pictures, and rental applications please visit our website www.foundersrealty.com
/ Commercial Store street level-Office - South of Market - 1057 Howard {...}
Published: August 6, 2008, 9:44 pm - Indexed: August 6, 2008, 11:19 pm - Page Size: 4KB
Category: Regional > North America > United States > California > Metro Areas > San Francisco Bay Area > Business and Economy > Real Estate

]]> Regional > North America > United States > California > Metro Areas > San Francisco Bay Area > Business and Economy > Real Estate {EDUCATION > RESEARCH} - Howard T. Ricketts Laboratory: Overview and Tour http://articles.world-of-newave.info/reference/education/colleges-and-universities/north-america/united-states/illinois/university-of-chicago/research/howard-t-ricketts-laboratory-overview-and-tour-2008085241.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/reference/education/colleges-and-universities/north-america/united-states/illinois/university-of-chicago/research/howard-t-ricketts-laboratory-overview-and-tour-2008085241.htm Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:35:34 GMT Olaf Schneewind, M.D., Ph.D, Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology, and Joe Kanabrocki, Ph.D, Biosafety Officer for the Ricketts Biocontainment Laboratory, talk about a new state-of-the-art facility designed to develop new treatments, diagnostic tests and vaccines for emerging infectious diseases. The Howard T. Ricketts Laboratory (HTRL) will house research on microbial agents that are considered either Risk Group 2 (agents that cause mild to moderate symptoms in humans, but are not life threatening) or Risk Group 3 (agents that have the potential to cause lethal human infections, but have at least one effective treatment). The HTRL has been designed and built according to the strictest federal standards and incorporates multiple layers of safety and security to protect laboratory workers and the surrounding environment. Research.Uchicago.Edu Howard T. Ricketts Laboratory: Overview and Tour {new window}   Research.Uchicago.Edu - Olaf Schneewind, M.D., Ph.D, Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology, and Joe Kanabrocki, Ph.D, Biosafety Officer for the Ricketts Biocontainment Laboratory, talk about a new state-of-the-art facility designed to develop new treatments, diagnostic tests and vaccines for emerging infectious diseases. The Howard T. Ricketts Laboratory (HTRL) will house research on microbial agents that are considered either Risk Group 2 (agents that cause mild to moderate symptoms in humans, but are not life threatening) or Risk Group 3 (agents that have the potential to cause lethal human infections, but have at least one effective treatment). The HTRL has been designed and built according to the strictest federal standards and incorporates multiple layers of safety and security to protect laboratory workers and the surrounding environment.
Research at Chicago {...}
Indexed: August 6, 2008, 9:35 pm - Page Size: 16KB
Category: Reference > Education > Colleges and Universities > North America > United States > Illinois > University of Chicago > Research

]]> Reference > Education > Colleges and Universities > North America > United States > Illinois > University of Chicago > Research {ENTERTAINMENT > PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA} - Two up for Big Brother eviction http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/entertainment/publications-and-media/two-up-for-big-brother-eviction-2008089222.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/entertainment/publications-and-media/two-up-for-big-brother-eviction-2008089222.htm Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:59:35 GMT Dale Howard and Stuart Pilkington face the public vote after being nominated by their fellow Big Brother housemates. News.Bbc.Co.Uk Two up for Big Brother eviction {new window}   News.Bbc.Co.Uk - Dale Howard and Stuart Pilkington face the public vote after being nominated by their fellow Big Brother housemates.
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Dale and Stuart face BB eviction {...}
Published: August 6, 2008, 8:59 am - Indexed: August 6, 2008, 11:22 pm - Page Size: 48KB
Category: Arts > Entertainment > Publications and Media

]]> Arts > Entertainment > Publications and Media {NEWS > BREAKING NEWS} - Howard Hughes' Nightmare: Space May Be Filled With Germs http://articles.world-of-newave.info/news/breaking-news/howard-hughes-nightmare-space-may-be-filled-with-2008086781.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/news/breaking-news/howard-hughes-nightmare-space-may-be-filled-with-2008086781.htm Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:00:00 GMT Fans of extraterrestrial life may have been disappointed when internet-fed rumors of Martian life ended in a NASA press conference on soil composition. But they can take solace in a newly popular theory that suggests the rest of space may teem with microbes. This once-controversial notion holds that the universe is filled with the ingredients of microbial life, and that earthly life first came from the skies as comet dust or meteorites salted with hardy bacteria. "Studies have shown that microbes can survive the shock levels of being launched into space," said Charles Cockell, a microbiologist at the Open University. "And as more and more organisms are discovered under extreme conditions, it's become more plausible that things could survive in space for the time it takes to go from one planet to another." Not long ago, Cockell's claims would have been greeted with scientific derision. But as scientists learn more about Earth and space, the theory, which goes by the grandiose name of "galactic panspermia," seems less far-fetched. Bacteria, recent discoveries have shown, thrive in Earth's most extreme locales, from Antarctic ice to the interiors of volcanoes and nuclear reactors, and have even survived in space. Meanwhile, astronomers seem to find Earth-like planets wherever they train their telescopes; comets have proven unexpectedly rich in organic material. Closer to home, water was once widespread on Mars, and still suffuses the atmosphere of Venus. Perhaps life could evolve in a comet, or survive inside a rock catapulted into orbit by a planetary meteor strike. The odds might be against it -- but life is good at beating the odds. "One hundred years ago, people wondered if animals could go from one land mass to another," said Cockell. But then people discovered that birds migrate for thousands of miles, that storms carry insects across oceans and seeds between continents. "Panspermia is the next step," he said. Galactic panspermia advocates aren't exactly saying that little green men came to Earth and planted the seeds of life here. At the simplest end of the spectrum is the proposition that earthly life was jump-started by the arrival of its basic components from space. Meteors have proven rich in amino acids -- the building blocks of life -- and Earth was pummeled by meteors for the first 200 million years of its existence. In April, Columbia University chemist Ronald Breslow traced the molecular signatures of earthly amino acids to those of neutron stars. "Everything that is going on on Earth occurred because the meteorites happened to land here. But they are obviously landing in other places," he said at the time. "If there is another planet that has the water and all of the things that are needed for life, you should be able to get the same process rolling." But Earth -- and planets in general -- might not be the only habitable space locales. Comets -- orbiting collections of ice, dust and rocks -- are rich in nitrogen and oxygen, as well as other organic material. Chandra Wickramasinghe, a Cardiff University astronomer and astrobiology pioneer, suggests that heat from radioactive elements could melt the normally frozen water inside comets, making them a perfect interstellar petri dish. Microbial life could evolve inside them, or simply be picked up from a passing meteor originally ejected into space from a life-rich planet. Is that likely? In any given comet, perhaps not. But there are billions of comets in our solar system alone, floating like so many dandelion seeds through the ether, and bacteria have proven freakishly durable. They've been recovered from Antarctic ice and revived after 10 million years in deep-freeze. Some Black Sea strains photosynthesize in near-darkness, while others thrive on nuclear radiation or infrared light. Bacteria have been found inside volcanoes and in sediments miles beneath the ocean floor. Bacteria have even survived exposure to the vacuum of space, as well as pressures comparable to those generated by meteor strikes capable of kicking debris out of Earth's orbit. And all that's necessary to establish a new bacteria colony, Wickramasinghe calculated, is for one microbe in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 to flourish in its new environs. Wickramasinghe even concluded that organic material found in comets -- most recently by the Stardust spacecraft, which plucked amino acids from the 81P/Wild 2 comet -- is biological in origin. In other words, the comet is not just a good place for life to grow, but actually contains organic material produced by earlier life, Wickramasinghe believes. That is, of course, hypothetical, and not everyone is convinced. "Some astrobiologists are evangelists," said Columbia University biometeorologist Nancy Kiang. But with further bacteria-in-space experiments planned by NASA and the European Space Agency, and missions ongoing to sample other planets and interstellar bodies, the evangelists are being taken seriously. "The universe is mostly empty space, but here and there are special places where complex things can happen: clouds of dust, planetary surfaces, comets and asteroids," said Cornell University astrogeologist Jim Bell. "They appear scattered throughout most of the observable space we can study with our instruments thus far. Astronomers have been finding hundreds of planets around other stars. There are probably lots more places out there where life could exist." Wired.Com Howard Hughes' Nightmare: Space May Be Filled With Germs {new window}   Www.Wired.Com - Fans of extraterrestrial life may have been disappointed when internet-fed rumors of Martian life ended in a NASA press conference on soil composition. But they can take solace in a newly popular theory that suggests the rest of space may teem with microbes. This once-controversial notion holds that the universe is filled with the ingredients of microbial life, and that earthly life first came from the skies as comet dust or meteorites salted with hardy bacteria. "Studies have shown that microbes can survive the shock levels of being launched into space," said Charles Cockell, a microbiologist at the Open University. "And as more and more organisms are discovered under extreme conditions, it's become more plausible that things could survive in space for the time it takes to go from one planet to another." Not long ago, Cockell's claims would have been greeted with scientific derision. But as scientists learn more about Earth and space, the theory, which goes by the grandiose name of "galactic panspermia," seems less far-fetched. Bacteria, recent discoveries have shown, thrive in Earth's most extreme locales, from Antarctic ice to the interiors of volcanoes and nuclear reactors, and have even survived in space. Meanwhile, astronomers seem to find Earth-like planets wherever they train their telescopes; comets have proven unexpectedly rich in organic material. Closer to home, water was once widespread on Mars, and still suffuses the atmosphere of Venus. Perhaps life could evolve in a comet, or survive inside a rock catapulted into orbit by a planetary meteor strike. The odds might be against it -- but life is good at beating the odds. "One hundred years ago, people wondered if animals could go from one land mass to another," said Cockell. But then people discovered that birds migrate for thousands of miles, that storms carry insects across oceans and seeds between continents. "Panspermia is the next step," he said. Galactic panspermia advocates aren't exactly saying that little green men came to Earth and planted the seeds of life here. At the simplest end of the spectrum is the proposition that earthly life was jump-started by the arrival of its basic components from space. Meteors have proven rich in amino acids -- the building blocks of life -- and Earth was pummeled by meteors for the first 200 million years of its existence. In April, Columbia University chemist Ronald Breslow traced the molecular signatures of earthly amino acids to those of neutron stars. "Everything that is going on on Earth occurred because the meteorites happened to land here. But they are obviously landing in other places," he said at the time. "If there is another planet that has the water and all of the things that are needed for life, you should be able to get the same process rolling." But Earth -- and planets in general -- might not be the only habitable space locales. Comets -- orbiting collections of ice, dust and rocks -- are rich in nitrogen and oxygen, as well as other organic material. Chandra Wickramasinghe, a Cardiff University astronomer and astrobiology pioneer, suggests that heat from radioactive elements could melt the normally frozen water inside comets, making them a perfect interstellar petri dish. Microbial life could evolve inside them, or simply be picked up from a passing meteor originally ejected into space from a life-rich planet. Is that likely? In any given comet, perhaps not. But there are billions of comets in our solar system alone, floating like so many dandelion seeds through the ether, and bacteria have proven freakishly durable. They've been recovered from Antarctic ice and revived after 10 million years in deep-freeze. Some Black Sea strains photosynthesize in near-darkness, while others thrive on nuclear radiation or infrared light. Bacteria have been found inside volcanoes and in sediments miles beneath the ocean floor. Bacteria have even survived exposure to the vacuum of space, as well as pressures comparable to those generated by meteor strikes capable of kicking debris out of Earth's orbit. And all that's necessary to establish a new bacteria colony, Wickramasinghe calculated, is for one microbe in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 to flourish in its new environs. Wickramasinghe even concluded that organic material found in comets -- most recently by the Stardust spacecraft, which plucked amino acids from the 81P/Wild 2 comet -- is biological in origin. In other words, the comet is not just a good place for life to grow, but actually contains organic material produced by earlier life, Wickramasinghe believes. That is, of course, hypothetical, and not everyone is convinced. "Some astrobiologists are evangelists," said Columbia University biometeorologist Nancy Kiang. But with further bacteria-in-space experiments planned by NASA and the European Space Agency, and missions ongoing to sample other planets and interstellar bodies, the evangelists are being taken seriously. "The universe is mostly empty space, but here and there are special places where complex things can happen: clouds of dust, planetary surfaces, comets and asteroids," said Cornell University astrogeologist Jim Bell. "They appear scattered throughout most of the observable space we can study with our instruments thus far. Astronomers have been finding hundreds of planets around other stars. There are probably lots more places out there where life could exist."
Get the latest in science news, including space, physics, planet earth, discoveries, NASA, satellites, and space travel from Wired.com {...}
Published: August 6, 2008, 5:00 am - Indexed: August 6, 2008, 11:04 pm - Page Size: 51KB
Category: News > Breaking News

]]> News > Breaking News