noted. 11/27/2011

• Miller–Urey experiment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  • Considered to be the classic experiment on the origin of life, it was conducted in 1952^[3] and published in 1953 by Stanley Miller and Harold Urey at the University of Chicago.

• Abiogenesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  • Other Ways To Think... - post by Gonzalo San Gil, PhD.

  • In natural science, abiogenesis (pronounced /ˌeɪbaɪ.ɵˈdʒɛnɨsɪs/ ay-by-oh-jen-ə-siss) or biopoesis is the study of how biological life arises from inorganic matter through natural processes, and the method by which life on Earth arose. Most amino acids, often called "the building blocks of life", can form via natural chemical reactions unrelated to life, as demonstrated in the Miller–Urey experiment and similar experiments that involved simulating some of the hypothetical conditions of the early Earth in a laboratory.^[1] In all living things, these amino acids are organized into proteins, and the construction of these proteins is mediated by nucleic acids, that are themselves synthesized through biochemical pathways catalysed by proteins. Which of these organic molecules first arose and how they formed the first life is the focus of abiogenesis.

     

• Pakistan demands US vacate suspected drone base - Yahoo! News

  • The Pakistani government has demanded the U.S. vacate an air base within 15 days that the CIA is suspected of using for unmanned drones.

    The government issued the demand Saturday after NATO helicopters and jet fighters allegedly attacked two Pakistan army posts along the Afghan border, killing 24 Pakistani soldiers.

• Senator Seeks Answers on X-Ray Body Scanners - ProPublica

  • In a letter [3] sent Wednesday to TSA administrator John Pistole, Senator Susan Collins of Maine said she was “disappointed” to hear the news, especially after the European Commission prohibited [4] such scanners because of concerns that the radiation emitted by the machines could lead to cancer.

     

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    In a second letter [5], Collins asked the TSA to place larger signs at checkpoints with X-ray scanners advising travelers, particularly pregnant women, about the radiation and the option of undergoing a pat-down instead. “I am disappointed that this simple precaution has not yet occurred,” the senator wrote.

  • The TSA uses two types of body scanners. An X-ray machine, also known as a backscatter, looks like two large blue boxes and emits extremely low levels of ionizing radiation, a form of energy which strips electrons from atoms and has been shown to cause cancer. The other machine, known as the millimeter-wave scanner, looks like a round phone booth and uses radio waves, which have not been linked to cancer.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.