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Morning glory seeds could potentially survive a trip between planets:
Natural sunscreens help morning glory seeds survive doses of ultraviolet (UV) radiation that would burn most humans to a crisp, according to a new study. The hardy seeds of the common flowering plant would probably even survive a voyage between planets, say the researchers. This might help researchers decide which species to send on future missions to Mars, a place that is bombarded with UV light because of its thin atmosphere. It also validates the concept of panspermia, the idea that life might have hopscotched through our solar system—or others—by hitching a ride on asteroids or comets.
"These results add to the fast-growing body of evidence showing that panspermia is not only possible, but absolutely inevitable," says Chandra Wickramasinghe, director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology at the University of Buckingham in the United Kingdom, who was not involved in the study.
The research began a decade ago, when astronauts placed about 2000 seeds from tobacco plants and a flowering plant known as Arabidopsis thaliana on the outside of the International Space Station. For 558 days, the seeds were exposed to high levels of UV light, cosmic radiation, and extreme temperature fluctuations—conditions that are lethal to most forms of life. [...] They found that only morning glory seeds germinated [open, DOI: 10.1089/ast.2015.1457] [DX] after being exposed to light roughly 6 million times the dose typically used to sterilize drinking water, conditions that killed the much smaller tobacco and A. thaliana seeds.
Did somebody say interplanetary trip?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @07:36AM (2 children)
I was thinking of something else.
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds [wikipedia.org]
It's a story of a very dysfunctional mother and her 2 very different daughters.
Despite the poisonous environment, one daughter manages to blossom.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by Slartibartfast on Friday May 05 2017, @10:28AM
Hah. Funny -- I was on Paul Zindel's site over the weekend, wondering if it's time to get some books for my daughter. And, yes, this quirky, odd play is a favorite.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @10:29PM
Yeah but what kind of a role model for women in STEM could the protagonist possibly be with a mentor who's a rapey all-men who must be sexually harassing her constantly off stage?
Plus, how is that spoiler going to help girls learn that STEM is filled with sexually harassing misogynists who think a woman's place is in the kitchen?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @08:36AM (3 children)
The morning glory seeds were in a lab, and the plants placed on the outside of the ISS did germinate:
http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/ast.2015.1457 [liebertpub.com]
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @04:14PM (1 child)
I guess they didn't try Kudzu.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @04:44PM
Nor systemd.
(Score: 3, Funny) by bob_super on Friday May 05 2017, @05:33PM
I need to tell my wife that her attitude and clothing are better than space and radiation at killing morning glory.
(Score: 2) by snufu on Friday May 05 2017, @08:49AM (1 child)
Is there any reason to think high UV tolerance in some seeds or plants on Earth supports the panspermia hypothesis? I presume there are many natural films where UV screening properties are secondary or entirely coincidental to their function.
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Friday May 05 2017, @09:52AM
From TFS:
"These results add to the fast-growing body of evidence showing that panspermia is not only possible, but absolutely inevitable," says Chandra Wickramasinghe, director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology at the University of Buckingham in the United Kingdom, who was not involved in the study.
I'd call that bold talk from a one-eyed fat man! [youtube.com]
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 2) by CoolHand on Friday May 05 2017, @11:25AM (2 children)
Or, they could make you trip and imagine that they and you could survive a trip [wikipedia.org] between planets..
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job-Douglas Adams
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @08:22PM
The summary links to erowid.org.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 05 2017, @10:43PM
They must be eradicated lest a teenager get ahold of them, any benefits to terraforming Mars or science be damned. Besides, everybody knows that the world is flat, Mars is a wandering star, and science is, er, trying to remember... funding, fame, fraud???
(Score: 2, Funny) by leftover on Friday May 05 2017, @03:47PM
Does anyone really think that Tardigrades are local folks?
Bent, folded, spindled, and mutilated.