scholarly journals The Astrobiology of Alien Worlds: Known and Unknown Forms of Life

Universe ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 130
Author(s):  
Louis N. Irwin ◽  
Dirk Schulze-Makuch
Keyword(s):  
Global Ocean ◽  
Lower State ◽  
Alternative Form ◽  
Planetary Body ◽  
Form Of Life ◽  
Inorganic Matter ◽  
Physical Form ◽  
Definitions Of Life ◽  
History Of ◽  
Surface Liquid

Most definitions of life assume that, at a minimum, life is a physical form of matter distinct from its environment at a lower state of entropy than its surroundings, using energy from the environment for internal maintenance and activity, and capable of autonomous reproduction. These assumptions cover all of life as we know it, though more exotic entities can be envisioned, including organic forms with novel biochemistries, dynamic inorganic matter, and self-replicating machines. The probability that any particular form of life will be found on another planetary body depends on the nature and history of that alien world. So the biospheres would likely be very different on a rocky planet with an ice-covered global ocean, a barren planet devoid of surface liquid, a frigid world with abundant liquid hydrocarbons, on a rogue planet independent of a host star, on a tidally locked planet, on super-Earths, or in long-lived clouds in dense atmospheres. While life at least in microbial form is probably pervasive if rare throughout the Universe, and technologically advanced life is likely much rarer, the chance that an alternative form of life, though not intelligent life, could exist and be detected within our Solar System is a distinct possibility.

Elements for a General Organology

Derrida Today ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-94
Author(s):  
Bernard Stiegler
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Planetary Scale ◽  
General Account ◽  
Inorganic Matter ◽  
History Of

These lectures outline the project of a general organology, which is to say an account of life when it is no longer just biological but technical, or when it involves not just organic matter but organized inorganic matter. This organology is also shown to require a modified Simondonian account of the shift from vital individuation to a three-stranded process of psychic, collective and technical individuation. Furthermore, such an approach involves extending the Derridean reading of Socrates's discussion of writing as a pharmakon, so that it becomes a more general account of the pharmacological character of retention and protention. By going back to Leroi-Gourhan, we can recognize that this also means pursuing the history of retentional modifications unfolding in the course of the history of what, with Lotka, can also be called exosomatization. It is thus a question of how exteriorization can, today, in an epoch when it becomes digital, and in an epoch that produces vast amounts of entropy at the thermodynamic, biological and noetic levels, still possibly produce new forms of interiorization, that is, new forms of thought, care and desire, amounting to so many chances to struggle against the planetary-scale pharmacological crisis with which we are currently afflicted.

The Salafiyya and Sufism: Muhammad ‘Abduh and his Risālat al-Wāridāt (Treatise on Mystical Inspirations)

2007 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Scharbrodt
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
Reform Movement ◽  
Alternative Form ◽  
Reform Movements ◽  
Major Work ◽  
Literary Expression ◽  
History Of ◽  
Intellectual Formation ◽  
Intellectual Crisis

This article questions certain assumptions on the intellectual history of modern Islam and on one of the most influential modern reform movements, the Salafiyya. By looking at the Sufi origins of one of the main Salafī reformers, it relativizes the notion of an inherent anti-Sufism of this reform movement. The article examines how Muhammad ‘Abduh (1849–1905), the famous Egyptian reformer, converted to Sufism in his youth after experiencing a spiritual and intellectual crisis. The influence of his paternal great-uncle Shaykh Darwīsh al-Khādir and of Sayyid Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī (1837–1897) on ‘Abduh's spiritual and intellectual formation will be investigated. In his youth, Sufism provided him with an alternative form of religiosity with which he could express his dissatisfaction with the representatives of mainstream Islam in his time. ‘Abduh's mystical inclinations found its literary expression in his first major work, the Risālat al-Wāridāt (Treatise on Mystical Inspirations), whose contents will be discussed in detail.

The dire straits of Paratethys: Gateways to the anoxic giant of Eurasia

2021 ◽  
pp. SP523-2021-73
Author(s):  
D. V. Palcu ◽  
W. Krijgsman
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sink ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Water Masses ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Tectonic Processes ◽  
Anoxic Environments ◽  
Geological Evolution ◽  
History Of ◽  
Tethys Ocean

AbstractA complex interplay of palaeoclimatic, eustatic and tectonic processes led to fragmentation and dissipation of the vast Tethys Ocean in Eocene-Oligocene times. The resulting Paratethys Sea occupied the northern Tethys region on Eurasia, grouping water masses of various subbasins, separated from each other and from the open ocean through narrow and shallow gateways and land bridges. Changes in marine gateway configuration and intra-basinal connectivity affected the regional hydrology, shifting most Paratethyan basins to extreme carbon-sink anoxic environments, anomalohaline evaporitic or brackish conditions or even endorheic lakes. Paratethys gateway restriction triggered the onset of a long-lasting (∼20 Myr) giant anoxic sea, characterised by stratified water masses and anoxic bottom water conditions, resulting in thick hydrocarbon source rocks. Here, we review the geological evolution of the “dire straits” of Paratethys that played a crucial role in the Eocene-Oligocene connectivity history of the Central Eurasian seas and we show that the main anoxic phases (Kuma and Maikop) correspond to restricted connectivity with the global ocean and a period of CO2 depletion in the atmosphere. Paratethys represents one of the largest carbon sinks of Earth's history and may thus have played a prominent role in global climate change.

THE RUSSIAN OUTPOST OF PURE SCIENCE IN THE GLOBAL OCEAN (TO THE 75-TH ANNIVERSARY OF SIO RAS, 1946–2021)

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 12-32
Keyword(s):  
Research Team ◽  
General Information ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
Pure Science ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Large Research

A brief overview of the main historical events that accompanied the formation and establishment of the Laboratory of Oceanology in the Academy of Sciences in 1941 is given. Then, a few years later, the Laboratory was transformed into the Institute of Oceanology, the director of which was appointed the Minister of the Merchant Fleet of the USSR, Academician P. P. Shirshov. By his initiative in 1949, the Institute became the owner of its first large research vessel "Vityaz". It is shown that the entire history of the institute and its research team was primarily based on the development and generalization of the results of regular sea and ocean expeditions. The article provides general information about the results obtained in the recent past, and their development and deepening in the works of the institute at present.

scholarly journals Lack of marine entry into Marmara and Black Sea-lakes indicate low relative sea level during MIS 3 in the northeastern Mediterranean

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia G. Yanchilina ◽  
Celine Grall ◽  
William B. F. Ryan ◽  
Jerry F. McManus ◽  
Candace O. Major
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Black Sea ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Marmara Sea ◽  
Independent Data ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Mis 3 ◽  
History Of ◽  
Marine Isotope Stage 3

Abstract. The Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) is considered a period of persistent and rapid climate and sea level variabilities during which eustatic sea level is observed to have varied by tens of meters. Constraints on local sea level during this time are critical for further estimates of these variabilities. We here present constraints on relative sea level in the Marmara and Black Sea regions in the northeastern Mediterranean, inferred from reconstructions of the history of the connections and disconnections (partial or total) of these seas together with the global ocean. We use a set of independent data from seismic imaging and core-analyses to infer that the Marmara and Black Seas remained connected persistent freshwater lakes that outflowed to the global ocean during the majority of MIS 3. Marine water intrusion during the early MIS-3 stage may have occurred into the Marmara Sea-Lake but not the Black Sea-Lake. This suggests that the relative sea level was near the paleo-elevation of the Bosporus sill and possibly slightly above the Dardanelles paleo-elevation, ~80 mbsl. The Eustatic sea level may have been even lower, considering the isostatic effects of the Eurasian ice sheet would have locally uplifted the topography of the northeastern Mediterrranean.

scholarly journals Historical Background of Inclusive Education Development in the Nordic Countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Andriichuk
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Education System ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Alternative Form ◽  
Children With Special Needs ◽  
Education Development ◽  
History Of

The article analyzes and interprets the comprehensive presentation of the development of inclusive education in some Nordic countries, namely Sweden, Norway and Iceland. The article states that the special education is still an alternative form of education for children with special needs who cannot attend secondary schools in the majority of the countries. Thus, the relation between inclusive and special education allows the author to draw some parallels between these two types of study to trace the transition from one to another. The author concludes that the history of inclusive education formation in Sweden, Norway and Iceland has much in common, but the Icelandic education system has characteristics which distinguish it from the two others

scholarly journals The calcareous nannofossil <i>Prinsiosphaera</i> achieved rock-forming abundances in the latest Triassic of western Tethys: consequences for the δ<sup>13</sup>C of bulk carbonate

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 7989-8025 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Preto ◽  
C. Agnini ◽  
M. Rigo ◽  
M. Sprovieri ◽  
H. Westphal
Keyword(s):  
Global Ocean ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Calcareous Nannofossils ◽  
Calcareous Nannofossil ◽  
Western Tethys ◽  
Carbonate Sedimentation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Calcareous Plankton ◽  
Inorganic Carbon Cycle

Abstract. The onset of pelagic biomineralization marked a milestone in the history of the long term inorganic carbon cycle: as soon as calcareous nannofossils became major limestone producers, the pH and supersaturation state of the global ocean were stabilized (the so-called Mid Mesozoic Revolution). But although it is known that calcareous nannofossils were abundant already by the end of the Triassic, no estimates exist on their contribution to hemipelagic carbonate sedimentation. With this work, we estimate the volume proportion of Prinsiosphaera, the dominant Late Triassic calcareous nannofossil, in hemipelagic and pelagic carbonates of western Tethys. The investigated Upper Triassic lime mudstones are composed essentially of microspar and tests of calcareous nannofossils, plus minor bioclasts. Prinsiosphaera became a significant component of lime mudstones since the late Norian, and was contributing up to ca. 60% of the carbonate by the late Rhaetian in periplatform environments with hemipelagic sedimentation. The increasing proportion of Prinsiosphaera in upper Rhaetian hemipelagic lime mudstones is paralleled by a increase of the δ13C of bulk carbonate. We interpreted this isotopic trend as related to the diagenesis of microspar, which incorporated respired organic carbon with a low δ13C when it formed during shallow burial. As the proportion of nannofossil tests increased, the contribution of microspar with low δ13C diminished, determining the isotopic trend. We suggest that a similar diagenetic effect may be observed in many Mesozoic limestones with a significant, but not yet dominant, proportion of calcareous plankton.

Part II Commercial Aspects of the Marine Environment, 6 The Work of the International Monetary Fund and Its Possible Relevance to Global Ocean Governance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doussis Emmanuella
Keyword(s):  
International Monetary Fund ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
International Agencies ◽  
Ocean Governance ◽  
History Of ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The International Monetary Fund ◽  
The Imf

This chapter discusses the role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in global ocean governance. It first traces the history of the IMF, from its inception at Bretton Woods in 1944 to the late 1970s and beyond, and highlights the factors that have influenced its institutional development as well as its current institutional profile. It then describes the IMF’s membership, structure, main functions, and decision-making processes before analysing the possible input of the Fund to matters related to ocean governance. In particular, it considers the ways in which the IMF is involved in global ocean governance through its three main functions: economic surveillance, lending, and capacity building. Although the Fund has no direct relevance to global ocean governance, the chapter shows that the IMF may contribute to its improvement by providing technical assistance and policy advice, as well as a better interaction with other, more competent, international agencies.

scholarly journals Diversity and evolution of bacterial bioluminescence genes in the global ocean

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Vannier ◽  
Pascal Hingamp ◽  
Floriane Turrel ◽  
Lisa Tanet ◽  
Magali Lescot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Light Emission ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Light Emitting ◽  
Planetary Scale ◽  
Bacterial Bioluminescence ◽  
Lux Operon ◽  
History Of ◽  
Operon Evolution ◽  
Operon Organization ◽  
Bacterial Genes

Abstract Although bioluminescent bacteria are the most abundant and widely distributed of all light-emitting organisms, the biological role and evolutionary history of bacterial luminescence are still shrouded in mystery. Bioluminescence has so far been observed in the genomes of three families of Gammaproteobacteria in the form of canonical lux operons that adopt the CDAB(F)E(G) gene order. LuxA and luxB encode the two subunits of bacterial luciferase responsible for light-emission. Our deep exploration of public marine environmental databases considerably expands this view by providing a catalog of new lux homolog sequences, including 401 previously unknown luciferase-related genes. It also reveals a broader diversity of the lux operon organization, which we observed in previously undescribed configurations such as CEDA, CAED and AxxCE. This expanded operon diversity provides clues for deciphering lux operon evolution and propagation within the bacterial domain. Leveraging quantitative tracking of marine bacterial genes afforded by planetary scale metagenomic sampling, our study also reveals that the novel lux genes and operons described herein are more abundant in the global ocean than the canonical CDAB(F)E(G) operon.

Efficacy of experimental phage therapies in livestock

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Dec ◽  
Andrzej Wernicki ◽  
Renata Urban-Chmiel
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Phage Therapy ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Form Of Life ◽  
Drug Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Experimental Therapies ◽  
History Of ◽  
Experimental Treatments ◽  
Human Infections ◽  
Life On Earth

AbstractBacteriophages are the most abundant form of life on earth and are present everywhere. The total number of bacteriophages has been estimated to be 1032 virions. The main division of bacteriophages is based on the type of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) and on the structure of the capsid. Due to the significant increase in the number of multi-drug-resistant bacteria, bacteriophages could be a useful tool as an alternative to antibiotics in experimental therapies to prevent and to control bacterial infections in people and animals. The aim of this review was to discuss the history of phage therapy as a replacement for antibiotics, in response to EU regulations prohibiting the use of antibiotics in livestock, and to present current examples and results of experimental phage treatments in comparison to antibiotics. The use of bacteriophages to control human infections has had a high success rate, especially in mixed infections caused mainly by Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Enterobacter, and Enterococcus. Bacteriophages have also proven to be an effective tool in experimental treatments for combating diseases in livestock.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document