Science Frontiers
The Unusual & Unexplained

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About Science Frontiers

Science Frontiers is the bimonthly newsletter providing digests of reports that describe scientific anomalies; that is, those observations and facts that challenge prevailing scientific paradigms. Over 2000 Science Frontiers digests have been published since 1976.

These 2,000+ digests represent only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The Sourcebook Project, which publishes Science Frontiers, also publishes the Catalog of Anomalies, which delves far more deeply into anomalistics and now extends to sixteen volumes, and covers dozens of disciplines.

Over 14,000 volumes of science journals, including all issues of Nature and Science have been examined for reports on anomalies. In this context, the newsletter Science Frontiers is the appetizer and the Catalog of Anomalies is the main course.


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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 120: Nov-Dec 1998 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Gaia as a super-superorganism The Gaia hypothesis states that the earth's environment is maintained suitable for life by life itself. Our climate, atmospheric oxygen level, ocean composition, and similar vital conditions are kept livable by life's waste products, such as the oxygen emissions of plants. That something like Gaia is required is seen in the extreme disequilibrium of the earth's atmosphere compared to the near-equilibrium of the atmospheres of apparently lifeless Venus and Mars. For example, our atmosphere's 21% oxygen, a highly reactive gas, is many orders of magnitude higher than one would expect on a lifeless planet. Furthermore, life-friendly conditions have been maintained for billions of years despite large changes in the sun's output and the traumas of asteroid impacts. T.M . Lenton, writing in Nature, asks a salient question: How has planetary self-regulation (Gaia) been established and maintained by evolution and natural selection which operate on the level of individuals? In other words, evolution tells us that organisms should evolve so as to leave the most progeny not so as to regulate the atmosphere. Lenton answers that there must be feedback loops from the planetary environment that steer the evolution of individuals in the "proper" direction. Lenton goes on to explore some of these many feedback mechanisms; one obscure loop involves the production of dimethyl sulfide by marine phytoplankton. Truly, it ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 48: Nov-Dec 1986 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Geophysiology The concept of the earth-as-an-organism -- the so-called Gaia hypothesis -- keeps popping up. We now have an excellent progress report on current Gaia research; e.g ., the Daisyworld model; by J.E . Lovelock. He defines Gaia in an early paragraph: "In the early 1970s, Lynn Margulis and I introduced the Gaia hypothesis. It postulated the earth to be a self-regulating system comprising the biota and their environment, with the capacity to maintain the climate and the chemical composition at a steady state favorable for life." L. Margulis is an author of Micro-Cosmos and a champion of evolution-via-endosymbiosis; that is, diverse organisms uniting to create new species. Going back to Lovelock's review, there is little that is anomalous on a small scale. Of course, on a large-scale, the data supporting the concept of life-as-a -whole manipulating the atmosphere, oceans, etc., to perpetuate and perhaps improve itself are highly anomalous, because the Gaia hypothesis is far out of the scientific mainstream. (Lovelock, James E.; "Geophysiology," American Meteorological Society, Bulletin, 67:392, 1986.) Comment. Our secret purpose here is to use the Lovelock article as an excuse to out-Gaia Gaia! Lovelock's article plus those preceding on ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 52: Jul-Aug 1987 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Small Icy Comets And Cosmic Gaia L.A . Frank and his associates at the University of Iowa have speculated that the earth is continuously and copiously bombarded by small, icy comets. Not just a few now and then, but a steady rain so intense that over geological time some major geological consequences must ensue. (See SF#44.) Some observers commented that surely these scientists have thrown away their careers by suggesting something so ridiculous. But the data are there -- in the form of dark spots on satellite images of the earth's dayglow -- and late results continue to support this far-out interpretation, ridiculous or not. "The mass of these objects is estimated at about 108 gm each, and the total flux is about 107 small comets per year. If this flux is representative of the average flux over geologic time, then the water influx is sufficient to fill the Earth's oceans. The fluxes of these objects are also large for all the planets outside the orbit of Earth. Considerations of thermal stability imply that the fluxes of comets that impact Venus are considerably less. The outer giant planets may be significantly heated relative to solar insolation by the small-comet impacts. For example, the total energy input due both to solar insolation and comet impacts may be similar for Uranus and Neptune. Thus it is possible that the temperatures of these two planets are similar, even though ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 74: Mar-Apr 1991 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Gaia on mars?H.L . Helfer, University of Rochester, noting the absence of extensive cratering on the northern plains of Mars, suggests that some 2-3 .5 billion years ago these plains were covered with oceans. These ancient seas, perhaps as much as 700 meters deep, protected the plains from direct impacts. Further, crater density counts for Chryse and the Martian highlands imply that Mars possessed a fairly dense atmosphere until about 1.5 billion years ago. In his Abstract Helfer speculates as follows: "With both early Earth and early Mars having similar atmospheric compositions and not too dissimilar atmospheric structures, it is reasonable to suppose that the warm Martian oceans, like the ancient oceans of Earth, would develop anerobic and aerobic photosynthesizing prokaryotes and structures like stromatolites. Their development might have changed the Martian atmosphere. Their fossils might be found along the fringes of the old oceans, the northern lowland plains." (Helfer, H.L .; "Of Martian Atmospheres, Oceans, and Fossils," Icarus, 87:228, 1990.) Comment. The Gaia influence is seen in the molding of the Martian atmosphere into something more conducive to the development of life. One can also speculate that, if life did develop on Mars, it could have seeded the earth via bits of debris blasted off by meteorite impacts. Several meteorites picked up in Antarctica are thought to have come from Mars ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 61: Jan-Feb 1989 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Gaia At Work Under The Hudson "Oxygen-starved bacteria working in sediment beneath the Hudson River are transforming toxic PCB compounds into less dangerous forms, raising hopes of a significant easing of a major PCB cleanup problem nationwide," researchers said yesterday. "The resulting types of PCBs do not accumulate in living tissue, a government scientist said." Researchers at the University of Michigan stated that it appeared that these bacteria had evolved specifically to attack PCBs. (Anonymous; "Hudson Bacteria Transform PCBs into Safer Forms," Baltimore Sun, November 4, 1988.) Comment. Thus does Gaia act so as to protect humanity from its own mistakes! From Science Frontiers #61, JAN-FEB 1989 . 1989-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... . Davies implies that such action can be "creative," almost as if they possessed free will! His final example is that of the network with large numbers of interacting sites or nodes. With random inputs, large networks do exhibit self-organization. Network theory is now very popular in the field of artificial intelligence. (Remember the computer Hal in 2001?) Davies's conclusion: ". .. Neo-Darwinism, combined with the mathematical principles emerging from network theory and related topics, will, I am convinced, explain the 'miracle' of life satisfactorily." (Davies, Paul; "The Creative Cosmos," New Scientist, p. 41, December 17, 1987.) The superorganism. One week later, O. Sattaur expanded on the Gaia concept. He quotes J. Lovelock's definition: ". .. the physical and chemical condition of the surface of the Earth, of the atmosphere and of the oceans has been, and is, actively made fit and comfortable by the presence of life itself...in contrast to the conventional wisdom which held that life adapted to planetary conditions as it, and they, evolved their separate ways." Mainstream science has shown scant love for the Gaia concept, probably because of its holistic nature. The idea of the earth being greater than the sum of its organic and inorganic parts -- a superorganism -- is foreign to reductionistic science. In Gaia, our planet is a giant, self-regulating entity, something larger than and independent of humanity. Is ...
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... inside the protozoa and other bacteria forming ecosystems of several symbiotic levels within each termite. Each termite itself is part of a complex social "superorganism," the termite colony. That termites had bugs in-side them has long been known; but the new-found complexity and interdependency of life systems within life systems is remarkable. The researchers believe that the life forms inside the termite work together to create the uniform internal environment needed by all inhabitants, just as the termites themselves cooperate to maintain a favorable environment inside their hill. (Anonymous; "And Littler Bugs Inside 'Em," Scientific American, 246:78, February 1982.) The termites, though, are only part of a much larger ecosystem, the earth itself. J.E . Lovelock, in his Gaia, A New Look at Life On Earth, has observed that our planet's environment has actually changed little down the eons despite solar variations. Lovelock's hypo thesis is that all terrestrial life -- animals, plants, termites, etc -- work sym biotically to maintain planetary temperatures, atmospheric constituents, etc., conducive to life, just like the termite's internal residents on a much smaller scale. The Gaia concept was restated by R.A . de Bie in a letter to Nature about the possibility of life in outer space. He observes that terrestrial life, according to Gaia-thought, will naturally develop a species that can carry life off the planet to new and safer environs. Humankind, of course, is the first attempt we know of ...
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... ) Mars may be suitable for plants. If there was a mechanism for sequestering the reduced carbon, these plants could slowly transform the CO2 to produce an O2-rich atmosphere in perhaps 100,000 years. If sufficient N2 could also be released from putative soil deposits, and the CO2 level kept low enough, then a human- breathable atmosphere could be produced. (McKay, Christopher P., et al; "Making Mars Habitable," Nature, 352:489, 1991.) Comment. There is more to terraforming, but you get the idea from the above quote. Now. J. Lovelock and others have speculated that our earth is much like a living orgaism that, with the help of the biosphere, maintains conditions suitable for life; that is, the Gaia concept. Terraformers of Mars would some-how have to induce Gaia to emigrate to Mars to regulate things there. Or, since we are on a science-fiction kick, could it be that the earth itself was intentionally "terraformed" in the distant past and Gaia installed for our benefit -- or even someone else's benefit? From Science Frontiers #78, NOV-DEC 1991 . 1991-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 121: Jan-Feb 1999 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Is intelligence a deadly pathogen?A recent letter in Nature reinforces our comment in SF#120 concerning the threat humans pose to the workings of Gaia. (The Gaia Hypothesis asserts that the biosphere acts in ways that maintain environmental conditions favorable to the existence of life.) In his letter, A. Longhurst wonders whether the earth's biosphere acting as a whole -- Gaiafashion -- may have erred in creating an environment conducive to the evolution of intelligence. It is is not clear, he says, that the sentient part of the biosphere (meaning "us") can develop enough self-control to reverse global warming, pollution, etc. He concludes as follows: "In short, is intelligence a pathogen to which the biosphere can adjust, or is it terminal? Perhaps it is as well that we cannot yet observe other habitable planets, to discover what became of their sentient life." (Longhurst, Alan; "Too Intelligent for Our Own Good," Nature, 395:9 , 1998.) From Science Frontiers #121, JAN-FEB 1999 . 1999-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 66: Nov-Dec 1989 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Biogenic Minerals We generally think of minerals as having been formed by purely inorganic processes. Only once, on p.000. where biogenic stalactites were described, have we persued the idea that minerals, including crystal forms, might be biogenic. We now have at hand a survey of biogenic minerals. It turns out that biogenic minerals are quite common - so common, in fact, that the Gaia concept is recalled, in which biological processes preside over much that happens upon this planet. Here follows a sampler of some biogenic minerals: Much, if not all, travertine (calcite and/or aragonite) and silicious sinter (opal) are deposited through algal action. Much pyrite and marcasite in sedimentary rocks comes from bacterial sulfate reduction. Bacterial breakdown of oil produces organic complexes that dissolve, transport, and precipitate quartz. The reknowned Herkimer "diamonds" may be of biological origin. Living cells synthesize isometric crystals of magnetite. Mitochondria manufacture crystals of hydroxylapatite. Better known are the apatite in bones and teeth and the aragonite, calcite, or fluorite in the vestibular systems of vertebrates. (Dietrich, R.V ., and Chamberlain, Steven C.; "Are Cultured Pearls Mineral?" Rocks and Minerals , 64:386, September/October 1989. Cr. R. Calais) From Science Frontiers #66, NOV-DEC 1989 . 1989-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 120: Nov-Dec 1998 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology The pigeon-snaring mounds of tonga Pyramid stones not "cementitious" Where did they come from? Astronomy Bye-bye mercury, and maybe mars The force is with them Biology Why some like it hot Dog doctors Acoustical "vision" underwater Gaia as a super-superorganism Geology Spod logs Miles of floating forest Geophysics Bouncing ball lightning A BRIGHT FLYING OBJECT AND ANOTHER ENIGMATIC CRATER Psychology Are ufo abductions akin to ndes? Precognitive dreams Physics More quantum weirdness Mathematics The first digit phenomenon ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 61: Jan-Feb 1989 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology Interproximal grooving of teeth A MAMMOTH FRAUD IN SCIENCE Astronomy Celestial burlesque? Biology Gaia at work under the hudson Celestial crucible Celestial influences Egg mimicry in cuckoos Synchronous rhythmic flashing of fireflies Are you saturated with discussions about the "infinite dilution" Geology Terrestrial maria? Chaos below Geophysics Expanding ball of light (ebl) phenomenon Unusual gust of wind Sodium surges over illinois Psychology Remote, extrasensory description of mineral samples General Spooky stats in maryland A TRULY FORTEAN HOUSE ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 74: Mar-Apr 1991 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology A GOLDEN CALENDAR FOR USE AT STONEHENGE? DID THE PHARAOHS CHEAT WITH CONCRETE? Astronomy An unexplained event Gaia on mars? SOLAR ECLIPSE AFFECTS A PENDULUM -- AGAIN! Biology Eel oddities Echidna eccentricities Searching for monster sharks WHEN IDENTICAL TWINS ARE NOT IDENTICAL Geology 'TERMITE BANDS' IN SOUTH AFRICA THE MECHANICAL PARADOX IN THRUST FAULTING Geophysics NEWTONIAN GRAVITY MAY HAVE BROKEN DOWN IN GREENLAND 50-POUND 'ICE BOMB' FALLS IN WEST VIRGINIA EARTHQUAKE LIGHTS OBSERVED IN CANADA Psychology Predictive psi Maths & Logic Pi surprise Physics Repent! the phase change is coming! Cold fusion update ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 122: Mar-Apr 1999 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects A Few Potential Ehes R.A . White, Founder/Director of the Exceptional Human Experience Network (EHEN), has spread out a fascinating smorgasbord of some 200 potential EHEs. We have room for only a quick snack: Accelerating thinking Aesthetic experience Conversion Ecstasy Enlightenment Gaia consciousness Guru/holy-person encounter Hyperacuity Inspiration Intuition Lucid dreaming Lucky hunches Meaningful coincidences Peace beyond understanding Peak performance Serendipity Soulmate experience Synchronicity World-Wide Web experience (White, Rhea A.; "List of Potential Exceptional Human Experiences," Exceptional Human Experience , 15:41, no. 1, June 1997.) Comment. Hard-core reductionists may complain that the listed experiences are "fuzzy." But are they fuzzier than those "ghost universes" or the newly predicted "sterile" neutrinos? From Science Frontiers #122, MAR-APR 1999 . 1999-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... article stimulating this discussion worries about new aquaculture practices, especially in Asia (the so-called Blue Revolution), in which duck and pig manure is dumped into fish ponds as fertilizer. The dense concentration of humans, ducks, and pits threatens to be a factory for constructing new strains of flu. (Scholtissek, Christoph, and Naylor, Ernest; "Fish Farming and Influenza Pandemics," Nature, 331:215, 1988.) Comment. Noting that the AIDS virus may have originated and still be mutating in African monkeys, and coupling this with the above discussion of flu, we can speculate a la Evolution from Space that terrestrial life itself is its own evolutionary engine! Going still another step further, we can wonder if life-as-a -whole (the Gaia concept) is not trying to check the burgeoning human population by biological warfare -- a check and balance arrangement. Isn't it amazing how much speculation a couple simple facts can engender? From Science Frontiers #56, MAR-APR 1988 . 1988-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... - a sign of prolific microbial life not long after the Earth's formation. Partial biological control of the terrestrial carbon cycle must have been established very early and was in full operation when the oldest sediments were formed." (Schidlowski, Manfred; "A 3,800-MillionYear Isotopic Record of Life from Carbon in Sedimentary Rocks," Nature, 333: 313, 1988.) Comment. Photosynthesis is not a simple biological process. To discover that it and life forms using it developed so quickly on the primitive earth is surprising. Did this complexity and "biological control" arise so quickly: (1 ) by chance; (2 ) by inoculation from extraterrestrial sources (See Astronomy above.); (3 ) by act of God; or (4 ) by Gaia in nascent form? (Note that Gaian overtones emanate from the "Biological control" phrase above.) From Science Frontiers #58, JUL-AUG 1988 . 1988-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... ) magnetic bacteria exist; (2 ) bacteria in general are exceedingly abundant; and (3 ) bacteria are found deep inside the earth's crust and, seemingly, just about anywhere one cares to look. Now, let's see how ridiculous one can get: Magnetic bacteria and/or their fossils contribute heavily to the magnetic properties of sedimentary rocks and unlithified sediments, such as deep-sea sediments. In fact, magnetostratigraphy and paleomagnetism in general may be based upon bioartifacts and be suspect. Magnetic bacteria and/or their fossils are present in such immense numbers deep in the crust that they contribute significantly to the earth's magnetic field. They "might" even be responsible for most of it, including its his torical behavior. Magnetic bacteria, as agents of Gaia, actually constructed the earth's magnetic field for the specific purpose of erecting a shield against space radiation, and thereby allowing the development of more complex life forms on the planet's surface. Imagine the consequences if any one of the above speculations is even close to the mark! From Science Frontiers #68, MAR-APR 1990 . 1990-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... originated on another planet and is not biologically adapted to space travel; (3 ) The reported behavior in thousands of abduction reports contradicts the hypothesis of genetic or scientific experimentation on humans by an advanced race; (4 ) The extension of the phenomenon throughout recorded history demonstrates that UFOs are not a contemporary phenomenon; and (5 ) The apparent ability of UFOs to manipulate space and time suggests radically different and richer alternatives." If not extraterrestrial hardware, what are the UFOs? Vallee has three suggestions: (1 ) they are "earth lights" a la P. Devereux; that is, an unappreciated terrestrial phenomenon that impresses mental images on the minds of observers; (2 ) They are artifacts of a "control system" operated by a nonhuman intelligence or, perhaps, a Gaia like manifestation of supernature (of which we are a tiny part) that is trying to modify our behavior; and (3 ) They are apparitions caused by entities ma nipulating space and time; viz,. time travellers from our own past and/or future. (Vallee, Jacques F.; "Five Arguments against the Extraterrestrial Origin of Unidentified Flying Objects," Journal of Scientific Exploration, 4:105, 1990.) From Science Frontiers #73, JAN-FEB 1991 . 1991-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... gas. In fact, methane hydrate deposits in the world's oceans hold twice as much carbon as all the coal, oil, and gas reserves on land! But methane hydrate may be much more than a future fuel source; it may have been humanity's savior in eons gone by; it may be our future nemesis. You see, methane hydrate is very unstable; changes of temperature or pressure on a global basis can trigger the release of immense volumes of this greenhouse gas from oceanic deposits. For example, when the Ice Ages lowered ocean levels by locking up water in the advancing ice caps, pressures on ocean-bottom methane hydrate lessened and, according to some speculators, released enough gas so that the increased greenhouse heating turned back the Ice Ages. (Was Gaia at work here?) On the other hand, if present human activities are truly stoking the greenhouse effect, ocean temperatures should rise, possibly destabilizing methane hydrate deposits and thereby aggravating the greenhouse effect. Such positive feedback could cook the biosphere. (Anonymous; "Did Methane Curb Ice Ages," New Scientist, p. 24, May 25, 1991. Also: Appenzeller, Tim; "Fire and Ice under the Deep-Sea Floor," Science, 252:1790, 1991.) Reference. Discussions of the origin of methane hydrate can be found in ESC5 in our catalog: Anomalies in Geology. For ordering information, visit: here . From Science Frontiers #77, SEP-OCT 1991 . 1991-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... at least something that, like wine, matures into something useful. (Simoneit, Bernd R.T ., and Lonsdale, Peter F.; "Hydrothermal Petroleum in Mineralized Mounds at the Seabed of Guayman Basin," Nature, 295:198, 1982.) Comment. The recently discovered hydrothermal vents are only the external manifestations of what must be extensive chemical factories beneath the crust. The rich assemblages of thermosynthetic life (not photosynthetic life) around the vents makes one speculate about what might be transpiring chemically and biologically in the hot, fluid-saturated crevices and pores of the earth's crust. Carbon dating of petroleum sometimes yields absurdly young ages. Could it be that all the natural gas and petroleum we could ever need is now being manufactured for us subterraneanly ? The Gaia hypothesis would lead us to expect just such a process. After all, humankind requires abundant fuel if it is to carry earth life out into the reaches of space! From Science Frontiers #20, MAR-APR 1982 . 1982-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Animals As Nutrient Carriers "It has long been recognized that the movement of grazing animals from one terrestrial ecosystem to another, feeding in one and defaecating in the other, may result in significant movement of certain [chemical] elements between them (i .e . the ecosystems). What has now been made evident, in work on the coral reefs of the Virgin Islands, is that a similar process takes place in aquatic ecosystems." Several examples, terrestrial and aquatic, follow this introductory paragraph of the referenced article. (Moore, Peter D.; "Animals As Nutrient Carriers," Nature, 305:763, 1983.) Comment. This process may emphasize the fine-tuning of the Gaia Hypothesis, in which life-as-a -whole operates in ways that make the planet-as-a -whole more productive of life. From Science Frontiers #32, MAR-APR 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... supposedly require a solid seed or nucleus around which ice can crystallize -- or so scientists have assumed for many years. It was long believed that airborne dust, perhaps augmented by extraterrestrial micrometeoroids, served as the necessary nuclei. But cloud studies prove that there are about a thousand times more ice crystals than dust nuclei. Now, some are convinced that bacteria blown off plants and flung into the air by ocean waves are the true nuclei of atmospheric ice crystals. Remember this the next time you tast a handful of snow! (Carey, John; "Crystallizing the Truth," National Wildlife, 23:43, December/ January 1985.) Comment. The possibility that the fall of snow and all other forms of precipitation is largely dependent upon bacter-ia brings to mind the Gaia Hypothesis; that is, all life forms work in unison to further the goals of life. The second item is from Nature and is naturally more technical. After reviewing the great difficulties scientists are having in mathematically describing the growth of even the simplest crystal, the author homes in on one of the fascinating puzzles of snowflake growth: "The aggregation of particles into a growing surface will be determined exclusively by local properties, among which surface tension and the opportunities for energetically advantageous migration will be impor tant. But the symmetry of a whole crystal, represented by the exquisite six-fold symmetry of the standard snowflake, must be the consequence of some cooperative phenomenon involving the growing crystal as a whole. What can that be? What can tell one growing face of a crystal (in ...
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... -- these are illusions. We live on a flowing pointillist landscape where each dot of paint is also alive. Earth itself is a living habitat, a merger of organisms that have come together, forming new emergent organisms, entirely new kinds of 'individuals' such as green hydras and luminous fish. Without a a life-support system none of us can survive. It is in this light that we are beginning to see the biosphere not only as a continual struggle favoring the most vicious organism but also as an endliess dance of diversifying life forms, where partners triumph." (Sagan, Dorion, and Margulis, Lynn; "Bacterial Bedfellows," Natural History, 96:26, March 1987.) Comment. One should observe that there is a strong connection between the Gaia concept of a living planet and the theory of symbiotic evolution. Strong philosophical statements are also inherent in this outlook on life and its development. For example, individuality and free will would seem to be denied. Also, can life forms be "vicious" and yet "cooperative" at the same time? From Science Frontiers #51, MAY-JUN 1987 . 1987-2000 William R. Corliss ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 52: Jul-Aug 1987 Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues Last Issue Next Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Contents Archaeology Costa rica's neglected stone spheres The calico debate, plus a little editorializing Astronomy Small icy comets and cosmic gaia Carbon in a new comet Meteorites also transport organic payloads Supernova confusion and mysteries "COMPACT STRUCTURES": WHAT NEXT? Biology Nose news Checklist of apparently unknown animals New vertebrate depth record Aggressive mimicry Parasites control snail behavior Geology Do large meteors/comets come in cycles? Complexities of the inner earth Geophysics Concentrated source of lightning in cloud More carolina waterguns More moodus sounds Inside a texas tornado Ship enveloped by false radar echo Psychology Dowsing skeptics converted Do dreams reflect a biological state? ...
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... , too, provides evidence of this traumatic event. Ocean-bottom cores reveal landslide debris that was probably triggered by the sudden decomposition of great masses of methane hydrate. Seismic probes of the ocean sediments reveal chaotic zones suggesting a violent event. (Kerr, Richard A.; "A Smoking Gun for an Ancient Methane Discharge," Science, 286:1465, 1999. Monastersky, R.; "Global Burp Gassed Ancient Earth," Science News, 156:260, 1999.) Philosophical observation. Just as natural fires of grasslands and forests eventually lead to vigorous new growth, it appears that methane (a natural product of the decomposition of organic material) also sweeps out old species and replaces them with new ones. No doubt this planetary cleansing is another ramification of the Gaia Hypothesis. Be advised that Gala still lives, and that huge, unstable, methane-hydrate deposits still lie buried under many continental shelves. From Science Frontiers #128, MAR-APR 2000 . 1997 William R. Corliss Other Sites of Interest SIS . Catastrophism, archaeoastronomy, ancient history, mythology and astronomy. Lobster . The journal of intelligence and political conspiracy (CIA, FBI, JFK, MI5, NSA, etc) Homeworking.com . Free resource for people thinking about working at home. ABC dating and personals . For people looking for relationships. Place your ad free. ...
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... which any number of products potentially can be derived. Whether it is engineered to reduce metals, produce drugs for ailing astronauts or simply manufacture the polymers necessary for the production of thread, D. radiodurans , one of the world's oldest bacteria, may provide a means of expanding the limits of human imagination beyond the written sci-fi page. (Slotnick, Rebecca Sloan; "Extremophilic Terraforming," American Scientist, 88: 124, 2000.) Comment. Perhaps D. radiodurans is the oldest bacterium on earth. Having arrived eons ago on a bit of cosmic debris. It quickly set up shop on what was then a planet hostile to complex life. Perhaps earth itself has been terraformed! Nature's plan is all so obvious, extremophiles first terraform planets and then Gaia sustains the conditions appropriate for complex life. But where did it all begin? From Science Frontiers #129, MAY-JUNE 2000 . 2000 William R. Corliss Other Sites of Interest SIS . Catastrophism, archaeoastronomy, ancient history, mythology and astronomy. Lobster . The journal of intelligence and political conspiracy (CIA, FBI, JFK, MI5, NSA, etc) Homeworking.com . Free resource for people thinking about working at home. ABC dating and personals . For people looking for relationships. Place your ad free. ...
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... this idea in his books?) D. Erwin and J. Valentine, of the University of California, are now pointing out how a whole colony of "hopeful monsters" might be created en masse by an attack of viruses carrying new genetic blueprints. (And remember how Richard Goldschmidt got the same treatment as Fred Hoyle for suggesting "hopeful monsters" decades ago? (Anonymous; "Gene-Swapping Breaks Barriers in Evolutionary Theory," New Scientist, p. 19, February 1985. Also see: National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings, 81:5482, 1984.) Comment. We don't want to get carried away, but it just may be that all life forms are interconnected informationwise by viruses, diseases, symbiotic relationships, and similar "channels." Gaia-wise, there could just be a single superorganism in the universe that is exploring and experimenting, and we are one of its experiments!. From Science Frontiers #39, MAY-JUN 1985 . 1985-2000 William R. Corliss ...
Terms matched: 1  -  Score: 13  -  15 May 2017  -  URL: /sf039/sf039p09.htm
... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 31: Jan-Feb 1984 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Early Life And Magnetism The tiny granules of magnetite found in magnetized sediments come in various crystalline forms. Inorganic magnetite precipitated from molten rock is octahedral, while the particles manufactured by bacteria are cubes, hexagonal prisms, or noncrystalline teardrops. The magnetite found in marine sediments appears to be organically formed -- at least the shapes of the particles are characteristic of bacterial manufacture. Apparently these industrious bacteria have been busy producing magnetite ever since "lowly" life forms appeared in the Precambrian. These facts pose at least four questions: How much of the earth's iron ore has been concentrated biologically and is there a connection with the Gaia Hypothesis? Is it possible that magnetic field reversals, now believed to be of purely geophysical origin, might be biological artifacts (that is, due to population and/ or species changes of magnetic bacteria)? If magnetic field reversals are of geophysical origin, how do the magnetic bacteria find their food sources during the long periods of near-zero field? Lab experiments prove that magnetic bacteria require free oxygen to secrete magnetite, but the Precambrian atmosphere and oceans were supposedly devoid of oxygen until 2.3 billion years ago. How did the magnetic bacteria prosper before then? (Simon, C.; "Tiniest Fossils May Record Magnetic Field," Science News, 124:308, 1983.) From Science Frontiers #31, JAN-FEB 1984 . 1984-2000 William R. ...
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... Science, 241:26, 1988.) Comment . This all sounds so reasonable that one must wonder why it is given space in Science Frontier. The reason is that we have a suspicion that it is all too easy, too simplistic. Could something more subtle be at work? After all, we really know next to nothing about the real workings of life-as-a -whole, its ups and downs. It is so easy to say that a group of organisms was done in by a temperature change or the fall of acid rain brought on by the impact of an asteroid. We always look for external forces, whereas the real cause of "crises" in the history of life may be intrinsic to life itself. With a tip of the hat to the Gaia hypothesis, let us think of life-as-a -whole as a most complex, interlinked system. What might be the dynamics of such a megasystem? From the mathematical point of view, many of the processes involved, as life copes with the environment, are doubtless nonlinear, which means that chaotic conditions may sometimes prevail. In fact, the graphs presented below could have been taken right out of a book on chaotic systems. Life's extinctions and explosions might have no connection to asteroids, Ice Ages, or global volcanism. If something as simple as a spherical pendulum can lapse into chaotic motion, life-as-a -whole should show occasional wild behavior, too. Take our planet's weather as another example. Idealists once thought that given enough ...
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... Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 111: May-Jun 1997 Issue Contents Other pages Home Page Science Frontiers Online All Issues This Issue Sourcebook Project Sourcebook Subjects Life On Different Scales In SF#110, we introduced the possibility of nannobacteria: life forms that are smaller than 0.4 micron, perhaps even as small as 0.01 micron. Nannobacteria are not completely accepted as bona fide organisms. However, electron microscopes are imaging "somethings" that are very tiny and ubiquitous. We now shift speculation to life forms much larger than blue whales or even that 2,000-meter-wide box huckleberry mentioned in SF#82/170. In fact, we will transcend even Gaia; that is, earth-asanorganism (SF#56/339); and ask whether entire universes might be alive in the sense that they are governed by natural selection, can transmit hereditary information, and adapt themselves to new situations. The evidence for such large-scale living systems or super-superorganisms is widely pooh-poohed by biologists because it does not meet their definition of life; i.e ., metabolism, reproduction, etc. But perhaps they are missing something by thinking too small. In this vein, M.G . Bjomerud has opined: ". .. there is no reason to expect that super-organisms would meet criteria based on observations of individual organisms. Isn't it time to consider the possibility that the boundary between life and non-life may be diffuse, non-stationary over time, and dependent on scale?" ...
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... Epileptic Seizures Correlated with the Moon BHH5 Disease Epidemics Correlated with Volcanic Eruptions BHH6 Anomalous Periodicities in Disease Epidemics BHH7 Anomalous Appearance and Propagation of Disease BHH8 Epilepsy and Rhythmic Phenomena [BHB7, PBH] BHH9 Health-Problem Synchronicities in Identical Twins BHH10 Extreme Longevity BHH11 Historical Changes in Average Longevity BHH12 Longevity Correlated with Brain Size in Hominid Evolution BHH13 Longevity Correlated with Lifeline Length BHH14 AIDS without Measurable HIV Antibodies BHH15 HIV-Infected Persons Who Do Not Develop AIDS BHH16 Anomalously Small Fractions of HIV-Infected T-Cells in AIDS BHH17 Anomalous Levels of HIV Antibodies in AIDS BHH18 Deliberately HIV-Infected Simians and Accidentally HIV-Infected Humans Who Do Not Develop AIDS BHH19 HIV-1 and HIV-2 Are Far Separated Genetically BHH20 Anomalous Demographics of AIDS BHH21 Possible Cofactors in AIDS BHH22 HIV, AIDS, and Gaia BHH23 Apparent Immortality of Cancer Cell BHH24 Subversive and Suicidal Properties of Cancer Cells BHH25 'Insidious" Properties of Cancer Metastases BHH26 Spontaneous Cancer Regressions BHH27 Bodily Potential Differences Correlated with Cancerous or Precancerous Conditions BHH28 Cancer Correlated with Date of Birth BHH29 Cancer Incidence Correlated with Appendix Removal BHH30 Cancer Remissions and Cures Correlated with Severe Infections BHH31 Anomalous Effect of Radon Exposure on Lung-Cancer Incidence BHH32 Father's Radiation Exposure Increases Cancer Incidence in His Children BHH33 Atavistic Nature of Cancer BHH34 The Ubiquity of Proto-Oncogenes BHH35 Cancer Incidence Correlated with Organism Complexity BHH36 Survival of Human Genetic Diseases Despite Natural Selection BHH37 Survival of Human Viral and Bacterial Diseases Puzzle of Human Motion Sickness Origin and Increase of Asthma Efficiacy of Homeopathy Pregnancy Increases Susceptibility to Malaria Cancer and the Extracellular Matrix Autism Correlated with Season of Birth Electrical Shocks ...
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... the human eye anomalous?] 297 pages, hardcover, $19.95, 40 illus., 3 indexes, 1993. 494 references, LC 91-68541, ISBN 0-915554-27-5 , 7x10. Biological Anomalies: Humans III: A Catalog of Biological Anomalies Sorry, Out of print Completing our trilogy on human anomalies, this volume focuses on four areas (1 ) the human fossil record; (2 ) biochemistry and genetics; (3 ) possible unrecognized living hominids; and (4 ) human interactions with other species and "entities " Typical subjects covered: Neanderthal demise * Giant skeletons * Tiny skeletons * Hominid gracilization * Sudden brain expansion * Human chimeras * Sasquatch / Bigfoot, Alma, Yeti, and others * Human-animal communication * Humanity and Gaia * Anomalous distribution of human lice Comments from reviews: "Some fascinating thinking om the frontiers of science", Borderlands. 212 pages, hardcover, $19.95, 44 illus., 3 indexes, 1994. 311 references, LC 91-68541. ISBN 0-915554-29-1 , 7x10. Biology Handbook For a full list of biology subjects, see here . Biological Anomalies: Mammals I: A Catalog of Biological Anomalies Sorry, Out of print The first three biology catalogs deal with human anomalies. Here, we attend to the "other" mammals, and two volumes will be required This, the first, parallels Humans I in focusing on external attributes (1 ) physical appearance; (2 ) behavior; and (3 ) talents and faculties. ...
Terms matched: 1  -  Score: 6  -  10 Oct 2021  -  URL: /sourcebk.htm

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