2026-05-12T12:53:17Z https://yabu.me Mike Malaska https://yabu.me/npub1v0m8cmljfy9kze8fucetd2eqv3ptf7v9e092f8r5k2l0wpd485fs4vw4tq https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/accounts/avatars/109/323/249/860/858/915/original/035cc1133c1cb18a.jpg https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/accounts/avatars/109/323/249/860/858/915/original/035cc1133c1cb18a.jpg https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsvc0axenwr6rn9h0gyyarwx9nzp0vdeawaey3w0p6e3tzhvfxy78gzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xn5myf4 Poll time! <br/><br/>Here is a quote from NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (see: <a href="https://deepspace.social/@mike_malaska/116384128140587012">https://deepspace.social/@mike_malaska/116384128140587012</a>):<br/><br/>“If we wake up and we see our rival’s taikonauts on the moon before we’re able to return, the blow to American exceptionalism will be so damaging, the shock wave will be felt around the world.”<br/><br/>If China beat the US to the Moon, how would you feel personally? 2026-04-11T20:25:32Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs8scy2h77sekvz9jyy5s4fsd3865gmdzxyef904d6k8sexs3u7vqgzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xpjxnlw Came across this wide-view shot of flooded Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park from March 2024. Click to embiggen and see the full view.<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/116/224/929/277/619/711/original/2e4d05b5ae87f7a0.jpg"> <br/> 2026-03-14T01:31:33Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsgp6zd3ml44jf49nj9sza0zyqqhr7as4hnzgkwphwssv645v2y6zczyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x7vdfpu In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsrzsa5m08545hlv9xl5pg4jje6myjeh9svx6fzrncexj2z7z370lcshvzdv'>nevent1q…vzdv</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>ahhh! Got some lit!<br/><br/><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0019103510004641">https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0019103510004641</a><br/><br/>This is a pay-for article, but it seems that CO2 not happy on Iapetus. Won&#39;t trap for long.<br/><br/>What CO2 there is seems associated with low albedo stuff. (Not where youd expect from cold trapping)<br/><br/>So CO2 is either being generated from UV action of exposed organics/ice (in dark lag+UV produced superoxides from ice photolysis) or possibly-maybe CO2 got trapped up by associations. mineral/carbon stuff in dark lag material. 2026-02-19T19:13:35Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs9xf0cahh3qkajvphs0wpxlnfl39prryy2etv7pehds2mp4atlysgzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x05nsfl In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsrxfjawvflvysjw3r8snkwpyqpcrhwt6v29nghkmmutlt9xafd6vq9unlkf'>nevent1q…nlkf</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>(I think the volatile moving around on Iapetus is still H2O, CO2 is trapped pretty everywhere, but slightly more in dark lag stuff.) 2026-02-19T18:38:10Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsdnnfgsswu2qzzr244jt3thgjdguuhzhqetke96w5n8s0wn8uk7kqzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xlwmqcy In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsyq4dut58ql8uzpyeygd4u9s0huv6wd24wyjkdn0sfvr3pzxhl77q35l66n'>nevent1q…l66n</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Like Iapetus, but free. 2026-02-19T18:31:09Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsw4f9rjgyudjurtrkvc284hvl4y6c25n08tcqr4ll5t00hsyjycygzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xh73pct View from spheroidally weathered granite blocks in the Alabama Hills National Scenic Area, California.<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/116/054/671/339/593/479/original/d1259023d888b068.jpg"> <br/> 2026-02-11T23:51:47Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs8vcl685442ep64ts43c37vhvxvkugalrzjlwa5dfvzuats4aynlczyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xe5s9xj &#34;Gosh, Mike, I bet running around in the desert you probably see a lot of wierd-looking plants, right?&#34;<br/><br/>Oh yeah.<br/><br/>I present to you the Pagoda Buckwheat.<br/><br/>This stands only about 20 cm high.<br/><br/>It is very common along the roadside dropping into and climbing out of Panamint Valley on the road to Death Valley from Olancha, California.<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/116/047/425/244/997/761/original/9835f9bf1ad0cfa9.jpg"> <br/> 2026-02-10T17:09:43Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs9ycmpz94y40460gzrh7239mjcf2vu33e3ka07nk9qhhwwezg0kqszyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xmcrtcu In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8aex2l3q8vwe2shjcyqlff3hwzepy7jkl48ltwx6hp4p25sxywxcrlxls2'>nevent1q…xls2</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Fine. I&#39;ll ditch the hashtag. 2026-02-02T05:30:48Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqst72w79vlu9avttvf4khkxxm98t7tn3t055m49j7gnx4k87ksc4sszyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x7qqct3 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsr5vx6xh9d7pamgat4wtkw2eake7fldsvu9vpvtls08uzpt5xpzfqxgzs08'>nevent1q…zs08</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Seriously? I can&#39;t post explanations? 2026-02-02T00:49:03Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs0neg9qmqt9s5cl2svdh4cpfgaeq26t5aj5w99x67dw6gfpdudntgzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xvu54q5 The edge of a canebrake in snowy woods. Orange County, North Carolina.<br/><br/>#SilentSunday<br/><br/>(Wkipedia entry on Canebreaks. A moist lowland native bamboo thicket common in SE of North America: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canebrake">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canebrake</a>)<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/115/997/475/282/716/510/original/9269f45e560227eb.jpg"> <br/> 2026-02-01T21:27:05Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsfwefm6mfmjlnty6208qwuf5cw006sthfed2j5h4klhkteuuzpdjqzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xg96xj4 Part 2: Tryptophan discovery: How do we know what we know?<br/><br/>As promised, we gonna circle back on that tryptophan discovery.<br/>(For Part 1 in this series see here: <a href="https://deepspace.social/@mike_malaska/115653001232082594">https://deepspace.social/@mike_malaska/115653001232082594</a>)<br/><br/>And this gets to an even bigger question in #astrobiology (and life in general):<br/>“How do you know what you know?”<br/><br/>We gonna dive deep into the analytical chemistry of that reported tryptophan detection, digging into the supplementary information analysis.<br/><br/>[thread]<blockquote class="border-l-05rem border-l-strongpink border-solid"><div class="-ml-4 bg-gradient-to-r from-gray-100 dark:from-zinc-800 to-transparent mr-0 mt-0 mb-4 pl-4 pr-2 py-2">quoting <br/><span itemprop="mentions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Article"><a itemprop="url" href="/note1nz47j0las3gwyqd4n62kp2l0dst688zmyc6dn045e8lr3vs0207s2tzjmv" class="bg-lavender dark:prose:text-neutral-50 dark:text-neutral-50 dark:bg-garnet px-1">note1nz4…zjmv</a></span><br/> </div> Why is the potential discovery of tryptophan in an asteroid sample such a big deal for #astrobiology?<br/><br/>Gonna do a deep dive behind the headlines.<br/><br/>For starters, here is a link to the discovery article: <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512461122">https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512461122</a><br/><br/>thread time! </blockquote> 2025-12-12T21:23:15Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsf32lf8l7cg58zqx6ea9tq40hkc9arn3djvdxeh66vnl3ckg848lgzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xx3uw2l Why is the potential discovery of tryptophan in an asteroid sample such a big deal for #astrobiology?<br/><br/>Gonna do a deep dive behind the headlines.<br/><br/>For starters, here is a link to the discovery article: <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512461122">https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2512461122</a><br/><br/>thread time! 2025-12-03T01:19:10Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsvgymy9gmsdc69cw5r96rrsppdrhsnh038fmezwfdegxny2dpqssszyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xrt2pd5 Freeze expected tomorrow. I pulled the okra and put it by compost bin to chop later.<br/><br/>Despite being late season, yanled out of the ground, and thrown in a pile awaiting a killing freeze, it is still trying!<br/><br/>That&#39;s the spirit!<br/><br/>Be like the okra.<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/115/521/233/918/285/085/original/766601edb9e47974.jpg"> <br/> 2025-11-09T18:53:30Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsqt9jx8jv2dr78rxgadap5h673xfvelat9kxf6dycpwf9agqtxqwgzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xys9s5q My Incedible Superpower is spotting useful seedlings at the three or four-leaf stage.<br/><br/>I&#39;m a lazy gardner. I just let open pollinated stuff go to seed, sprout wherever, then spot and carefully transplant later.<br/><br/>Here is an example bed I let idle. Over a year ago I had lettuce in here. There are a bunch of weeds, but one little lettuce seedling.<br/><br/>Can you find it?<br/><br/>#gardening<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/115/481/715/186/009/092/original/43eac647efe8f224.jpg"> <br/> 2025-11-02T19:24:27Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs8nfhuqenz96vre2ddchjfek2na7qga5d46g9nr3gpyss84cxqkmszyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x3zj3ag Please RT. This link will help find the nearest foodbank in the United States. There is a search bar by zip code that provides a list of food pantries nearby.<br/><br/><a href="https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank">https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank</a> 2025-10-29T23:07:18Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs0lp5gjm2hzvdzly3gad0rcnhpwxz5gs48wlelwe72ezwhlvchxeszyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xn0qcey In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsve0gy352r7uvnsgqaluapvskhnvyt3awkw82wjl74rv00a0hfn8cwc3xa2'>nevent1q…3xa2</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>By combining gases, adding some metal vapor, and using colored glass and blowing multiple tubes with different effects you can make some interesting signs.<br/><br/>Like the neon sign for Dr. Kilzum pest control services. A lot of different colors and shapes on this 10 foot tall sign. Imagine blowing all those glass tubes!<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/115/274/209/558/995/744/original/e7295e4bab25cd90.jpg"> <br/> 2025-09-27T03:52:00Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsve0gy352r7uvnsgqaluapvskhnvyt3awkw82wjl74rv00a0hfn8czyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x9lk307 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsxhcvpmegzlkwh04adfw63cpx38zrhakxy0z8vwkgq4nnf9s7up7sgzm87z'>nevent1q…m87z</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>&#34;Neon&#34; is a generic term for sticking rarified noble gases (and maybe some metal vapor) in a tube and zapping it with high voltage alternating current.<br/><br/>The high voltage strips off the outermost electron, and when it pops back in, it releases a photon at the corresponding quantum level.<br/><br/>You get the same effect in an aurora. But noble gases are not corrosive.<br/><br/>Here is a transparent display that show the different noble gases.<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/115/274/139/882/913/811/original/c4a7633f5e15fff0.jpg"> <br/> 2025-09-27T03:33:17Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsxhcvpmegzlkwh04adfw63cpx38zrhakxy0z8vwkgq4nnf9s7up7szyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xeu3rj5 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs9nl3f84cz6rzw26wfgfn9tu76kpq3s04v2lpryjyka7wjfcwsclceg0efv'>nevent1q…0efv</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Yes. That previous piece is a neon art representation of the freeway system around downtown Los Angeles!<br/><br/>Here is another very abstract large piece that was next to the LA nein piece. It was pretty big, maybe 2m on a side.<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/115/274/108/152/167/988/original/71b37b89e9f184c8.jpg"> <br/> 2025-09-27T03:24:19Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs9nl3f84cz6rzw26wfgfn9tu76kpq3s04v2lpryjyka7wjfcwsclczyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xwf6d6z Today I went to the Neon Museum of Modern Art in Glendale, CA. Very fun!<br/><br/>Small, niche, and kitsch.<br/><br/>They had lots of neat glowy stuff. I took many pix. For the ones that flash, I&#39;ll post a CW.<br/><br/>The museum also has a workshop and for bigger bucks you can take a class to learn how to be a &#34;neon bender&#34;.<br/><br/>(Anyone want to guess what this abstract neon piece represents? Answer in next post.)<br/><br/>[Thread]<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/115/274/073/515/159/732/original/9e34b7de95b8f041.jpg"> <br/> 2025-09-27T03:15:59Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsfpsg6zl8xr5ls020gqurtwhrj3kezs3pnpthnpe422c0qkgm74jqzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xfyz236 The NISAR mission&#39;s radar antenna has fully unfurled! Whoo-hoo!<br/><br/><a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/giant-radar-antenna-reflector-on-nasa-isro-satellite-in-full-bloom/">https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/giant-radar-antenna-reflector-on-nasa-isro-satellite-in-full-bloom/</a> 2025-08-16T00:33:18Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsd0a3fuz2jpy04k28v477snuglwsvc00qct38xw5w7kqukfndjvfqzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x0aa9l6 Sunset on the Salish Sea.<br/><br/>Lighthouse in Mukilteo, Washinton at sunset.<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/114/895/364/010/273/281/original/8e1c5c723f90079b.jpg"> <br/> 2025-07-22T06:06:03Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsxnhe85lurw0849fqcjw6a3txp9yksz6wluqpd2rjjsadfg2wndtszyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xejf9n5 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqst2k02nnw684nlfau2v2x57uk45tpnddrzjdcp0p4rg87r2dkt6tq0lx3sx'>nevent1q…x3sx</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Floating in Kraken Mare and looking for life has its own issues.<br/><br/>What would you look for? You&#39;d filter out any solids prior to analyzing the liquid so you dont gunk stuff up. Back to only looking at a handful of soluble molecules (srsly. I prepared this list for the Oceanus Calypso probe. These are not exciting molecules.)<br/><br/>At low T, you&#39;d want to look for molecular associations. Need in situ NMR, not destructive GC.<br/><br/>I&#39;m a very wet blanket regarding methane-based life. 2025-04-26T15:47:01Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs8pp4sn9han9ywrqaaqnwse0epxazw0lryzdzyqzveefvjy059nlczyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xhf6kve In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsrxa6ee8jrxq2rxayxghsjdg4pgeaq9rfad8z7mqedrwnav56el5gs6qu53'>nevent1q…qu53</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Imma push back on this way hard.<br/><br/>Cryogenic methane is a truly lousy solvent. There is a VERY short list of organic molecules that will dissolve in it and let you shuttle energy-carrying molecules from one place to another.<br/><br/>I challenge anyone to build up a biochemical cascade using ONLY cyclopropane and butane.<br/><br/>(And I&#39;m not even mentioning synthesis of A+B--&gt;AB where AB is so insoluble it gloms itself to the enzyme active site - catalytic turnover of one.) 2025-04-26T15:26:42Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs0crk5ux3e64w8xn8hgyk32ue239kpm7q35zxzp37wvrrggj0w0zszyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x2dhzww In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsgcma9h8j5e36xqt43gpnj54g2fpddakx87pc970km3zyusahkgggkds7cj'>nevent1q…s7cj</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>The other recurring theme is that we need to improve planetary instrumentation and lower the detection limit. <br/><br/>1E3 cells per cm3 is just not good enough. We need to push to much lower. <br/><br/>This will also help us explore Earth and can also help with medical technologies (just how &#34;sterile&#34; is that water, anyway?)<br/><br/>So this article also serves as a call for better instrumentation for planetary #astrobiology. <br/><br/>There will be more on that in a few weeks. (Stay tuned)<br/><br/>\end thread. 2025-04-26T13:56:48Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsgcma9h8j5e36xqt43gpnj54g2fpddakx87pc970km3zyusahkgggzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xcrrzan In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs25tvje5l9l9x99cxxv0xl5e2w2h7cp3jdzun5lpm68dcggwg0dtczv302p'>nevent1q…302p</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>But the really big news (that got missed in the hype) is that TITAN IS HABITABLE.<br/><br/>Our numbers show that it could support at least a small dog worth of biomass. <br/><br/>(If you found a small dog on Titan you&#39;d be pretty happy, right?)<br/><br/>So the numbers, while low, will likely only go up as we get better data (more metabolisms) and better ideas of where to look. 2025-04-26T13:53:38Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs25tvje5l9l9x99cxxv0xl5e2w2h7cp3jdzun5lpm68dcggwg0dtczyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xhthflz In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqszcue3uy8yzqy3afvyjcdyu8lenr08k966fhpy7g9vv0qa2cu7qncx74llz'>nevent1q…4llz</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>In micropockets, you can get concentration effects of about 1E6 as ice grains squeeze out non-water molecules. So you could get a hyperlocalized concentration. <br/><br/>Which could push an effective cell count to 1E3 cells per cm3 which is now in range of current state-of-the art instrumentation.<br/><br/>There are other ways to localize biomass too. Happens all the time here on Earth. 2025-04-26T13:50:34Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqszcue3uy8yzqy3afvyjcdyu8lenr08k966fhpy7g9vv0qa2cu7qnczyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xzwcs07 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsvv48z4muk49cr349jxwzehtrctqhlec7rhwmqvvxh0l75780dc6qy27u4l'>nevent1q…7u4l</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Another thing is where are all those cells. Are they gonna be swimming around in the dilute-ass ocean?<br/><br/>(Y&#39;all should know I think the ocean of ocean worlds is the WORST place to look for life. Big. Dilute. Boring.)<br/><br/>Life loves interfaces. Ice-ocean interface, ice-bottom interface, brinicles, cold-seeps (up or down), and especially micropockets in ice.<br/><br/>(I&#39;ll be posting something exciting about micropockets in a few weeks. Stay tuned.) 2025-04-26T13:46:38Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsvv48z4muk49cr349jxwzehtrctqhlec7rhwmqvvxh0l75780dc6qzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xanr9rs In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsr0r6craaeq6welwjlfe8a24qcxmvws57wzc8pet4w98wqmhv2ntcw8r2cp'>nevent1q…r2cp</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>An analogy is that 1 person can live on 1 frozen pizza a day. So if you go into a grocery store and just count number of frozen pizzas, then that gives you an estimate of how many people that grocery store can feed, right?<br/><br/>(Wrong. there are also frozen Turkey Pot Pies. Maybe other things, too. :) ) 2025-04-26T13:42:28Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsr0r6craaeq6welwjlfe8a24qcxmvws57wzc8pet4w98wqmhv2ntczyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xfrjkcl In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8crxqdahwvqrgx2k46p5efppqmn3eeagzc2fsxaswy3m8xth5llswfde7s'>nevent1q…de7s</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>We only considered glycine fermentation. <br/><br/>There are lots of other molecules that could be yummy microbe food (naphthalene is my favorite). But we only had really really good numbers for terrestrial microbes for glycine at low temperatures and high pressures. So that&#39;s a data issue. <br/><br/>(The article is a call-out for low T, high P, microbiology experiments for funky metabolisms). 2025-04-26T13:39:18Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs8crxqdahwvqrgx2k46p5efppqmn3eeagzc2fsxaswy3m8xth5llszyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xfgvkn2 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs92hnmc9zrs55wqk6ja7z6cngc0u9fhw6vhlg70ts0gguwkz752rce6xt69'>nevent1q…xt69</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>If you dilute that out over the whole subsurface ocean, it give you numbers around 0.001 cells per cm3 (1E-3 cells per cm3) - that is one hundred time LOWER than medically sterile.<br/><br/>That&#39;s bad news for Titan #astrobiology right?<br/><br/>Well, not really.<br/><br/>Here&#39;s why: 2025-04-26T13:36:21Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs92hnmc9zrs55wqk6ja7z6cngc0u9fhw6vhlg70ts0gguwkz752rczyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xqq5yxl In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsx393m8ywcj5kywyd6g0fc75cvhmq9dulvkf423lupwctghyr9enq6726l3'>nevent1q…26l3</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>In the Titan habitability calculation, we estimated the total amount of cell mass that could be supported by glycine fermentation based on the estimate glycine delivery from the top surface all the way through 100 km of ice into the deep subsurface ocean of Titan.<br/><br/>And we came up with a small dog&#39;s worth of cell mass.<br/><br/>Affholder et al. 2025 (open-access article): <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/adbc66">https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/adbc66</a> 2025-04-26T13:32:53Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsx393m8ywcj5kywyd6g0fc75cvhmq9dulvkf423lupwctghyr9enqzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xyuwrp2 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs28ndv9pgv0a8t0fkqtl7fmv97pef4nfespzp4s7tp4u9r8dnwqgg0kl7qf'>nevent1q…l7qf</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Here are some numbers for comparison, in microbes per cm3 volume:<br/><br/>Theoretical maximum limit: 1E15 cells per cm3<br/>{this is based on the theoretical lower limit for microbial cells}<br/>Human body: about 2E8 cells per cm3<br/>Deep Ice (2.5 km deep in Greenland ice sheet): 1E5-1E4 cells per cm3<br/>Instrument detection limit: 1E2 cells per cm3<br/>Medically sterile: 0.1 cells per cm3 2025-04-26T13:29:30Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs28ndv9pgv0a8t0fkqtl7fmv97pef4nfespzp4s7tp4u9r8dnwqggzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x6xk6rt In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqszmrvh8sx25a7gj8ytdppn372d9kj7rgrpmmq53lvcxyyecqpfz2cyesrd4'>nevent1q…srd4</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>&#34;Habitability&#34; is one of the most misused words in astrobiology. It is a usually a blurry concept used to justify a mission: “The [insert mission name here] will investigate the habitability of [insert world name here]”.<br/><br/>More recently, habitability is becoming an actual quantitative and comparative concept. Specifically, how many microbes can exist in an environment?<br/><br/>Here is an open-access article on Planetary Habitability:<br/>Mendez et al, Astrobiology 2021: <a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/ast.2020.2342">https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/ast.2020.2342</a> 2025-04-26T13:27:17Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqszmrvh8sx25a7gj8ytdppn372d9kj7rgrpmmq53lvcxyyecqpfz2czyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xjdjqmu #astrobiology thread time!<br/><br/>A paper came out a few weeks ago about &#34;habitability&#34;. Specifically, the habitability of Saturn&#39;s moon Titan. <br/><br/>We (am one of the co-authors) found that Titan&#39;s chemistry could support the equivalent biomass of a small dog.<br/><br/>Is that....bad?<br/>(And what does &#34;habitability&#34; mean anyway?)<br/><br/>Here is the press release from the University of Arizona: <a href="https://news.arizona.edu/news/saturns-moon-titan-could-harbor-life-only-tiny-amount-study-finds">https://news.arizona.edu/news/saturns-moon-titan-could-harbor-life-only-tiny-amount-study-finds</a><br/><br/>(Next post will have link to full paper) 2025-04-26T13:06:14Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsy5xzzy2jmjfe0uyvrvmep7l7lwjy6jc2ktgp4lanpu3605drzspgzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xaxxexs A symmetrical scene on a #SilentSunday on the shore of the Salish Sea.<br/><br/>Mukilteo, Snohomish County, Washington State<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/114/294/456/653/097/449/original/a46cb6321486abff.jpg"> <br/> 2025-04-07T03:09:18Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsfprg2flfcned2hddmqnnfaanay0tc5wvnryz5ydxz5lmkmug4a4qzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xfttd2n In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs2ffl4vmpw830q8eh7dy7qqewy0zg6wxnjf59weuvt3t46jvdrlxcksn2pq'>nevent1q…n2pq</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>As the Huygens probe descended, it took lots of pictures on its way down to the surface. Those are just a gold mine of information.<br/><br/>Here is a really fun movie that we call the &#34;bells and whistles&#34; version. It is incredibly information rich. I love watching this over and over. You can see little cartoons showing probe orientation spin, telemetry data, instrument sequences, and images. I love to marvel at the planning that made this happen.<br/><br/><a href="https://science.nasa.gov/resource/titan-descent-data-movie-with-bells-and-whistles/">https://science.nasa.gov/resource/titan-descent-data-movie-with-bells-and-whistles/</a> 2025-01-15T13:52:32Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs2ffl4vmpw830q8eh7dy7qqewy0zg6wxnjf59weuvt3t46jvdrlxczyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xzl74hv In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqszs4hrqhwsdt90zk88vg24dyl3yes4qhwr4fsq7t0jwkc3gun0masy6k63z'>nevent1q…k63z</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Ahhhhh. That&#39;s still a mystery! You will read in Wikpedia or some of the literature that it is water ice. <br/><br/>But actually, we don&#39;t know. It could be ice, or other things: frozen benzene, solid HCN, mixed solid organics. We do not have detailed spectra or other chemical analysis of those rocks vs the sands.<br/><br/>(Personally, I think it&#39;s probably ice, but I want better proof.)<br/><br/>(The dark sands I&#39;d lean my guess towards probably organics.)<br/><br/>It is good to have mysteries! Fun! Explore! 2025-01-15T13:45:34Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqszs4hrqhwsdt90zk88vg24dyl3yes4qhwr4fsq7t0jwkc3gun0maszyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xmhjrzk In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsru5xzph7lc2l5d65x8ra7c6fell7tuewpeazzltcfafrhe8yd8kq8fjrp9'>nevent1q…jrp9</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>So. Streams or floods, rocks eroding, sorting. Faster than getting covered by atmospheric organic molecules. Got it.<br/><br/>But what are those rounded rocks made of? 2025-01-15T13:44:26Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsru5xzph7lc2l5d65x8ra7c6fell7tuewpeazzltcfafrhe8yd8kqzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xwt9rqh In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs95qt5ft0cwmxgeck3tpmzlmqpckvzmddq6vjn37nynpttcr4z78ssynsjv'>nevent1q…nsjv</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>And also what you DON&#39;T SEE. We don&#39;t see a uniform snowscape blanket of organic molecules everywhere. <br/><br/>That tells us that whatever geological processes happen are faster than covering by organic molecule fallout. <br/><br/>That fallout happens at a rate of about same as dust builds up in your house if you have a clothes dryer in your house. Max 100 m per Gyr: 0.1 m per Myr, 0.1 mm per kyr or 0.1 microns per year. Give or take an order of magnitude.<br/><br/>So geology happens on Titan. It&#39;s not boring. 2025-01-15T13:39:27Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs95qt5ft0cwmxgeck3tpmzlmqpckvzmddq6vjn37nynpttcr4z78szyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xz95wa6 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs93x68vjzfzjesw5fn62992mhwyj7waxtuamvxkcl77xanz2eun6g7krmd0'>nevent1q…rmd0</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Just from this surface image, you can figure stuff out. All those rocks (whatever they are made of - that is still a mystery), are all rounded, and the same size.<br/><br/>Rounding suggests erosion, those &#34;rocks&#34; banged together repeatedly. Likes rocks in a river or shore (hint-hint-hint).<br/><br/>And sorting by some type of process where bigger rocks dropped out somewhere else, and smaller rocks or pieces dropped somewhere else. <br/><br/>Either a flood deposit or a stream deposit. 2025-01-15T13:34:40Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs93x68vjzfzjesw5fn62992mhwyj7waxtuamvxkcl77xanz2eun6gzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x9f32k6 On January 14, 2005 just over 20 years ago today, the Huygens probe touched down on the organic-rich surface of Saturn&#39;s moon Titan.<br/><br/>Here is the scene from Titan&#39;s surface. <a href="https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07232">https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07232</a><br/><br/>Scientists (I&#39;m one of those) have been analyzing this image and the other descent images from the probe for 2 decades. What have we learned from the probe images about the surface of enigmatic moon?<br/><br/>[Thread]<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/113/832/593/596/621/056/original/e8f4b92179664f02.jpg"> <br/> 2025-01-15T13:28:26Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs84qyw86kylnx5u44fwjsq3pw6sydy2jc7tgxc6pml9kgck2skw2gzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xx9uf4k In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs2q2cplmtk2hluk8z2qpxs4mez7fpsfs0qhf609crzd8nujey3e7gjnfwvt'>nevent1q…fwvt</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>For example, if someone found a single-dose cure for Alzheimer&#39;s they could probably name their price.<br/><br/>Market would easily support $100k per person in my guesstimation.<br/><br/>In US, there are 500,000 new cases of AD per year. So that is a whopping $50B potential market.<br/><br/>I can&#39;t see the public sector allocating that much even if it was only just to break even economically.<br/><br/>(Current public funding only about 10% of that and doesn&#39;t have that goal.) 2025-01-05T21:41:24Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs2q2cplmtk2hluk8z2qpxs4mez7fpsfs0qhf609crzd8nujey3e7gzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xgc4zas In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsyupqvqu6u7q527wf4ty9pckwjtc7f92jden9fcfdygyrjgzt3yug2dm35c'>nevent1q…m35c</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Would agree sorta. Some of these issues are baked into the system.<br/><br/>However, antibiotics, antifungals, and antiparasitics do produce cures. Nobody would buy a bacterial-stat when a bacterial-cide was available.<br/><br/>Same with other drugs. All things equal, a cure for cancer or Alzheimer&#39;s or whatever would always outcompete a long-term treatment for same disease.<br/><br/>In this case the competitiveness works for you to incentivise better treatments. 2025-01-05T21:27:29Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsdr6l86u0suh3f74t8cktjjvh4xpyr48yw86ann8nqyhdeml23ylqzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x5nvd3t In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs0dfmjzdqxhc7vk22fxfemrrnup50d6rkn4at7geytx0gdxj4nacgjjgjjw'>nevent1q…gjjw</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Costs for clinical trials should be the same for either private or public sector.<br/><br/>I honestly don&#39;t know what drives clinical costs. I&#39;ve always assumed it is the personnell costs of record-keeping, administration developing protocols, dealing with Investigational Revew Boards, etc.<br/><br/>(I also dont have a good handle on R&amp;D costs spent vs. drugs approved for public sector efforts. Any ideas?) 2025-01-05T19:56:32Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs2h3u3jsanvh9fg202qfrdnh5gpzmqctnm3nwzd9y5wd7x5c8vqgczyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xa394uy In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs8lzvguyg0up5rfnuvznv4l3aqgdkps2077lyp9u9yxyum2cr5qect4jefe'>nevent1q…jefe</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Sorry. I wasnt super-clear in explanation.<br/><br/>Was assuming a total market potential of $1B per year, but assumed the successful drug would only capture 50% of that market averaged over 16 years.<br/><br/>So $500M per year actual sales over 16 years gives $8B total which is just enough to cover costs. No profit.<br/><br/>Means you need $1B per year potential to even think about a program.<br/><br/>(Which, as you stated, economocally limits targets.) 2025-01-05T19:49:26Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsgsarhrkxqfkm9uu248cnydmu0lgxlkg77hmkf2eysn3ycfk4u0lszyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xh0473q In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsx3szmlqxjzqplmfa8ndv7nh23069zth6xynlmhcj72gvujfs3j4gafl556'>nevent1q…l556</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>...the other implication is that you gotta make up for that initial cash outlay on the back end.<br/><br/>So assume 16 years of exclusive patent period and average during that period of 50% market penetration you need to have a $1B per year drug to make up for your initial costs.<br/><br/>Big question: Is there a $1B per year driving need RIGHT NOW for a new antibiotic?<br/><br/>(Remember, there are other generic antibiotics, insurance companies will want to try those first.) 2025-01-05T17:31:42Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsx3szmlqxjzqplmfa8ndv7nh23069zth6xynlmhcj72gvujfs3j4gzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xhwth6z In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsqhxf8avhnqm893tufaxg0f2n9pvcpwl8gl6nk08u9fqxxc3xddcqs874c6'>nevent1q…74c6</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>So, if you want new antibiotics, someone&#39;s gotta:<br/><br/>1) pony up a several BILLION dollars of dedicated R&amp;D effort for just this.<br/><br/>2) find some way to improve that 96% failure rate.<br/><br/>That 96% is ingrained in every pharma scientists brain. Keeps us humble. There is always a &#34;bold new paradigm to accelerate drug discovery&#34; that never moves the needle. 2025-01-05T17:27:33Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsqhxf8avhnqm893tufaxg0f2n9pvcpwl8gl6nk08u9fqxxc3xddcqzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xxzm7xp In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqswyxqfyl3refwhxxwuaprmfaq03vqzeul3suahdu07xasc33rq9cq2a3e2t'>nevent1q…3e2t</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>(those are very old numbers, btw. Prolly double now.)<br/><br/>At each step, about 50% attrition.<br/>(This is why press releases finding something active #InMice is so silly.)<br/><br/>So it COSTS $620 million to find a new drug if everything works.<br/><br/>How much do pharma companies actually SPEND to find a new drug?<br/>(So include failure costs)<br/><br/>Turns out about $8B per drug.<br/>(Reported R&amp;D costs per new drug approval) 2025-01-05T17:22:23Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqswyxqfyl3refwhxxwuaprmfaq03vqzeul3suahdu07xasc33rq9cqzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x7xfg0n In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsr2neu26y52qm0w3rf7aqvt3epn2jw4qcrumfctkscq4sydvxk0dqmcvugc'>nevent1q…vugc</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Former medicinal chemist here.<br/><br/>Developing drugs is really hard. We have a 96% failure rate. <br/><br/>Here is some math.<br/>Assume $300K FTE rate per scientist.<br/><br/>Find a preclinical candidate: $15M<br/>Tox testing: $5M<br/><br/>Phase 1 clinical trials (safety in healthy subjects - is it safe?): $50M<br/><br/>Phase 2 clinical trails (efficacy in diseased subjects - does it work?): $250M<br/><br/>Phase 3 clinical trials (liability): $300M<br/><br/>Total: $620M if everything works.<br/><br/>But, 96% failure rate. 2025-01-05T17:16:38Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqstvngz0c4w2azdr63lac6j9f266w2hztxdcysn9tjp33l5l77yjcqzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x5auyr5 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs0hxusyrea7kp8k4uvaesfq8tnxk7y9qh2qwgqggujm9wes9tkxeglum9d8'>nevent1q…m9d8</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>haha! Perfect timing! I just switched my field compass&#39; declination offset just yesterday!<br/><br/>Here is a handy calculator from NOAA where you can enter the target lat lon (for a future field expedition) and get the declination offset:<br/><a href="https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/calculators/mobileDeclination.shtml#WMM">https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/calculators/mobileDeclination.shtml#WMM</a> 2024-12-23T00:51:54Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsfvn5wunn75a0rh64jsw52s52wnan5fest45lzy5mq9dp4azafg0qzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xg8mz5y Picnic Point County Park, Snohomish County, Washington.<br/><br/>#SalishSea<br/><br/>#SilentSundays<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/113/619/882/609/347/835/original/9254c54d994dbd89.jpg"> <br/> 2024-12-08T23:53:33Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs2ptd464qeklvyf9enrwm7tcvgxs62vrqpujmfwc7se7a7uve0swqzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xffsykt #SilentSunday<br/><br/>Orange County, North Carolina.<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/113/341/361/215/397/732/original/9f4db8c29e9b9841.jpg"> <br/> 2024-10-20T19:20:51Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsfjk0fmyevj988xw5c7ds0dentwdxph9ehggy5902shjfty97l6tszyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xv83edc In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs9yxpcgexaxkp5nfre5xhs7lqsqf6d44g0hw2x7au3geund8emx4stwjaqv'>nevent1q…jaqv</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>All these ideas are described in: Waite et al (2024) &#34;MASPEX-Europa: The Europa Clipper Neutral Gas Mass Specteometer Investigation.&#34; Space Science Reviews 220:30.<br/><br/>Open access (free!!!!) here: <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-024-01061-6">https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-024-01061-6</a><br/>(Heads up its 126 pages long.)<br/><br/>Specifically, ceck out Europa MASPRX Science Objective 3: &#34;Search for potential biosignatures in the Europs enviroment.&#34;<br/><br/>Good hunting! 2024-10-15T02:04:29Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs9yxpcgexaxkp5nfre5xhs7lqsqf6d44g0hw2x7au3geund8emx4szyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x5vmwzg In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsx55fyrcne755633p0qdatxulvsd8ul0g30j0fcv5kxvlwy508l3q577ycw'>nevent1q…7ycw</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Some fatty acids (lawyer warning here: &#34;this only applies to satutated linear (unbranched) fatty acids in certain life forms on Earth.&#34;) have a 2C homologation pattern because of how they were built up by enzymes. (Fatty Acid Synthesis - FAS pathway. Although there is another pathway at high pressures.)<br/><br/>That might give a pattern in.the MS that could be considered a biosignature - a hint of something exciting. 2024-10-15T02:01:50Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsx55fyrcne755633p0qdatxulvsd8ul0g30j0fcv5kxvlwy508l3qzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x42ss26 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsyrp6m5fh3nrfrqj947wkw7jdj60lp2c6ll6mvq68zj7l7c85yw4gzjyy9k'>nevent1q…yy9k</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Other clues are that a few different pieces get assembled up into bigger things. When amino acids get assembled up they become proteins and enzymes. Assembled up, nucleotide bases become DNA and RNA.<br/><br/>Some small structures (CH2CH2) and isoprenyl get built up into membrane molecules. (I like membrane molecules.)<br/><br/>When you smack them with an MS. You see these repeating breakdown chunks as the links sometimes fall apart because the links and connectors are weaker. 2024-10-15T01:55:39Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsyrp6m5fh3nrfrqj947wkw7jdj60lp2c6ll6mvq68zj7l7c85yw4gzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xysc4xy In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqstkg47nxexqd3xqn08e0t2zrrvuauqx9k52hukj79n93zyrxfm80qk6va4e'>nevent1q…va4e</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>One clue, is that there are many many possible structural isomers for a molecule of a given size. Abiotic chemistry makes a (sorta) random mess.<br/><br/>In contrast, biology uses molecular things. So you might see a few key molecules, but lots of them. Lower diversity.<br/><br/>As an example, go into a forest after a windstorm, wood of all sorts of lengths lying everywhere. But go into a lumberyard, and sizes and lengths are pretty standard: 8ft, and 12 ft.<br/><br/>Standardized stuff makes building things easier. 2024-10-15T01:50:58Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqstkg47nxexqd3xqn08e0t2zrrvuauqx9k52hukj79n93zyrxfm80qzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x2255us Europa Clipper is a mission to chatacterize the &#34;habitability&#34; of Europa. That is its goal. The team has been very very careful to not claim that it is looking for life. It is effectively being pitched as an early precursor #OceanWorld #astrobiology mission.<br/><br/>But...if life were there and evidence was detected by the spacecraft, what instruments might give the hint of a biosignature?<br/><br/>That might be the mass spectrometer MASPEX.<br/><br/>What could it detect? 2024-10-15T01:44:24Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsylxnpxcdgh5tjn3pydg2r2ydyy4qeqhf56zdu2fhjvnngk5lypqqzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x57cvqc Europa Clipper unfolded its solar panels!<br/><br/><a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/europaclipper/2024/10/14/solar-arrays-on-nasas-europa-clipper-fully-deployed-in-space/">https://blogs.nasa.gov/europaclipper/2024/10/14/solar-arrays-on-nasas-europa-clipper-fully-deployed-in-space/</a> 2024-10-14T20:16:40Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsp70j7td3026gqztfn9fvf63e86vcdzp0lgv6hkff74mfer3r4zqczyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xdhpz66 Europa Clipper launch live stream:<br/><a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/lQToTWKwtuw?si=hIJiB7ZE7j5hxFTE">https://www.youtube.com/live/lQToTWKwtuw?si=hIJiB7ZE7j5hxFTE</a><br/><br/>Launch at 12:06 EDT. Less than 1 h!<br/><br/>Everything looks good now! 2024-10-14T15:08:35Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsyleqtweylqjpnthyugx6tfzkl3fy2lqadpwulp050ef3aqlew0egzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x6js7ke In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqs27ufle9tkatce99ey5agrwjarcjzlptxcr7vudggdwu4ug37rakqdfh2yr'>nevent1q…h2yr</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>(Read last sentence in &#39;Shigella-classification&#39; section in the Wikipedia entry)<br/><br/><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigella">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigella</a> 2024-10-05T20:57:01Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs27ufle9tkatce99ey5agrwjarcjzlptxcr7vudggdwu4ug37rakqzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x6fn3l7 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsgex9g6sx3lz3m8xyg6hkmkly4a5ucerpf9kpyzj3r70ekgd8jklcxx4z8q'>nevent1q…4z8q</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>Also &#34;taxon in disguise&#34; where they figure out later that things fit together differently.<br/><br/>A great example is genus Shigella (one species causes dysentery. Very bad.). Turns out...the whole genus is (are?) just strains of E coli. So it should be be reclassified.<br/><br/>But there is so much negative publicity (the dysentery thing), that it would be dangerously confusing to reclassify it.<br/><br/>So it remains as a neat factoid for those &#34;in the know.&#34; 2024-10-05T20:54:18Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs22h0ev4jffr4pr03watr34zudr09uvrznq6yx00nrykhdrp98wtgzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xdnfcq2 Geological Society of America pre-conference field trip thread!<br/><br/>Ever wonder what a GSA preconference #geology field trip is like? Want to see some of the geological wonders of Southern California?<br/><br/>As one of the optional field trips for #GSAConnects2024, our trip went to Anza Borrego/Salton Sea area and was designed to highlight key geoscience educational areas along the way. <br/><br/>The goal was to share techniques for teaching and explaining geoscience concepts to students and the public.<br/><br/>[1/15]<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/113/217/556/635/778/181/original/62e464f9100bc4ff.jpg"> <br/> 2024-09-28T22:37:48Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs99fxnynmm2rkkxc7qupe7ljeg0836hydxelmma6uwpmz8a0rnxrczyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xlyazar Ever wonder if there are analogs for Saturn&#39;s moon Titan in Death Valley? Would you like to try a clickable map choose-your-own-adventure-style StoryMap?<br/><br/>I got you. Right here:<br/><br/><a href="https://uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/309aee613c9ca5466ff4084b009c1549/analogs-of-saturn-s-moon-titan-in-death-valley-national-park-draft0/index.html">https://uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/309aee613c9ca5466ff4084b009c1549/analogs-of-saturn-s-moon-titan-in-death-valley-national-park-draft0/index.html</a> 2024-09-01T02:19:00Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqs2pvderr98tmv7cxvkryy23ya3ydul4y9fj4pdhqydmkxq6ha03qgzyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x3zw4ha Heya #mapstodon ,<br/><br/>Has anyone used StoryMap JS?<br/><br/>Reccomend? Any good tutorials or tips? 2024-08-31T15:24:11Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsq5y5efdwujv2736seu2mjw8ajp95qndvwnpsva6d94rvfqvsckgszyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573x7qdp0u I just captured a one-in-a-million image.<br/>In the woods just off our front deck.<br/><br/>I think it wants me to go with it to Narnia.<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/112/962/755/219/091/509/original/a632d06d2220117e.jpg"> <br/> 2024-08-14T22:35:41Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsy30xj2pqxjl88lm4u446n6y8attuxnaytuuc0ln8nvh7anjyze9czyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xkzj2f9 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsxwpnsnuww4nvlz8rh7yegx58f5nx84hg35snxfdgnvjwyjm0vpwqar289a'>nevent1q…289a</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>No complex life without oxygen?<br/><br/>&lt;Loricifera has entered the chat&gt;<br/><br/><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loricifera">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loricifera</a> 2024-08-12T15:45:36Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsdypq8jy7hwvadz57jjmgh68thttelu7c978wc5vvm0xqzc3yghsczyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xstm4e3 Blackwood Farm Park, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.<br/><br/>#SilentSunday<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/112/866/084/630/834/215/original/61da7ec1fcc2d761.jpg"> <br/> 2024-07-28T20:53:02Z https://yabu.me/nevent1qqsqw30seftxp0h5n3xj37wda7td0m6nds2rcdtg0skpwwxfqdkzeeczyp3lvlr07fyskctya8nr9d4typjy9d8esh9u4fyuwjetaac9k573xsrgw67 In reply to <a href='/nevent1qqsrrxwyvfaahhuje57ke4ew9awzu4pjdggm58lg3y52kxj989y5gjqa0q6va'>nevent1q…q6va</a><br/>_________________________<br/><br/>I let my lettuce bolt last year. Chopped it in fall before I threw into compost tumbler. In early spring, I found volunteer little lettuce-lings at the three-leaf stage where I had chopped it up. Moved them to a bed and they did just fine. (Pretty sure it was Tropicana lettuce variety, btw.)<br/><br/>Big lesson: Let stuff bolt in summer/fall. Chop up in different areas just before putting into composr. Look for volunteers in those areas in very early spring.<br/> <img src="https://cdn.masto.host/deepspacesocial/media_attachments/files/112/626/739/027/141/074/original/ccf7f9b6d7591562.jpg"> <br/> 2024-06-16T14:27:16Z