Alien Rainbow: Astrobiology Gets a New Spectrum of Life Signatures

An international collaboration by scientists has created a catalogue of signatures of life that astrobiologists could use to hunt for signs of habitation throughout the cosmos.

The signatures all come from simple organisms found on Earth that could have analogues elsewhere in space.

Lisa Kaltenegger from Cornell University’s Institute for Pale Blue Dots said, “This database gives us the first glimpse at what diverse worlds out there could look like. We looked at a broad set of life forms, including some from the most extreme parts of Earth.”

The NASA Ames Research Center was heavily involved in the project, which has been described in a paper entitled “Surface Biosignatures of Exo-Earths: Remote Detection of Extraterrestrial Life.”

If any of the organisms included in the database were dominant on another world, their pigmentations in the atmosphere could be used to identify those worlds as having life, as well as to identify what kind of life it might be.

As it is explained in the paper, “Much of the history of life on Earth has been dominated by microbial life. It is likely that life on exoplanets evolves through single-celled stages prior to multicellular creatures. Here, we present the first database for a diverse range of life — including extremophiles (organisms living in extreme conditions) found in the most inhospitable environments on Earth — for such surface features in preparation for the next generation of telescopes that will search for a wide variety of life on exoplanets.”

The amazing array of life signatures that could be remote-detected on exoplanets spans 137 cellular organisms and can be found here: http://biosignatures.astro.cornell.edu

It is hoped that the catalogue of organisms, which includes extremophiles from some of Earth’s harshest environments, could be useful in the search for extraterrestrial life, and that it could help to answer the question that has been with humanity since we first gazed at the stars and wondered, “Are we alone?” Image credit and original press release: https://cornell.box.com/exoearths

The Plight of the Orangutan: Great Apes Heading Toward Extinction

There are two species of orangutan and both are endangered. The Sumatran orangutan Pongo abelii is the most critically endangered of the two, and is given the status 'Critically Endangered' by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The other orangutan species, the Bornean orangutan Pongo pygmaeus, is slightly less endangered, but is nonetheless considered 'Endangered' by the IUCN.

Since the two species belong to two distinct districts, namely Sumatra and Borneo, this article will deal with the issues impacting on their well-being separately.

The Sumatran orangutan lives in the forests of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. They rarely travel on the ground and are almost entirely arboreal. They eat fruit, leaves, and insects, and occasionally meat. Over the last 75 years there has been an 80% decline in their numbers, leading to their classification as 'Critically Endangered'.

The last reliable estimate of their numbers was given as 7,300; however, this was taken from data collected prior to the 2004 tsunami, an event which has placed considerable pressure on the logging industry, which is a major driver of arboreal habitat loss on the island.

Other threats to the Sumatran orangutan include changes in land cover from forest to agricultural land and palm oil estates, habitat fragmentation by roads (including a proposed new road network), and they are occasionally hunted for food by humans.

The Bornean orangutan shares much of the ecological traits of its Sumatran cousin. The pressures on its existence are also similar, and include habitat loss through land conversion and logging (both legal and illegal), as well as fires, hunting, and the pet trade. There has been a 50% in decline of the Borneo orangutan's numbers over the last 60 years: a worrying trend with a frightening logical conclusion.


Orangutans are extremely intelligent, forming complex social relationships and networks, and there is evidence of both tool-use (for example, for insect-and seed-extraction) and linguistic capabilities (such as the use of signs) among them. Studies into orangutan tool-use have suggested that there is a cultural element to their use, such as the employment of leaves to amplify sounds made with the lips.

Efforts to protect both species of orangutan have so far focused on legislation: they are protected under both Malaysian and Indonesian law. In Sumatra, the Leuser Ecosystem conservation area supports around 75% of the remaining population of orangutans, while in Borneo there is a network of protected forests, although here, the majority of the population exists outside of these areas. However, despite current efforts to conserve them, both species of orangutan remain in decline, and if the trends of their dwindling numbers continue, they face extinction.

If you want to get involved with their conservation, there are many organisations working to protect the orangutan, with some of the largest being the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, the Orangutan Conservancy, and the Orangutan Land Trust.



This article was written in memory of Sir Terry Pratchett.



Image credits: WWF and Wikimedia.

Rest in Peace, Terry Pratchett

"I PREFER AU REVOIR"

Stolen Oceans: Mars Lost its Water to Space

A new paper published by the journal Science has mapped out just how much water Mars lost from its early atmosphere.

About half of the red planet's northern hemisphere would have been cloaked in an ocean around 4 billion years ago, according to Geronimo Villanueva from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Lead author of the paper, Villanueva stated in a press release for ESO:

“Our study provides a solid estimate of how much water Mars once had, by determining how much water was lost to space. With this work, we can better understand the history of water on Mars.” 

Two different forms of water were studied using ESO's imaginatively named Very Large Telescope and a number of other instruments: our familiar water (H₂O) and semi-heavy water (HDO). By examining the ratio between these two types of water over a period of 6 Earth years, the team was able to calculate exactly how much water may have been lost from Mars' surface.

The conclusion? About the same amount that's in the Earth's Arctic Ocean.

Second author on the paper, Michael Mumma, said, “With Mars losing that much water, the planet was very likely wet for a longer period of time than previously thought, suggesting the planet might have been habitable for longer.”

Indeed, the lost ocean on Mars would have covered more of the red planet's surface (19%) than our own Atlantic Ocean does of Earth's (17%).

The finding underlines just how far modern astronomical technology has come. Co-author Ulli Kaeufl illustrated this, saying, "I am again overwhelmed by how much power there is in remote sensing on other planets using astronomical telescopes: we found an ancient ocean more than 100 million kilometres away!"

The study has major implications for astrobiologists; a more habitable ancient Mars means that there is an increased likelihood that we will find evidence of life on our neighbouring planet.

By Jon Fern
Follow @jfernwriter



Image: artswallpapers.net

Have You Heard of... Zao Fox Village?

At the foot of Mount Zao in Japan's Miyagi Prefecture is an entire village full of foxes. But all is not quite what it seems... this is not a mysterious ghost town that has been overrun, but an animal sanctuary dedicated to foxes. Alongside the Japanese red fox, visitors can also find artic, platinum, black and silver foxes.

Opened in 1990, Zao Kitsune Mura also houses various fox shrines, highlighting the animal's mythical status in Japan.

Did you know...? The fox is sacred in Japan, where it is believed to be a shape-shifter that can grow multiple tails.

There are a number of traditional Japanese torii gates leading up to the sanctuary which are connected with the spiritual side of this island nation, where the fox is said to be sacred to the god Inari.

Miyagi Prefecture

Although the santuary does have a number of animals that visitors are allowed to touch, including goats and rabbits, people are not encouraged to pet the foxes, which have been known to bite. Food may be tossed to the foxes, however, and the inquisitive animals sometimes follow people that have fed them.

While the ethical nature of petting zoos is debatable, the foxes can roam freely and apparently enjoy their interactions with humans. However, some reports from vistors state that some foxes are caged and kept on leashes, although the reasons for this remain unclear.

While school trips do operate at the site, the sanctuary could possibly be considered non child-friendly, as the foxes are still wild animals and may present a danger to small children, especially in areas of the reserve which are not supervised by employees.

If you are interested in visiting the Zao Fox Village you can find further details here.




Photograph via kotaku.com
Map via Wikimedia

Have You Heard of... the Mexican Wolf?

Chances are, you haven't heard of the Mexican wolf, Canis lupus baileyi. That may not be so surprising, seeing as the species was almost entirely wiped out by the time of the 1970s. Not only that, its range is limited to parts of Arizona and New Mexico, and its numbers - even there - are low.

Pack hunters with a complex social structure, Mexican wolves breed in February and give birth April-May to a litter of four to six pups. The alpha pair is usually the only breeding pair in the pack - which often consists of four to eight individuals - and are usually monogamous.

Prey includes elk, mule and white-tailed deer, javelina, small mammals (such as rabbits), and some livestock; they also scavenge on carcasses. Their preferred habitat is mountainous woodland, most likely because of its abundance of water, cover, and prey species.

The Mexican wolf was once widespread across parts of southwestern United States. Now, however, it is the rarest subspecies of gray wolf in the country, with only around 109 individuals in the wild. But even this is an improvement. Until captive bred Mexican wolves were released in 1998, there had been no wild members of this species since the 1970s. A goal of 100 wild wolves was suggested by the recovery team as a 'hedge against extinction'. However, even by 2013, a final count put the wild population at only 83.

But in 2014, the team achieved its milestone. A 31% increase in the wild wolf population was recorded at the end of the year, with numbers exceeding the proposed 100. This is almost entirely thanks to the Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team (IFT)in conjunction with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, as well as the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

What's next for the Mexican wolf? As Benjamin Tuggle of the IFT says, 'Testing and implementing new management techniques, such as cross-fostering, can help us improve the genetics of the wild population. The experimental population is growing – now our strategy is to focus on establishing a genetically robust population on a working landscape.'


You can read about the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program here.

By Jon Fern



Picture credit: FWS 2015