Potential Building Block of Alien Life Spotted in Titan's Atmosphere. Saturn’s moon Titan is a world of contrast; both eerily familiar and strikingly alien. Its calm seas and enormous sand dunes might remind you of Earth, until you learn that what’s flowing across Titan’s surface is not water, but liquid hydrocarbons. Titan’s nitrogen- rich atmosphere seems to have some of the ingredients for biology, but any life forms evolved to thrive at temperatures of - 2. Fahrenheit would be practically unrecognizable. A new scientific paper supports the idea that life might exist on Titan, but that it would be nothing like life as we know it. After studying spectroscopic data collected by the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub millimeter Array (ALMA) in northern Chile, researchers are now reporting that Titan’s atmosphere is rife with vinyl cyanide, a molecule that could, in theory, form “cell- like” membranes under the moon’s unique environmental conditions.
In fact, based on the levels of vinyl cyanide present in Titan’s atmosphere, its seas could—in theory, we’re not saying there are aliens—be bubbling with tiny cell membranes, with concentrations similar to those of bacteria in Earth’s oceans. The membranes that enclose the cells of all living things here on Earth are made of phospholipids, molecules with long, non- polar (water- repelling) “tails” and polar (water- loving) heads. If you remember high school biology, you’ll know that phospholipids form a bi- layer, with the water- loving parts on the outside, and the water- repelling bits on the inside.
This structure allows membranes to bubble off tiny pockets of water from their surroundings, creating cells that house genetic material and support biochemical reactions. I find that possibility fascinating.”That’s all well and good for organisms evolved to thrive in the temperate, liquid water seas here on Earth, but the membranes our biology uses simply wouldn’t work in the cryogenic methane seas of Titan. Two years back, researchers at Cornell University used chemical models to attempt to answer that very question. Through those models, they produced a functional cell membrane that remained stable and flexible at incredibly low temperatures, using none other than C2. H3. CN, or vinyl cyanide.
They called their hypothetical alien cell an “azotosome.”“What makes vinyl cyanide potentially useful molecule for this is that it’s amphiphilic—it has a polar and a non polar end,” just like our membranes’ phospholipids, Maureen Palmer, a recent graduate of St. Olaf College and lead author on the new study, explained. Sure enough, they found compelling evidence that large amounts of vinyl cyanide are present in Titan’s atmosphere—mainly, at altitudes greater than 2. Tu Hai Aasman Mein Teri Yeh Zameen Hai Song Free Download. The research was published today in Scientific Reports. When I sent the paper to Jonathan Lunine, Cornell astronomer and co- author on the 2. Titan’s atmosphere.”Of course, life as we know it would be more likely to emerge in the vast seas on Titan’s surface than high up in the sky. But as Palmer and her colleagues point out, rainfall is constantly transporting organic compounds to Titan’s surface—and those could include vinyl cyanide.
Palmer agreed.“I’m hoping someone will do a study of trying to form the membranes in the lab, seeing if they’re actually able to form,” she said. Her co- authors are currently trying to better constrain the abundance and distribution of vinyl cyanide in Titan’s atmosphere—this first paper was just a rough look. They’re also searching for evidence of other biologically- relevant molecules on Titan.
Also this week, another team of scientists reported the detection of . Palmer is definitely rooting for a lander.“I love Titan,” Palmer said. It would be a totally different form of biochemistry, if there was life on Titan.
I find that possibility fascinating.”.
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The Microsoft Font That Has Scandalized Pakistan's First Family. Back in April, the family of Pakistan’s scandal- plagued prime minister landed in the crosshairs of an investigation relating to the leaked Panama Papers. This week, the team handling the investigation concluded that documents signed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s family were fraudulent due to the fact that they were purportedly from 2. Microsoft’s Calibri font, which wasn’t publicly released until 2. At a recent Hall of Fame news conference, a woman claiming to be Ex- Cowboys receiver Bob. Three of Sharif’s children, including his heir- apparent Maryam Sharif, were included in the data dump.
The documents showed that the children had offshore companies and assets that were not reported on the family’s financial disclosures. For two months, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) investigated the Sharif’s finances. Because of that tiny font choice, they concluded that some documents were falsified in an effort to hide income. Uncertainty remains, however, about whether the person who prepared the documents really could have had a copy of Calibri in 2. We know that the typeface was officially released to the public and became the default font for Microsoft Power. Point, Excel, Outlook, and Word. Pad in 2. 00. 7. But there’s some confusion about how available it was before that.
To opt out of personalized ads in this browser, your browser history must allow first-party and third-party cookies and you must have your browsing experience set to. In fact, based on the levels of vinyl cyanide present in Titan’s atmosphere, its seas could—in theory, we’re not saying there are aliens—be bubbling with tiny.
A Microsoft representative told Gizmodo that the company’s internal system showed the font was available in a pre- release form going all the way back to 2. We’ll update this post if and when we hear back. That information aligns with font consultant Thomas Phinney’s comments on the matter. Phinney claims that Calibri was first available “outside Microsoft in a Windows beta release on 9 August 2. When Phinney noticed that people were using his post about the font’s history as a source for the story involving the Sharif family, however, he added some clarification.
According to Microsoft’s website, version 1. Calibri was copyrighted in 2. Speaking to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, a representative of Lucas de Groot, the Dutch designer behind the font, expressed similar skepticism: Lucas started designing Calibri in 2. Microsoft not before March 2. Early Windows betas are intended for programmers and technology freaks to see what works and what doesn’t.. As the file size of such operating systems is huge, it would have been a serious effort to get.
De Groot himself later followed up with the site, pointedly asking, “Why would anyone use a completely unknown font for an official document in 2. All of this confusion has spilled over onto Calibri’s Wikipedia page (which had to shut down edits), but, ultimately, the dates may not matter. Amazing Super Mario World Music Download Free Mp3 here. The investigative team claims to have found “numerous” anomalies in the Sharif family’s records.
And, let’s be honest, what else are Panamanian shell companies used for? Whatever evidence the JIT ultimately brings against Sharif’s family, the font has been the juiciest detail, becoming a rallying cry of social media users using the hashtag #Fontgate. Before you start thinking Pakistani politics are so much different than our own, consider the fact that Sharif is in trouble because of his dumb kids and that those calling for his ouster are using a silly hashtag. Consider the fact that when the papers first leaked, Sharif called them fake news drummed up by people “targeting me and my family for their political aims.” Consider the fact that opposition leader Imran Khan said that this investigation shows Sharif has “lost all moral authority” and he should resign. Consider the fact that Sharif’s fellow leaders in government held a meeting and later “expressed complete confidence in the leadership of the prime minister.” Yeah. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s markets are reeling with uncertainty and its supreme court will have to decide whether a trial is warranted.