SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Earthworms seem to enjoy Mars-like soil just fine after you add poop and water to it:
Two young worms are the first offspring in a Mars soil experiment at Wageningen University & Research. Biologist Wieger Wamelink found them in a Mars soil simulant that he obtained from NASA. At the start he only added adult worms. The experiments are crucial in the study that aims to determine whether people can keep themselves alive at the red planet by growing their own crops on Mars soils.
[...] 'The positive effect of adding manure was not unexpected', added Wamelink, 'but we were surprised that it makes Mars soil simulant outperform Earth silver sand'. Researchers added organic matter from earlier experiments to both sands. They added the manure to a sample of the pots and then, after germination of the rucola, they added the worms. The result: pots with all possible combinations with the exception of organic matter which was added to all of the pots.
Worms are very important for a healthy soil, not only on Earth but also in future indoor gardens on Mars or the moon. They thrive on dead organic matter such as old plant remains, which they eat, chew and mix with soil before they excrete it. This poo still contains organic matter that is broken down further by bacteria, thus releasing nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium for use by the plants. By digging burrows the worms also aerate and improve the structure of the soil, making watering the plants more effective.
(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Thursday November 30 2017, @04:52PM (1 child)
Can drills and simulations prepare you for a real battle? Of course not, not all the way. I've never been in battle either and I'm not going to pretend that I can ever really imagine what it's like. But surely all a battle simulation is is an attempt to transfer the lessons learned by people who HAVE gone through it (and survived) to the people who haven't yet had to.
But let me ask you this: If you were sailing into a battle, would you rather go with a crew that had gone through many such simulations and drills, or one that hadn't? If your answer is "the crew that had done the simulations" then you have to admit that the simulations have SOME value.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday November 30 2017, @05:11PM
My smart assed answer popped into my head. I thought, "No, no, calm down - Great Aunti is being serious." But, I thought of my smart assed answer again. And, it's not all that smart assed, really. "The only winning move is not to play."
Anyway, that out of the way - the simulations have extremely limited value, but they do have value.
I should point out my age again. I was among the first who were to young to serve in Vietnam, to join the Navy postwar. I was trained beside combat veterans, by combat veterans. They said much the same - simulations don't count for squat, the first time the shit really hits the fan. They help you to remember whether the AFFF hose reel is on the port or the starboard side of the ship, but it doesn't prepare you for the recoil of the damned thing when you turn it on for real. HINT: never charge a fire hose until your feet are solidly planted on deck. If you lose control, it will beat you to death.