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Mars had an oxygen-rich atmosphere four billion years ago
Mars had an oxygen-rich atmosphere more than a billion years before the Earth, say scientists. An examination of meteorites and rocks on the planet suggests that oxygen was affecting the Martian surface four billion years ago.
On Earth, oxygen did not build up to appreciable quantities in the atmosphere for at least another 1.5bn years.
The researchers compared Martian meteorites that have crashed onto the Earth with data from rocks examined by Nasa's Spirit Mars rover. Differences in their composition can best be explained by an abundance of oxygen early in Martian history.
Spirit was exploring an ancient part of Mars containing rocks more than 3.7bn years old. The rocks bear the hallmarks of early exposure to oxygen before being "recycled" – drawn into shallow regions of the planet's interior and then spewed out in volcanic eruptions.
more
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/jun/19/mars-oxygen-rich-atmosphere
Hungry? Grow Nutritious Insects At Home
Mansour Ourasanah has created the Lepsis, an attractive insect breeder that could be used to grow grasshoppers in an urban home. Should you be including (more) insects in your diet?
(Lepsis insect habitat)
Ourasanah collaborated with KitchenAid to develop the Lepsis, a small, decorative unit that can rest on a kitchen counter. The unit addresses the question of how to produce large amounts of protein without devoting more land space to the cultivation of insects, and it was just announced as a finalist in the INDEX awards. According to Ourasanah, 80 percent of the world population already eats insects, and introducing edible bugs to rapidly-expanding urban populations could significantly reduce the impact of meat production on the environment.
The Lepsis is a vessel that can be used to grow insects for food. The product consists of four individual units that are each designed to breed, grow, harvest and kill grasshoppers, and they combine to form a decorative kitchen product. “In order to move toward a sustainable future, we must do away with our culinary hangups and redefine the paradigm of food,” explains Ourasanah.
In his 1994 story NatuLife, sf author David Brin gives us a taste of this very future:
"Come on, honey, try one. They're delicious."
Gaia had the hive uncrated and warmed up by the time I got home. Putting down my briefcase, I stared at hundreds of the pasty-scaled critters scrabbling under a plastic cover; tending their fat queen, devouring kitchen trimming, making themselves right at home in my home.
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=3990
Is This The Best Response To A Cease And Desist Letter Ever?
Jake Freivald’s lawyer apparently sent this reply to the Township of West Orange, NJ after Freivald recieved a cease and desist order over a domain he owned that had “West Orange” in the name.
The letter in all its glory:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/samir/is-this-the-best-response-to-a-cease-and-desist-letter-ever
Iceland resumes whale hunting, endangered Fin Whale killed
Icelandic news outlets are reporting that an Icelandic whaling company, Hvalur hf, "caught its first fin whale yesterday evening," after sailing out yesterday with two boats, both due back in port today.
Fin whales are the second-largest whale, and are classified as an Endangered species.
From News of Iceland:
The Animal Welfare Institute, one of many animal advocacy groups protesting the hunting of this endangered species in Iceland, issued a press release condemning the kill:
more (warning, gruesome pic)
http://boingboing.net/2013/06/18/iceland-resumes-whale-hunting.html
New 'embryonic' subduction zone found
17 June 2013
A new subduction zone forming off the coast of Portugal heralds the beginning of a cycle that will see the Atlantic Ocean close as continental Europe moves closer to America.
Published in Geology, new research led by Monash University geologists has detected the first evidence that a passive margin in the Atlantic ocean is becoming active. Subduction zones, such as the one beginning near Iberia, are areas where one of the tectonic plates that cover the Earth’s surface dives beneath another plate into the mantle - the layer just below the crust.
Lead author Dr João Duarte, from the School of Geosciences said the team mapped the ocean floor and found it was beginning to fracture, indicating tectonic activity around the apparently passive South West Iberia plate margin.
"What we have detected is the very beginnings of an active margin - it's like an embryonic subduction zone," Dr Duarte said.
"Significant earthquake activity, including the 1755 quake which devastated Lisbon, indicated that there might be convergent tectonic movement in the area. For the first time, we have been able to provide not only evidences that this is indeed the case, but also a consistent driving mechanism."
more
http://monash.edu/news/show/new-embryonic-subduction-zone-found
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