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MILESTONE FINDING ON RUSSIAN SPACESHIP (2020). “During the course of research investigation, viable spores of the microorganisms were periodically detected in the samples taken on the outer surface of the International Space Station. Among samples taken in 2016, a consortium of non-spore-forming bacteria was found on the outside of the porthole, which consisted of Agrococcus jenensis, Skermanella aerolata, Deinococcus aerolatus, and Staphylococcus hominis.” A first! https://lnkd.in/d7y7we4 View in LinkedIn

STUNNING PREDICTION. “On the nature of interstellar grains (1979), by F. Hoyle & C. Wickramasinghe. " "“The strongest of the diffuse interstellar bands are provisionally assigned to carotenoid-chlorophyll pigment complexes such as exist in algae and pigmented bacteria. The λ2200 Å interstellar absorption feature could be due to ‘degraded’ cellulose strands which form spherical graphitic particles, but could equally well be due to protein-lipid-nucleic acid complexes in bacteria and viruses. Interstellar extinction at wavelengths λ

ORGANIC MOLECULES IN SPACE PREDICTED. “Identification of the λ2, 200Å interstellar absorption feature (1977), by F. Hoyle & C. Wickramasinghe. “Here we identify this band as representing the integrated effect of a set of bicyclic compounds, each with the empirical formula C8H6N2. Such nitrogenated structures could form in stellar mass flows of the type which we have also discussed. A significant mass fraction of all interstellar material might exist in this form.” https://lnkd.in/dkEHZXn View in LinkedIn

NOT UNIQUE TO EARTH. “The implications of this point of view, which was developed in conjunction with the late Sir Fred Hoyle since the 1970s, are now becoming amenable to direct empirical test by studies of pristine organic material in the stratosphere. The ancient theory of panspermia may be on the verge of vindication, in which case the entire universe would be a grand crucible of cryomicrobiology.” (Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe, 2004). https://lnkd.in/dFRBz2F View in LinkedIn

VISIONARY ENTREPRENEURS. “Actual searches have thus been funded primarily via philanthropic efforts. The three largest injections of funds (>$10 million) have been for mostly for radio SETI work: by the Barney Oliver estate to support the SETI Institute; by Paul Allen to the SETI Institute to build the Allen Telescope Array; and by Yuri Milner to fund the Breakthrough Listen Initiative centered at UC Berkeley.” https://lnkd.in/djnMhU6 View in LinkedIn

FIDDLING WITH OLD MINUTIAE. “For this reason, most SETI practitioners are effectively “hobbyists,” writing papers in their spare time on how one might perform SETI searches if one were funded, or addressing theoretical issues such as “resolutions” to the Fermi Paradox or calculations via the Drake Equation.” https://lnkd.in/djnMhU6 View in LinkedIn

COWED AND BEATEN. “NASA learned its lesson: since then it has provided very little support for the field. To the best of our knowledge, since 1993 there have been four NASA grants and five NSF grants to support actual searches for extraterrestrial technology, totalling $4.7 million. Four of these grants totalling $2.6 million supported the development of radio instrumentation and SETI@Home, and the other five totalling $2.1 million supported science and operations of radio telescopes. The first of these grants began in 2001, meaning that​ the total federal expenditure on SETI in the past 18 years has been about $260,000 per year including overhead, or between 1–2 FTEs on average.” https://lnkd.in/djnMhU6 View in LinkedIn

EFFECTS ON INSECTS. “The significantly altered gene expression of CRY1 and CRY2 under the NZMF suggest their developmental stage-specific patterns and potential upstream location in magnetic response. Our study suggests an important role of the geomagnetic field (GMF) in modulating development and physiology of insects.” (NZMF = near zero magnetic field). https://lnkd.in/ggMJNzs View in LinkedIn

THE END TO THE SEARCH. “In October 1992 NASA launched the High Resolution Microwave Survey (HRMS), only to see it suddenly and surprisingly cut in September 1993 via a successful, last-minute amendment by Senator Richard Bryan, who proudly announced “This hopefully will be the end of Martian hunting at the taxpayer’s expense”, and more quietly made it known that if future NASA budgets contained a SETI program, then the entire agency budget would be at risk.” https://lnkd.in/djnMhU6 View in LinkedIn

Give the geometric explanation. View in LinkedIn