Monthly Archives: September 2015

Bioethics Of Human Genetic Engineering – Documentary Video …

Posted: September 30, 2015 at 7:44 pm

In Vivo : Selected Stories of Genetic Engineering (1996)- Robert Wyrod This experimental documentary examines the frontiers of human genetic engineering. It explores the ethical terrain of the e... | more... In Vivo : Selected Stories of Genetic Engineering (1996)- Robert Wyrod This experimental documentary examines the frontiers of human genetic engineering. It explores the ethical terrain of the emerging field of human gene therapy research and includes original interviews with the leading scientists working in this area. Director: Robert Wyrod Producer: Robert Wyrod Keywords: genetic; engineering; gene therapy; DNA; experimental; clone; molecular Contact Information: robertwyrod@gmail.com Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Human genetic engineering is the genetic engineering of humans by modifying the genotype of the unborn individual to control what traits it will possess when born.[1] Humans do not need gene therapy to survive, though it may prove helpful to treat certain diseases. Special gene modification research has been carried out on groups such as the 'bubble children' - those whose immune systems do not protect them from the bacteria and irritants all around them. The first clinical trial of human gene therapy began in 1990, but (as of 2008) is still experimental. Other forms of human genetic engineering are still theoretical, or restricted to fiction stories. Recombinant DNA research is usually performed to study gene expression and various human diseases. Some drastic demonstrations of gene modification have been made with mice and other animals, however; testing on humans is generally considered off-limits. In some instances changes are usually brought about by removing genetic material from one organism and transferring them into another species. There are two main types of genetic engineering. Somatic modifications involve adding genes to cells other than egg or sperm cells. For example, if a person had a disease caused by a defective gene, a healthy gene could be added to the affected cells to treat the disorder. The distinguishing characteristic of somatic engineering is that it is non-inheritable, e.g. the new gene would not be passed to the recipients offspring. Germline engineering would change genes in eggs, sperm, or very early embryos. This type of engineering is inheritable, meaning that the modified genes would appear not only in any children that resulted from the procedure, but in all succeeding generations. This application is by far the more consequential as it could open the door to the perpetual and irreversible alteration of the human species. There are two techniques researchers are currently experimenting with: Viruses are good at injecting their DNA payload into human cells and reproducing it. By adding the desired DNA to the DNA of non-pathogenic virus, a small amount of virus will reproduce the desired DNA and spread it all over the body. Manufacture large quantities of DNA, and somehow package it to induce the target cells to accept it, either as an addition to one of the original 23 chromosomes, or as an independent 24th human artificial chromosome. Human genetic engineering means that some part of the genes or DNA of a person are changed. It is possible that through engineering, people could be given more arms, bigger brains or other structural alterations if desired. A more common type of change would be finding the genes of extraordinary people, such as those for intelligence, stamina, longevity, and incorporating those in embryos. Human genetic engineering holds the promise of being able to cure diseases and increasing the immunity of people to viruses. An example of such a disease is cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that affects lungs and other organs. Researchers are currently trying to map out and assign genes to different body functions or disease. When the genes or DNA sequence responsible for a disease is found, theoretically gene therapy should be able to fix the disease and eliminate it permanently. However, with the complexity of interaction between genes and gene triggers, gene research is currently in its infancy. Computer modeling and expression technology could be used in the future to create people from scratch. This would work by taking existing DNA knowledge and inserting DNA of "superior" body expressions from people, such as a bigger heart, stronger muscles, etc and implanting this within an egg to be inserted into a female womb. The visual modeling of this process may be very much like the videogame Spore, where people are able to manipulate the physical attributes of creatures and then "release them" in the digital world. | less...

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Fourth Amendment – National Constitution Center

Posted: at 7:43 pm

The Fourth Amendment

Imagine youre driving a car, and a police officer spots you and pulls you over for speeding. He orders you out of the car. Maybe he wants to place you under arrest. Or maybe he wants to search your car for evidence of a crime. Can the officer do that?

The Fourth Amendment is the part of the Constitution that gives the answer. According to the Fourth Amendment, the people have a right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures. This right limits the power of the police to seize and search people, their property, and their homes.

The Fourth Amendment has been debated frequently during the last several years, as police and intelligence agencies in the United States have engaged in a number of controversial activities. The federal government has conducted bulk collection of Americans telephone and Internet connections as part of the War on Terror. Many municipal police forces have engaged in aggressive use of stop and frisk. There have been a number of highly-publicized police-citizen encounters in which the police ended up shooting a civilian. There is also concern about the use of aerial surveillance, whether by piloted aircraft or drones.

The application of the Fourth Amendment to all these activities would have surprised those who drafted it, and not only because they could not imagine the modern technologies like the Internet and drones. They also were not familiar with organized police forces like we have today. Policing in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries was a responsibility of the citizenry, which participated in night watches. Other than that, there was only a loose collection of sheriffs and constables, who lacked the tools to maintain order as the police do today.

The primary concerns of the generation that ratified the Fourth Amendment were general warrants and writs of assistance. Famous incidents on both sides of the Atlantic gave rise to placing the Fourth Amendment in the Constitution. In Britain, the Crown employed general warrants to go after political enemies, leading to the famous decisions in Wilkes v. Wood (1763) and Entick v. Carrington (1765). General warrants allowed the Crowns messengers to search without any cause to believe someone had committed an offense. In those cases the judges decided that such warrants violated English common law. In the colonies the Crown used the writs of assistancelike general warrants, but often unbounded by time restraintsto search for goods on which taxes had not been paid. James Otis challenged the writs in a Boston court; though he lost, some such as John Adams attribute this legal battle as the spark that led to the Revolution. Both controversies led to the famous notion that a persons home is their castle, not easily invaded by the government.

Today the Fourth Amendment is understood as placing restraints on the government any time it detains (seizes) or searches a person or property. The Fourth Amendment also provides that no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. The idea is that to avoid the evils of general warrants, each search or seizure should be cleared in advance by a judge, and that to get a warrant the government must show probable causea certain level of suspicion of criminal activityto justify the search or seizure.

To the extent that a warrant is required in theory before police can search, there are so many exceptions that in practice warrants rarely are obtained. Police can search automobiles without warrants, they can detain people on the street without them, and they can always search or seize in an emergency without going to a judge.

The way that the Fourth Amendment most commonly is put into practice is in criminal proceedings. The Supreme Court decided in the mid-twentieth century that if the police seize evidence as part of an illegal search, the evidence cannot be admitted into court. This is called the exclusionary rule. It is controversial because in most cases evidence is being tossed out even though it shows the person is guilty and, as a result of the police conduct, they might avoid conviction. The criminal is to go free because the constable has blundered, declared Benjamin Cardozo (a famous judge and ultimately Supreme Court justice). But, responded another Supreme Court justice, Louis Brandeis, If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for the law.

One of the difficult questions today is what constitutes a search? If the police standing in Times Square in New York watched a person planting a bomb in plain daylight, we would not think they needed a warrant or any cause. But what about installing closed circuit TV cameras on poles, or flying drones over backyards, or gathering evidence that you have given to a third party such as an Internet provider or a banker?

Another hard question is when a search is acceptable when the government has no suspicion that a person has done something wrong. Lest the answer seem to be never, think of airport security. Surely it is okay for the government to screen people getting on airplanes, yet the idea is as much to deter people from bringing weapons as it is to catch themthere is no cause, probable or otherwise, to think anyone has done anything wrong. This is the same sort of issue with bulk data collection, and possibly with gathering biometric information.

What should be clear by now is that advancing technology and the many threats that face society add up to a brew in which the Fourth Amendment will continue to play a central role.

In the Supreme Courts decisions interpreting the Fourth Amendment, there are a lot of cross-cutting arguments.

The biggest challenge ahead for the Fourth Amendment is how it should apply to computers and the Internet.

What the Fourth Amendment Fundamentally Requires by Barry Friedman

In the Supreme Courts decisions interpreting the Fourth Amendment, there are a lot of cross-cutting arguments.

For example, sometimes the Justices say that there is a strong preference for government agents to obtain warrants, and that searches without warrants are presumptively invalid. At other times they say warrants are unnecessary, and the only requirement is that searches be reasonable. At times the Justices say probable cause is required to support a search; at others they say probable cause is not an irreducible minimum.

This is your Fourth Amendment. It describes [t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures. It is important for each American to focus on some basics and decideseparate and apart from what the Justices saywhat this vital amendment means.

People say that the Fourth Amendment protects privacy, but that trivializes it. In this world you give up a lot of privacy, whether you wish to or not. Internet cookies, or data stored in web browsers, are just one example. But the Internet companies are not going to come take you away. The government might. What the Fourth Amendment protects is the right of the people to be secure. The Fourth Amendment is the means of keeping the government out of our lives and our property unless it has good justification.

In evaluating how the Fourth Amendment should be interpreted, it is essential to bear in mind the vast changes in policing since the time it was ratified. Whereas policing once was reactive, tasked with identifying and catching criminals, today it has become proactive and is based in deterrence. Before, policing was mostly based on suspicion, it was aimed at people for whom there was cause to believe they had violated or were about to violate the law. Today, policing is aimed at all of usfrom red light cameras to bulk data collection by intelligence agencies to airport security.

There are some basic principles that should govern searches and seizures.

First, no member of the Executive branch should be permitted to intervene in our lives without the say-so of at least one other branch. This is fundamental, and all the more important when that Executive actor engages in surveillance of the citizenry and can use force and coercion against them.

Second, a central purpose of the Fourth Amendment is preventing arbitrary or unjustified intrusions into the lives and property of citizens.

In light of these basic principles, certain interpretations of the Fourth Amendment follow:

No search or seizure is reasonable if it is not based on either legislative authorization or pursuant to rules that have some form of democratic say in their making. The police can write rulesall other agencies of executive government dobut absent a critical need for secrecy those rules should be public and responsive to public wishes.

Second, warrants are to be preferred. Policing agencies are mission-oriented. We want them to bethey have a vital role protecting public safety. But because they are mission-oriented, warrants should be obtained in advance of searching whenever possible so that a neutral judge can assess the need to intrude on peoples lives.

Third, we should distinguish between searches aimed at suspects and those aimed at society in general. When there is a particular suspect, the protections of a warrant and probable cause apply. But those protections make no sense when we are all the target of policing. In the latter instance the most important protection is that policing not discriminate among us. For example, at airport security all must be screened the same unless and until there is suspicioncause to single someone out.

Finally, often todays policing singles out a particular group. Examples include profiling (based on race, religion, or something else) or subjecting only workers in some agencies to drug tests. When policing is group-based, the proper clause of the Constitution to govern is the Equal Protection Clause. When discriminatory searching or seizing occurs, the government should have to prove two things: that the group it is selecting for unfavorable treatment truly is more likely to contain people worthy of the governments attention, and that the incidence of problematic behavior is sufficiently great in that group to justify burdening everyone. Otherwise, the government should go back to either searching individuals based on suspicion, or search us all.

The Future of the Fourth Amendment by Orin Kerr

The biggest challenge ahead for the Fourth Amendment is how it should apply to computers and the Internet.

The Fourth Amendment was written over two hundred years ago. But todays crimes often involve computers and the Internet, requiring the police to collect digital evidence and analyze it to solve crimes.

The major question is, how much power should the police have to collect this data? What is an unreasonable search and seizure on the Internet?

Consider the example of a Facebook account. If you log in to Facebook, your use of the account sends a tremendous amount of information to Facebook. Facebook keeps records of everything. What you post, what messages you send, what pictures you like, even what pages you view. Facebook gets it all, and it keeps records of everything you do. Now imagine that the police come to Facebook and want records of a particular user. The police think the suspect used Facebook to commit the crime or shared evidence of the crime using the site. Maybe the suspect was cyberstalking and harassing a victim on Facebook. Or maybe the suspect is a drug dealer who was exchanging messages with another drug dealer planning a future crime. Or perhaps the suspect committed a burglary, and he posted pictures of the burglary for all of his Facebook friends to see.

Heres the hard question: What limits does the Fourth Amendment impose on the government getting access to the account records? For example, is it a Fourth Amendment search or seizure for the government to get what a person posted on his Facebook wall for all of his friends to see? Is it a search or seizure to get the messages that the suspect sent? How about records of what page the suspect viewed? And if it is a search or seizure, how much can the government seize with a warrant? Can the government get access to all of the account records? Only some of the account records?

The courts have only begun to answer these questions, and it will be up to future courts to figure out what the Fourth Amendment requires. As more people spend much of their lives online, the stakes of answering these questions correctly becomes higher and higher.

In my view, courts should try to answer these questions by translating the traditional protections of the Fourth Amendment from the physical world to the networked world. In the physical world, the Fourth Amendment strikes a balance. The government is free to do many things without constitutional oversight. The police can watch people in the public street or watch a suspect in a public place. They can follow a car as it drives down the street. On the other hand, the police need cause to stop people, and they need a warrant to enter private places like private homes.

The goal for interpreting the Fourth Amendment should be to strike that same balance in the online setting. Just like in the physical world, the police should be able to collect some evidence without restriction to ensure that they can investigate crimes. And just like in the physical world, there should be limits on what the government can do to ensure that the police do not infringe upon important civil liberties.

A second important area is the future of the exclusionary rule, the rule that evidence unconstitutionally obtained cannot be used in court. The history of the exclusionary rule is a history of change. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Supreme Court dramatically expanded the exclusionary rule. Since the 1980s, however, the Supreme Court has cut back on when the exclusionary rule applies.

The major disagreement is over whether and how the exclusionary rule should apply when the police violate the Fourth Amendment, but do so in good faith, such as when the law is unclear or the violation is only technical. In the last decade, a majority of the Justices have expanded the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule. A central question is whether the good faith exception will continue to expand, and if so, how far.

In the Supreme Courts decisions interpreting the Fourth Amendment, there are a lot of cross-cutting arguments.

The biggest challenge ahead for the Fourth Amendment is how it should apply to computers and the Internet.

Link:
Fourth Amendment - National Constitution Center

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Metaphysics of Pantheism – Famous Pantheist Quotes

Posted: September 29, 2015 at 11:44 pm

Pantheist Quotes / Quotations from Famous Philosophers & Scientists

We are part of Nature as a whole whose order we follow (Spinoza) All things are parts of one single system, which is called Nature; the individual life is good when it is in harmony with Nature. (Zeno) I believe in the cosmos. All of us are linked to the cosmos. So nature is my god. To me, nature is sacred. Trees are my temples and forests are my cathedrals. Being at one with nature. (Mikhail Gorbachev)

The word pantheism derives from the Greek words pan (='all') and theos (='God'). Thus pantheism means 'All is God'. In essence, pantheism holds that there is no divinity other than the universe and nature. Pantheism is a religious belief that reveres and cares for nature, a religion that joyously accepts this life as our only life, and this earth as our only paradise, if we look after it. Pantheism revels in the beauty of nature and the night sky, and is full of wonder at their mystery and power. Pantheism believes that all things are linked in profound unity ... All things interconnected and interdependent. In life and in death we humans are an inseparable part of this unity, and in realising this we can find our joy and our peace. (Harrison, Pantheism, 1999)

'All is One and Interconnected' is not a new idea, its foundation lies with the ancient philosophers. For thousands of years, philosophers have gazed at the stars and known that One thing must exist that is common to and connects the Many things within the Universe. As Leibniz profoundly says; Reality cannot be found except in One single source, because of the interconnection of all things with one another. (Leibniz, 1670) Albert Einstein also had a good understanding of humans as an inseparable part of the One, as he writes;

A human being is part of the whole called by us universe ... We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive. (Albert Einstein)

Unfortunately (and most likely tragically), this knowledge of our interconnection to the Universe (Nature, God) has been lost (or is naively considered as not important) to modern day humanity. We are 'bleeding at the roots because we are cut off from the Earth' as D. H. Lawrence writes.

It is important to understand that although 'All is One and Interconnected' is a profound idea of the ancients, they did not actually know how the universe was a dynamic unity, what matter was, how the One Thing / Brahman caused and connected the many things. Recent discoveries on the properties of Space and the Wave Structure of Matter (Wolff, Haselhurst) suggests that we can understand Reality and the interconnection of all things from a foundation of science / reason rather than mysticism / intuition.

Please see links on the side of this page for the main articles which explain and solve many of the problems of postmodern Metaphysics, Physics and Philosophy from the new foundation of the Metaphysics of Space and Motion and the Wave Structure of Matter (WSM).

We greatly appreciate any comments on how we can improve this website and its content. So please feel free to write to us.

Geoff Haselhurst, Karene Howie, Email

'Deus sive Natura' (God or Nature) We are part of Nature as a whole whose order we follow (Spinoza)

Behold but One in all things; it is the second that leads you astray. (Kabir)

When the Ten Thousand things are viewed in their oneness, we return to the Origin and remain where we have always been. (Sen T'sen)

The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful. If nature were not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing, and if nature were not worth knowing, life would not be worth living. (Jules Henri Poincare)

One grand great life throbs through earth's giant heart, And mighty waves of single Being roll From nerve-less germ to man, for we are part Of every rock and bird and beast and hill, One with the things that prey on us, and one with what we kill. (Oscar Wilde, Panthea)

We are enabled to apprehend at all what is sublime and noble only by the perpetual instilling and drenching of the reality that surrounds us. We can never have enough of nature. (Henry David Thoreau)

A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude; in this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man. (Albert Einstein)

A religion old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the universe as revealed by modern science, might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths. Sooner or later, such a religion will emerge. (Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot)

I believe in the cosmos. All of us are linked to the cosmos. So nature is my god. To me, nature is sacred. Trees are my temples and forests are my cathedrals. Being at one with nature. (Mikhail Gorbachev)

'God is not separate from the world; He is the soul of the world, and each of us contains a part of the Divine Fire. All things are parts of one single system, which is called Nature; the individual life is good when it is in harmony with Nature. In one sense, every life is in harmony with Nature, since it is such as Natures laws have caused it to be; but in another sense a human life is only in harmony with Nature when the individual will is directed to ends which are among those of Nature. Virtue consists in a will which is in agreement with Nature.' (Zeno, founder of Stoicism) (Russell, 1946)

Let your gods, therefore, O philosophers, be suited to the present appearances of nature: and presume not to alter these appearances by arbitrary suppositions, in order to suit them to the attributes, which you so fondly ascribe to your deities. (David Hume, Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding, 1737, p137-8)

Taoism is a strongly pantheistic religion .. Its central focus is the Tao or Way, conceived of as a mysterious and numinous unity, infinite and eternal, underlying all things and sustaining them.

The Great Tao flows everywhere ... All things depend on it for life, and it does not turn away from them. One may think of it as the mother of all beneath Heaven. We do not know its name, but we call it Tao .. Deep and still, it seems to have existed forever.

The ideal of Taoism was to live in harmony with the Tao and to cultivate a simple and frugal life, avoiding unnecessary action: 'Being one with nature, he [the sage] is in accord with the Tao'... When Tung Kuo Tzu asked Chuang Tzu where the Tao was, he replied it was in the ant, the grass, the clay tile, even in excrement : 'There is nowhere where it is not ... There is no single thing without Tao'. (Harrison, Pantheism)

I believe the universe is one being; all its parts are different expressions of the same energy, and they are all in communication with each other, therefore parts of one organic whole ... The whole is in all its parts so beautiful, and is felt by me to be so intensely in earnest, that I am compelled to love it, and to think of it as divine. It seems to me that this whole alone is worthy of the deeper sort of love; and there is peace, freedom, I might say a kind of salvation, in turning one's affections outward toward this one God; rather than inwards on one's self, or on humanity, or on human imaginations and abstractions- the world of spirits. (Robinson Jeffers, Pantheism)

We are resolved into the supreme air, We are made one with what we touch and see, With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair, With our young lives each spring-impassioned tree Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change. With beat of systole and of diastole One grand great life throbs through earth's giant heart, And mighty waves of single Being roll From nerve-less germ to man, for we are part Of every rock and bird and beast and hill, One with the things that prey on us, and one with what we kill. . . .

One sacrament are consecrate, the earth Not we alone hath passions hymeneal, The yellow buttercups that shake for mirth At daybreak know a pleasure not less real Than we do, when in some fresh-blossoming wood We draw the spring into our hearts, and feel that life is good. . . .

Is the light vanished from our golden sun, Or is this daedal-fashioned earth less fair, That we are nature's heritors, and one With every pulse of life that beats the air? Rather new suns across the sky shall pass, New splendour come unto the flower, new glory to the grass.

And we two lovers shall not sit afar, Critics of nature, but the joyous sea Shall be our raiment, and the bearded star Shoot arrows at our pleasure! We shall be Part of the mighty universal whole, And through all Aeons mix and mingle with the Kosmic Soul!

We shall be notes in that great Symphony Whose cadence circles through the rhythmic spheres, And all the live World's throbbing heart shall be One with our heart, the stealthy creeping years Have lost their terrors now, we shall not die, The Universe itself shall be our Immortality!

(Panthea, Oscar Wilde)

PANTHEISM - by Paul Harrison is the belief that the universe is divine and nature is sacred. It fuses religion and science, and concern for humans with concern for nature. It provides the the most solid basis for environmental ethics. It is a religion that requires no faith other than common sense, no revelation other than open eyes and a mind open to evidence, no guru other than your own self

All things in the universe are one. They began as one. They may end as one. They are all made of the same basic matter/energy, and they interact with one another, constantly. All things on earth are one: plants, animals, rocks, oceans and atmosphere. All living creatures had a common origin, all depend on each other, and shape and are shaped by non-living things. Life has radically altered the earth's atmosphere, and molded many aspects of its geology. The Gaia system is an organic evolving whole embracing the biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere.

All humans on earth are one. We descend from the same family of common ancestors. We are, in a quite literal sense, siblings, and like siblings we depend on each other's love and care and responsibility. We are interdependent not just in our families and communities, but in nations, and increasingly on a global scale - just as we are also interdependent with nature and the earth.

Yet at the same time things are many. Matter-energy is embodied in many different particles and bodies. Life has evolved into many unique species - at least 1.5 million that we know of - and each individual of each species is unique. Diversity is essential to the beauty and interest of nature and the universe. Without it everything would be blank and monotonous.

All these beings have their own separate existence. Existence as a separate individual is always more or less temporary, from the day's life of a mayfly to the billions of years of a star. Sooner or later, humans, cats, trees, planets, stars will end their temporary existence and be reabsorbed, recycled and recreated as part of new phenomena. Yet even if their existence is temporary, this does not mean that it is unreal or unimportant.

Animals with nervous systems and senses have a greater degree of separation. Their consciousness make each one see themselves as separate. And in many respects they are separate: driven to seek survival, even at the expense of other individuals or other species.

We often think too rigidly in terms of either/or, black/white distinctions. Philosophical systems that talk about unity tend to deny or play down diversity, as if it were in some way not real, or not important. Yet this devalues individual things and creatures. It makes us look at them in a distant and abstract way, makes us ignore their particularity.

Other systems focus too much on diversity and ignore the ways in which things are united and interdependent. This too carries the risk that we see ourselves only as isolated individuals, in competition with each other.

Yet we do not have to make an all-or-nothing choice between unity and multiplicity. Both exist and for wholeness we must embrace both.

Imagine you are standing on a rocky shore by the ocean, on a breezy day. The reach ahead of you is ultimately linked with every stretch of sea on the planet. It is a unity, a vast watery whole.

But in front of you, where water interfaces with air, what you see is waves, hundreds of thousands of waves: some enormous, others smaller, others again tiny waves on the backs of waves. Each of these waves is a distinct entity, with its own characteristics. They are a multiplicity.

The Multiplicity and the Unity are one and the same thing, a thing that is both many and one at the same time. The waves, and the currents underwater, make up the ocean. The ocean is the underlying basis for every wave. Neither the ocean, nor the waves, can be understood in isolation from each other.

We need a sense of the unity of life and of humans for the sake of human welfare and for the survival of the planet. We need a sense of unity with the cosmos so that we can connect with Reality. But we also need a sense of individuality, for the sake of our own dignity and independence and of the loving care for others. We need it to appreciate each natural form, each animal and plant, each human person in their uniqueness.

We must preserve the sense of unity and the sense of diversity and multiplicity.

We must recognize that the One and the Many are the same thing viewed from different angles.

The One is the Many. The One is manifested only in and through the Many. It has no separate existence apart from the Many.

Equally the Many are the One. Even during their temporary separation, they are always part of the One, and always united with the One. Every one of us is always part of the One, and can unite with the One at any time we choose.

Cosmos: unity of matter and energy. This page explores the common origin, composition and interaction of the universe.

Gaia: unity of life: co-evolution and interdependence of animals, plants, ecosystems, and planet.

Polis: unity of society: interdependence at national and international levels.

Microcosmos: interfacing with reality.

Pantheism Philosophy by Paul Harrison http://members.aol.com/Heraklit1/

Aurelius, Marcus - Famous Stoic Roman Emperor & his Meditations on our Interconnected Existence in the Universe & how we are to live. 'We should not say - I am an Athenian or I am a Roman but I am a Citizen of the Universe.' Albert Einstein: Cosmology - Albert Einstein's General Relativity laid the Foundations for Modern Cosmology - A Simple Solution to a Complex Problem. 'A human being is part of the whole called by us Universe.' Ancient Greek Philosophy - All is One (Space) and Active-Flux (Wave Motion). Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Atomists (Democritus, Lucretius), Socrates, Plato, Epicurus. Metaphysics: Problem of One and the Many - Brief History of Metaphysics and Solutions to the Fundamental Problems of Uniting the; One and the Many, Infinite and the Finite, Eternal and the Temporal, Absolute and Relative, Continuous and Discrete, Simple and Complex, Matter and Universe. Philosophy: Stoicism Zeno - Famous Roman Stoic Philosopher Zeno realised the Interconnection of All Things in the Universe. Spinoza, Benedictus de - The Wave Structure of Matter in One Infinite Eternal Space explains Spinoza's Substance (God is Nature) and the Interconnection of all things to One Thing and the Importance of (Wave) Motion in the Universe. Tesla, Nikola - Tesla was influenced by Vedic Philosophy that all is one and dynamic. The Wave Structure of Matter confirms Nikola Tesla's Theories on Resonance and Transfer of Energy by Waves in Space. 'One day man will connect his apparatus to the very wheel work of the universe ... and the very forces that motivate the planets in their orbits and cause them to rotate will rotate his own machinery.' Thoreau, Henry David - Thoreau's Civil Disobedience profoundly influenced Martin Luther King and Mohandas Gandhi. On Walden Pond greatly influenced my life of living simply in Nature.

http://www.pantheism.net/ - World Pantheist Movement http://members.aol.com/Heraklit1/ - Pantheism: Nature, Universe, Science and Religion. Natural Pantheism, a spiritual approach to Nature and the Cosmos. The Universe is divine and Nature is sacred. The history, theory and practice of Pantheism. By Paul Harrison.

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"In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act." (George Orwell)

"Hell is Truth Seen Too Late." (Thomas Hobbes)

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." (Mohandas Gandhi)

"When forced to summarize the general theory of relativity in one sentence: Time and space and gravitation have no separate existence from matter. ... Physical objects are not in space, but these objects are spatially extended. In this way the concept 'empty space' loses its meaning. ... The particle can only appear as a limited region in space in which the field strength or the energy density are particularly high. ... The free, unhampered exchange of ideas and scientific conclusions is necessary for the sound development of science, as it is in all spheres of cultural life. ... We must not conceal from ourselves that no improvement in the present depressing situation is possible without a severe struggle; for the handful of those who are really determined to do something is minute in comparison with the mass of the lukewarm and the misguided. ... Humanity is going to need a substantially new way of thinking if it is to survive!" (Albert Einstein)

Our world is in great trouble due to human behaviour founded on myths and customs that are causing the destruction of Nature and climate change. We can now deduce the most simple science theory of reality - the wave structure of matter in space. By understanding how we and everything around us are interconnected in Space we can then deduce solutions to the fundamental problems of human knowledge in physics, philosophy, metaphysics, theology, education, health, evolution and ecology, politics and society.

This is the profound new way of thinking that Einstein realised, that we exist as spatially extended structures of the universe - the discrete and separate body an illusion. This simply confirms the intuitions of the ancient philosophers and mystics.

Given the current censorship in physics / philosophy of science journals (based on the standard model of particle physics / big bang cosmology) the internet is the best hope for getting new knowledge known to the world. But that depends on you, the people who care about science and society, realise the importance of truth and reality.

It is easy to help - just click on the social network sites (below) or grab a nice image / quote you like and add it to your favourite blog, wiki or forum. We are listed as one of the top philosophy sites on the Internet (600,000 page views / week) and have a wonderful collection of knowledge from the greatest minds in human history, so people will appreciate your contributions. Thanks! Geoff Haselhurst - Karene Howie - Email

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"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good people to do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

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Metaphysics of Pantheism - Famous Pantheist Quotes

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Southern Ohio NSA

Posted: at 11:43 pm

Double Eagle Sports Homepage

Welcome to the new Double Eagle Sports Webpage. Double Eagle Sports, LLC is the official company of Ohio USSSA Fast-Pitch and SE Ohio USSSA Baseball. Double Eagle Sports is here to serve the state of Ohio with quality events for your teams to participate in.

Double Eagle Sports, LLC Background

Double Eagle Sports, LLC was started in 2013 by Mike Craig. Mike started the company with the goal to put on top flight and well organized youth sporting events. In the first year chartered as Double Eagle Sports, the company either hosted or overseen close to 20 weekends of youth fast-pitch and baseball events. Year 2 brought more of the same and baseball was even expanded to include 4 dates in 2015 and a state tournament.

Mike Craig was named USSSA Ohio State director for Girl's Fast-Pitch starting in August 2015. Mike's background in softball started with officiating softball 26 years ago and hosting his first tournament in 1995. Mike has held softball events for the past 20 years including several Fast-Pitch and Baseball State tournaments. Mike has also been fortunate enough to be asked to be on several Fast-Pitch World-Series tournament event staffs with the most recent in Hamilton County, IN in July 2015.

We are always expanding our tournament base and locations so check each respective section often for updates. Let us help your team achieve their goals and meet your expectations by offering well ran, organized qualifying events to get your team to the next level.

Navigate the Double Eagle Sports website:

Click on any of the active Navigation bar links below the USSSA banner at the top of the page. Or click on the active links for Fast-Pitch Softball or Baseball below.

Click on the Danielle Lawrie Fast-Pitch softball below to access the Ohio USSSA Fast-Pitch homepage. Click on the USSSA baseball logo to access the South-Eastern Ohio USSSA Baseball homepage. Both pages are under construction. When the pages have been completed, the links will become active. Check back often as these pages will feature up-to-date information!

2016 Fast-Pitch Schedules will be posted here by November 15. When these are complete, there will be a link here for the Fast-Pitch tournament schedule page.

2016 Baseball Schedules will be posted here by November 15. When these are completed, there will be a link for the South-Eastern Ohio USSSA Baseball tournament schedule page.

Ohio USSSA FP is looking for individuals with an interest in umpiring Fast-Pitch. Candidates should be motivated with a desire to learn and a passion for the game and it's participants. Candidates should also always be willing to improve their skill set and keep an open mind in the process.

Contact Ohio USSSA - FP Umpire-in-Chief Paul Hines at 740-360-8906 for fast-pitch umpiring information. Or click on Paul's name to send him an email.

Ohio USSSA FP is looking for interested Area and Tournament directors for Fast-Pitch. If you share a passion for the game and want to get involved in the administration of it, or just get onboard with an exciting national Fast-Pitch program by hosting an event, please drop me a line at mike.craig@ohusssafp.org

Join the USSSA Jr Pride program! Wear what the pros wear. Get discounts on top name equipment. Click on the banner above to be directed to the Jr Pride Program Page.

USSSA announces the "Road to Orlando World Series". The RTO series features all age groups and awards rings to the winning teams in each age grouping. All Ohio USSSA FP Qualifiers will feature the option to attend this mega-event. Click on the banner above for more details or contact state director Mike Craig - Ohio USSSA for more details.

Double Eagle Sports, LLC will require that teams have made payment arrangements 10 days prior to hold a spot in a tournament. Teams need to have pre-paid their entry fees to the local or state office by Monday at 8 PM before a tournament date. You can mail in a money order or use Pay-Pal to securely pay online. Thank you. ********NO EXCEPTIONS CAN BE MADE TO THIS RULE********

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Southern Ohio NSA

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Some Ideas Regarding the Biological Colonization of The …

Posted: at 11:42 pm

1. INTRODUCTION

Far from being a purely theoretical science, Biology has many practical applications. This science will have a huge importance for the future of humanity. What can Biology bring to mankind? There are three main answers:

Health Biological sciences will play an important role in fighting various infectious agents (viruses, bacteria), in curing other diseases (cancer, for example) and in "repairing" wounded tissues, thus increasing peoples life expectancy.

Food Considering the rapid demographic growth, the traditional food sources will become insufficient for feeding Earths population. Biologists will have the duty to search for organisms that are more nourishing and easier to be cultivated (algae, crustaceans etc.), and also to improve the species already cultivated, in order to increase their productivity, their nutritiousness and their resistance to pests.

Space While the human demographical growth is unlimited, our planets resources are limited. Mankind will have to conquer and colonize the extraterrestrial space. We know that none of the planets in our Solar System has the natural conditions necessary to human colonization. The solution is to modify these conditions and to gradually implant terrestrial life forms on these planets, in order to create habitats for the future colonists.

This essay is regarding the latter subject.

The idea of implanting terrestrial life on other planets (a process called

This essay will treat the case of planet Mars, the closest, from all points of view, to Earth. Also, it will focus mostly on the biological aspects of terraformation.

2. MARS: PREMISES FOR TERRAFORMATION

A. Natural conditions

Mars belongs to the group of the luric planets, together with Mercury, Venus and Earth. From all the planets of the Solar System, it is situated at the shortest distance from Earth. Its diameter is slightly larger than half of our planets diameter. Its orbit is exterior to Earths orbit. The rotation period is of 24 hours and 40 minutes (a martian day is almost equal to a terrestrial one) and the duration of the revolution movement (the martian year) is 687 days. Mars has seasons, like our planet. Because the distance from the Sun is longer, Mars receives only 43% of the sunlight that reaches Earth. The gravitational force is 38% of the terrestrial one. The planet has no magnetic field and no tectonic activity. There is, instead, some volcanic activity.

The atmosphere is extremely rarefied, having a pressure of only 7.4-10

The average temperature is about -60C, but temperatures can vary between -75C and +25C, according to the latitude and season. By comparison, the average temperature on Earth is about +15C.

The quantity of ultraviolet radiations that reaches the surface of Mars is much larger than on Earth, being deadly for almost any life form.

The relief forms are inequaly distributed on the surface of the planet. The southern hemisphere has high altitudes, with many impact craters, volcanic mountains and three large depresions: Hellas, Argyre and Isidis (probably huge craters). The northern hemisphere has, predominantly, low altitudes. There are two polar caps composed of frozen water and carbon dioxide. There is no liquid water on the planets surface.

The upper layer of the martian crust, a few kilometers thick, is called regolith and is composed of rocks, dust and ice. It is, probably, porous (due to the low gravity). The entire planets surface is covered with a red dust.

The samples taken by the Mars Pathfinder mission from the surface, together with the analyses of several meteorites, of martian origin, show the following chemical composition:

Probably, the analyses must be redone for K2O and MnO2. This composition is similar to that of the terrestrial rocks, except for the iron compounds, much more abundant on Mars. In the primary rocks iron is found in its reduced form (Fe2+), and in the soil, in its oxidized form (Fe3+). The predominant minerals at the surface are haematite (Fe2O3), jarosite (KFe3(OH)6(SO4)2), goethite (FeO(OH)). It seems that the upper layer of the regolith contains oxidizing agents.

Apparently, the environmental conditions on Mars are improper to any living organisms. However, there are more and more evidence that indicate these conditions were not always the same. Most scientists think that, in the past, there was liquid water on Mars and, obviously, the temperatures were higher and the atmosphere was denser. This poses a problem: where and why most of the martian atmosphere disappeared? There are two theories. One of them says that the planet lost its atmosphere due to violent impacts with other celestial bodies (comets, asteroids). In this case the atmospheric gases were lost in space and trying to recompose the martian atmosphere would be almost impossible with our current technical means. The second theory says that the atmosphere was slowly eroded, during geological eras, by the solar wind, after the volcanic activity slowed down, causing the atmospheric gases to stop recycling. This way, most of the gases would have infiltrated, under various forms, into the martian crust. If this theory is true, there is a big chance that the planets atmosphere could be modified, allowing the implantation of life on Mars.

B. Resources for terraformation

Planet Mars has, under various forms, all the chemical elements necessary to life.

Water

The most obvious water reserves on Mars are located in the polar caps. According to some estimations, these contain around 5,000 km3 of water (equivalent to a 4 cm layer on the entire planets surface).

It seems that other water reserves exist in some stratified deposits (alternate layers of dust and ice) in the territories around the caps.

Apparently, there are, in the regolith, in the regions situated north and south of 40 latitude (North and, respectively, South), ice lenses (somehow similar to the terrestrial permafrost).

Squires and Carr (1986) estimated the total water quantity in the caps and regolith to the equivalent of a 13-100 m thick layer of liquid water on the entire planet.

Also, liquid water is supposed to exist in the lithosphere. Wittome says that the regolith, due to its porous structure, allowed water to infiltrate. This means that in the regions situated at more than 40 latitude, at a few kilometers depth, there sholud be thermal waters, at very high pressures. A recent model of the hydrological cycle on Mars (Clifford, 1993), shows that in the lower areas of the planet, there could be subterranean waters, at artesian pressures. Also, some minerals should contain water.

Carbon

It is known that the polar caps contain solid carbon dioxide. Some of this sublimates during the martian summer and solidifies in the winter, causing variations of the caps area. Initially, it was thought that most of the southern cap was made of CO2 (estimated to the equivalent of 10-100 mbar of gaseous CO2). However, recent data show that this cap is composed mostly of water.

Also, it is estimated that the regolith contains large amounts of CO2. Zent et al. mentioned the equivalent of 30-40 mbar, while other estimations indicate as much as 300 mbar. Some chemical tests showed that the martian regolith is capable of absorbing large quantities of CO2.

On Mars, carbon is also found in carbonates (of calcium, iron, magnesium etc.). It was observed the existence of layered deposits (calcium carbonate sediments). It is supposed that these are located in former lakes and evaporation basins. Such deposits were also discovered in Valles Marineris (a huge canyon system). Based on the low value of the Ca/Si ratio in the regolith, Warren (1987) says that there are large amounts of CaCO3 on Mars (there is only a little calcium in the regolith because most of it is concentrated in carbonates). According to some estimations, the carbonate reserves should contain the equivalent of 30 mbar of gaseous CO2. The presence of CO2 is extremely important for modifying the environmental conditions on Mars, as it will be shown below.

Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a vital element for every organism, being an important part of the composition of proteins, nucleic acids and other organic substances. The quantity of this element on Mars is unknown. This poses a big problem to those interested in the possibility of terraforming the planet. The atmospheric dinitrogen quantity is very small (2.7% of the atmosphere). Still it is preconized the existence of substantial amounts of nitrates in the regolith (according to some estimations, the equivalent of 300 mbar of gaseous N2), in former evaporation basins from the equatorial regions, together with the presence of underground ammonia deposits. Analyses done on martian basaltic meteorites show that these contain an amuont of nitrates and phosphates larger than the terrestrial basaltic rocks (scientists tried the experimental cultivation of some plants on soils containing martian meteoritic rocks, with spectacular results). Generally, it is accepted that there are important nitrate reserves on Mars, but their quantity is unknown.

Organic matter

Some specialists think there are some organic material deposits located at 3-40 meters below the planets surface (Bullock et al., 1994) or in the polar zones (Bada and McDonald, 1995).

In space, large amounts of organic compounds (especially hydrocarbons) are found in celestial bodies called carbonaceous chondrites (meteorites, asteroids, satellites). Still, it appears that on the planets surface there are no organic substances. This fact is probably due to the strong oxidizing agents in the upper layer of the regolith, that quickly oxidized the hydrocarbons, forming CO2. That is why, if there really is organic material on Mars, it should be found buried in the regolith. Also, the two natural satellites of the planet, Phobos and Deimos, belong to the carbonaceous chondrite class.

Recently, the Mars Express probe discovered some methane emissions of unknown origin.

Other elements

According to spectrometric analyses, sulphur is found in the martian "soil" in 10-100 times higher concentrations than on Earth. It is found in the form of sulphates (like jarosite), extremelly abundant on Mars. On Earth, large reserves of sulphur compounds are associated with volcanic activity.

Spectrometric analyses for phosphorus could not be effectuated, but it is thought that this is abundant, as the composition of martian meteorites show.

Other elements, like iron, manganese, potassium etc., exist in large quantities on Mars.

Additional chemical and mineralogical analyses are needed in order to know the exact quantities and locations of the various substances necessary to ecopoiesis.

C. Conditions necessary to life

To the proper going of metabolic activities of terrestrial organisms, envinronmental temperatures higher than 0C are required, although there are organisms that can resist for a long time at negative temperatures. It is known that during the martian summer, in the equatorial regions, temperatures can grow up to +25C, but this is not enough.

Generally the atmospreric pressure should be higher than 10 mbar, although some plants and anaerobic bacteria can withstand pressures below one millibar. The partial pressure of CO2 must exceed 0.15 mbar (on Mars, it is much higher than this limit). O2 partial pressure must be higher than 1 mbar. Many anaerobic and even aerobic microorganisms can grow in pure CO2 atmospheres. Some cyanobacteria and algae like Cyanidium sp. or Scenedesmus sp. produce, by photosynthesis, the oxygen needed for their respiration and, in the dark periods, they become anaerobic (Seckbach, 1970). It was found out that in the cyanobacterial and algal colonies grown at high CO2 concentrations will appear mutants that require larger and larger concentrations of this gas (Spalding et al., 1983; Marcus et al., 1986). This way mutants could be selectionated for colonizing Mars. Plants need, for photosynthesis, 20-210 mbar of O2 (mythochondrial enzymes need oxygen) but can be adapted to as little as la 0.1 mbar. Nitrogen fixing bacteria can begin their activity at 5-10 mbar of N2. The solar light that received by Mars is more than sufficient for photosynthesis.

For humans, requirements are much higher. The atmosphere must have a mass three times larger than the terrestrial one, in order to compensate the low gravity. The atmospheric pressure must exceed 500 mbar (on Earth it is around 1,013 mbar, at the sea level). CO2 partial pressure needs to be below 10 mbar (otherwise, it becomes toxic). O2 pressure must be between 130 and 300 mbar (too little oxygen causes hypoxia, too much, causes combustion). Additionally 300 mbar of buffer-gas are needed. This is necessary to prevent combustion, due to the presence of O2 in the atmosphere. The ideal buffer-gas is N2 (on Earth, it constitutes more than three quarters of the atmosphere), but, between certain limits, it can be replaced by He, Ar, Ne, Kr,Xe, CH4, H2O, CO, HCN, SF6.

3. ECOPOIESIS

The terraformation of a planet has two stages. The first stage was called by specialists ecopoiesis or ecosynthesis and its finality is the implantation of the first life forms on the planet and the creation of self-regulating anaerobic ecosystems. The second stage is the true terraformation and consists of creating an aerobic biosphere that will allow humans to colonize the planet.

As shown above, the main factors that prevent life implantation on Mars are too low atmospheric pressure, too low temperatures, lack of a protection against ultraviolet radiation, lack of liquid water on the planets surface. For all these problems there is only one solution: greenhouse effect.

The greenhouse effect is based on the property of certain gases (called greenhouse gases) to retain the solar heat reflected by the planets surface. The solar radiation directly heats the surface. Without greenhouse gases, a large part of the resulting heat would be lost in space. The greenhouse gases absorb it, heat the atmosphere, the atmosphere heats furthermore the planetary crust and the cycle goes on.

The best-known greenhouse gas is CO2. This constitutes most of the martian atmosphere, but it is insuficient because of the low atmospheric pressure (although it appears that, indeed, Mars is going through a warming process). Still, as shown above, CO2 is, probably, quite abundant on Mars, either as carbonic ice or as carbonate deposits.

Ecopoiesis on Mars could be realized by a human mechanical intervention that would produce a chain reaction. An artificial heating would release CO2, that, through the greenhouse effect, would release other quantities of CO2, H2O (water vapor is a greenhouse gas), maybe NH3 etc.

Several mathematical models of a greenhouse effect on Mars were done. One of them, created by McKay et al., show that an artificial temperature growth of only 4C could sustain a chain reaction, causing the southern polar cap to completely melt down (an initial 25C impulse would be needed). The release of 800 mbar CO2 in the atmosphere would bring the average temperature on the planet to 250 K (-25C), compared to the actual 213 K (-60C). Releasing 2 bar CO2 would increase the temperature to 273 K (0C), and 3 bar CO2, to 280 K. The last estimations of the southern caps composition infirm the presence of such large amounts of CO2, but the model remains valid. The sublimation of the CO2 from the polar caps would be followed by the release of this gas from the regolith (where CO2 is more abundent than in the caps). An additional 10C increase is required (Zubrin, McKay), producing a chain reaction. Other amounts of CO2 can be released from the carbonate reserves, using more aggressive methods, as shown below.

Even if McKays previsions would prove to be too optimistic, temperatures on Mars would still increase enough to allow the colonization of terrestrial organisms. The presence, in the atmpsphere, of several hundred millibars of CO2 would have many effects. First, the total atmospheric pressure would increase to acceptable values. Then, the atmospheric temperature would increase, allowing the existence (temporary or even permanent) of liquid water, at least in the equatorial regions. Finally, an ozone layer would appear and it would absorb most of the deadly radiations that reach the surface. In the upper layers of the atmosphere, under the action of ultraviolet radiation, carbon dioxide, goes through a simple splitting reaction, producing ozone.

Linda and James Graham show that all that life needs in order to be implanted on Mars is 90-300 mbar CO2 and 2 mbar O3 (for protection against radiation). These objectives are perfectly realizable.

If the theory of ecopoiesis, shown above, is rather simple, its practical realization is more problematic. Several solutions were proposed:

A. Orbital mirrors

The artificial heating of the polar caps and of the regolith could be done by placing large mirrors on the planets orbit. These would reflect the sunlight towards certain areas on the planet (especially the southern cap), triggering the greenhouse effect.

A mirror with a diameter of 20 meters was already placed in orbit around Earth in the 1980s (the "Znamia" project) in order to illuminate Russias northern territories during the polar night. It is preconized the launch, in the next future, of a mirror of 200 meters in diameter, with the same purpose. Most of the specialists say that a mirror that would heat enough the southern cap must have at least 125 kilometers in diameter (and a mass of about 200,000 tons). It would be built of aluminized mylar. The technology for building it is known, being the same as for producing the "solar sails" (that, in the future, will be used for the propulsion of spaceships). Its ideal location would be a stationary one, at the equilibrium point between the solar winds force and the planets gravitation.

Building such a mirror is not such a big problem (it would be the equivalent of Earths aluminium production for five days) but transporting it to the martian orbit is. Perhaps it should be built of small modules or replaced with many small mirrors. Using simultaneously more heating methods would greatly reduce the mirror's necessary dimensions.

B. Nuclear explosions

Using nuclear weapons to release carbon dioxide seems to be a easier solution for our current technological possibilities. Also, this would, finally, give Earths huge atomic arsenals a real utility for mankind.

Nuclear warheads could be used in two ways. First, they could be detonated at the planets surface, in the polar zones, in order to melt the caps. According to some estimations, it would be sufficient if, during four martian years (about seven terrestrial years), at the beginning of each martian spring, a nuclear warhead of 20 kilotons (thus, not a very powerful one) would be detonated in a dusty area near the southern cap, for the entire cap to melt. This would cumulate the direct effects of the explosions heat with the creation of dust storms that would cover the cap, reducing its albedo (this aspect will be discussed below). Probably, these estimations are too optimistic, but the idea is valid.

Second, subterranean nuclear explosions could be used to release greenhouse gases (CO2 and water vapor) from the carbonate deposits and from the "permafrost". Detonating nuclear warheads in nitrate deposits would release N2 and O2.

This solution is criticized for two main aspects. The first is the quantity of radiations that would appear after the explosions and that would make vast regions of the planet inhospitable to life. Yet, there are many ways of reducing the radioactive contamination. Using thermonuclear warheads (based on hydrogen fusion), that produce less radiations than fission weapons and detonating them, mostly, underground, would limit the afffected area. Also, it sould be considered the fact that terraformation would be a long process that will take, probably, tens of thousands of years. In this time, radioactivity would be greatly reduced, so that the future human colonists would not be affected. The second aspect, more problematic, is the number of nuclear warheads needed, which, according to some estimations, would be to big compared to the available atomic weapons.

C. Greenhouse gas production

Another solution is the artificial enrichment of the martian atmosphere in greenhouse gases. There are greenhouse gases much more efficient than carbon dioxide: halocarbons, ammonia, methane. Releasing these in the atmosphere in sufficient quantities would heat the planet and would sublimate the carbon dioxide, triggering the chain reaction necessary to ecopoiesis.

Halocarbons

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), responsible of destroying the ozone layer on Earth, are extremely strong greenhouse gases. It is estimated that a very small concentration of CFC, of one part in a million, would be enough to heat the atmosphere with 60C.

Yet, they are useless on Mars, for two reasons. First, they would destroy the ozone layer, the only defense against radiations. Second, ultraviolet radiations photolise CFC. The life of CFC would be very short (estimations indicate something between a few days and several tens of years) and they should be produced continously.

Releasing these gases in the martian atmosphere would mean their production in situ and, thus, the existence on Mars of the necessary industrial instalations. The main problem is finding raw materials. Fluorine can be extracted from minerals like apatite and fluorite and then, in reaction with atmospheric CO2 would form PFC. It was calculated that, in order to release a quantity of halocarbons sufficient for raising the temperature by 5C, an energy of around 1,315 MW is needed, equal to that produced by an ordinary nuclear power plant (Zubrin, McKay).

Ammonia

Ammonia is a strong greenhouse gas. It is unlikely that it could be produced, in short time and in sufficient quantities, on Mars. It could be "imported" from other regions of the Solar System. Comets and some asteroids contain large amounts of ammonia.

Deviating these celestial bodies towards Mars would be a problem. Although not far from the planets orbit there is a large asteroid belt, it would be easier that asteroids containing NH3 to be brought from the regions beyond Pluto, because their revolution speed is lower and they are easier to deviate. Some of the ammonia that they contain could be used for propulsion. It was calculated that for transporting an asteroid of 10 billion tons (2.6 kilometers in diameter) constituted entirely of NH3 and situated at a distance of 12 astronomical units, four 5,000 MW thermonuclear propellers (tested since the 1960s) would be enough. These would heat the asteroid, sublimating 8% of the ammonia quantity and using it for propulsion.

The transport would take ten years and would increase the temperature on Mars by 3C. In order to avoid causing great damage to the planet, the asteroid should not be crashed directly into the planets surface, but aerobraked.

Yet, the practical realisation of such transports would be quite difficult at the current technological level. Also, it is extermely improbable that an asteroid would be formed entirely of ammonia. Known asteroids and comets do not contain more than 10% ammonia.

Methane

Methane can be, in theory, "imported" from the Solar System, just like ammonia.

Finding a hydrogen source for this reaction would be problematic.

D. Using thermal waters

As shown above, the martian regolith is porous, due to the low gravitational force and, thus, permeable to water. This caused liquid water (which in the past was, probably, abundant on Mars) to infiltrate at various depths in the planets crust. Water temperature and pressure are high at great depths. Wittome says that at 6 km depth there should be water reserves at 300C. Also, colder water should exist at one kilometer depths, in the regions beyond 40 of latitude, especially in the Tharsis zone and, maybe, in Valles Marineris. If Cliffords model was correct, the lowlands (mostly in the northern hemisphere) could have accesible subterranean waters.

In order to exploit these water reserves, drilling is required. Thermal waters could be used in many ways. They could be transported by pipelines to the ice deposits in the regolith contributing to their melting and releasing CO2. Acidified thermal waters could be used for dissolving carbonate deposits, forming CO2, and nitrate deposits, forming N2 and O2.

Due to its enormous pressure, water could be let to flush in the atmosphere, vaporizing itself (because of its high temperature and low atmospheric pressure) and coming back at the surface as snow. Due to impurities contained by subterranean water, this snow would have a darker colour and, if it falls on the polar caps, it would help reducing their albedo and melting them.

Thermal waters could be used for producing the electricity needed by other installations necessary to ecopoiesis (drills, PFC factories etc.).

Finally, if thermal waters were directed to the bottom of a crater or of a depression in the crust, a lake would appear. These lakes would be covered by an ice crust and, below it, liquid water. If such lakes were located in the equatorial regions, it would be possible that, during the summer, they would not be frozen. In these lakes, living organisms could be introduced, preparing them for the moment when the natural conditions at the surface would be suitable to life. There are cyanobacteria and unicellular algae that can grow and photosynthesize even under thin ice crusts. Various chemosynthesizing organisms could grow in these lakes. The existence of artificial thermal springs would favorize the growth of microorganisms, such as methanogen bacteria, that prefere this kind of habitats and that would produce methane, a strong greenhouse gas.

The main problem for exploiting thermal waters is that of transporting to Mars and keeping in function installations like drills, pipelines, power generators etc. There are quite many such devices needed for obtaining significant results. Knowing the exact location of the subterranean water reserves is also necessary.

E. Reducing the albedo

The word "albedo" means the amount of light reflected by a certain body. A low albedo means that the body absorbs more solar radiation and, thus, it heats more. The martian ice caps reflect much solar light. If their surface was covered with darker substances, their albedo would decrease and the ice would heat, allowing the carbon dioxide to sublimate.

The easiest way of doing so is by creating dust storms. As shown above, the planets surface is covered by a red dust (it is red because of the iron oxides). The red dust would cover areas of the polar caps, helping them to melt.

Furthermore, dust storms would have another importance for ecopoiesis. It was observed that the distribution of the small ozone quantity in the martian atmosphere varies with the season and latitude (Lindner, 1988). These variations can be as large as 40%. During the first stages of ecosynthesis, until a sufficiently thick ozone layer would be formed, these variations would let entire regions of the planet without protection against ultraviolet radiations. Dust storms, not only would help the chemical process of forming ozone, but would absorb themselves part of the radiations.

As shown above, reducing the albedo could also be done with the "dirty" snow produced by using thermal waters.

Another possibility would be reducing the general albedo of the planet. This way, Mars would absorb more solar radiations and the whole atmosphere would become warmer. This could be done by covering large areas of the martian surface with dark substances (such as hydrocarbons). As shown above, it is possible that, at various depths in the regolith, hydrocarbons would be found. However, locating and extracting them would pose big technical problems. Furthermore, their quantity is unknown and neither their lifespan in the oxidizing environment at the regoliths surface.

It would be more economical to use the planets natural satellites. These have relatively small dimensions (they are probably former asteroids) and belong to the carbonaceous chondrites class, containing ice and black rocks, rich in hydrocarbons. Temperature at their surface is around 313 K (40C). Phobos has 22 kilometers in diameter. Its revolution speed around the planet is very high. Its orbit is continously closening to the planet and, in the far future, it will crash into Mars. Deimos has only 12.6 kilometers in diameter and a much lower revolution speed. Deviating and disintegrating these satellites in the martian atmosphere, using powerful nuclear explosions, would cover large territories with dark organic material. The impact of large satellite fragments (that, as shown above, have a high temperature) with the planets surface would release certain amounts of CO2 from the regolith, ausing, this way, a slight global warming.

The resulting organic material could become food for heterotrophic microorganisms, either under this form, either as intermediary products resulted after their oxidation by the regolith (salts of the acetic, oxalic, benzenocarboxilic acids etc.).

Pure carbon (black) can be obtained by reacting carbon dioxide with hydrogen, using, as catalyzers, iron, rubidium etc.:

Again, the problem is finding a hydrogen source.

These would be the main solutions for modifying the natural conditions on Mars. Of course, many other ones were proposed. For example, building small human colonies (isolated from the environment) and developing industrial activities capable of realising ecopoiesis. These colonies would also have artificial biospheres where organisms could be prepared for colonizing the planet. However this would take a long time and would pose technical problems.

Another idea would be building satellites that would receive solar energy and send it to the polar caps under another form (laser, microwaves).

As one could observe, for each of the solutions shown above, the technical requirements are relatively large. They would be reduced by using more, or even all of these methods, simultaneously. This way, the orbital mirrors needed would be smaller, so as the number of the nuclear warheads, of the drilling installations, or the amount of artificially produced greenhouse gases.

When can ecopoiesis start? As soon as possible, strictly depending of the technical means. When it would be over? There are various estimations. Generally, it is thought that one hundred years, or even less, would be enough for the first anaerobic ecosystems to be installed on Mars. After introducing the first organisms, the global warming due to human intervention, would continue until the martian atmosphere would have an acceptable pressure and temperature for superior organisms, including humans.

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Fourth Amendment | United States Constitution | Britannica.com

Posted: September 28, 2015 at 10:44 pm

Fourth Amendment,amendment (1791) to the Constitution of the United States, part of the Bill of Rights, that forbids unreasonable searches and seizures of individuals and property. For the text of the Fourth Amendment, see below.

Introduced in 1789, what became the Fourth Amendment struck at the heart of a matter central to the early American experience: the principle that, within reason, Every mans house is his castle, and that any citizen may fall into the category of the criminally accused and ought to be provided protections accordingly. In U.S. constitutional law, the Fourth Amendment is the foundation of criminal law jurisprudence, articulating both the rights of persons and the responsibilities of law-enforcement officials. The balance between these two forces has undergone considerable public, political, and judicial debate. Are the amendments two clauses meant to be applied independently or taken as a whole? Is the expectation of privacy diminished depending on where and what is suspected, sought, and seized? What constitutes an unreasonable search and seizure?

The protections contained in the amendment have been determined less on the basis of what the Constitution says than according to what it has been interpreted to mean, and, as such, its constitutional meaning has inherently been fluid. The protections granted by the U.S. Supreme Court have expanded during periods when the court was dominated by liberals (e.g., during the tenure of Chief Justice Earl Warren [195369]), beginning particularly with Mapp v. Ohio (1961), in which the court extended the exclusionary rule to all criminal proceedings; by contrast, during the tenure of the conservative William Rehnquist (19862005) as chief justice, the court contracted the rights afforded to the criminally accused, allowing law-enforcement officials latitude to search in instances when they reasonably believed that the property in question harboured presumably dangerous persons.

The full text of the amendment is:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

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genome | genetics | Britannica.com

Posted: at 10:42 pm

Thank you for helping us expand this topic! Simply begin typing or use the editing tools above to add to this article. Once you are finished and click submit, your modifications will be sent to our editors for review.

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an international collaboration in which researchers aimed to sequence the genomes of a large number of people from different ethnic groups worldwide with the intent of creating a catalog of genetic variations occurring with a frequency of at least 1 percent across all human populations. A major goal of the project was to identify more than 95 percent of variations known as single nucleotide...

...of a phosphoryl group). The specific location of a given chemical modification can also be important. For example, certain histone modifications distinguish actively expressed regions of the genome from regions that are not highly expressed. These modifications may correlate with chromosome banding patterns generated by staining procedures common in karyotype analyses. Similarly,...

The development of the technology to sequence the DNA of whole genomes on a routine basis has given rise to the discipline of genomics, which dominates genetics research today. Genomics is the study of the structure, function, and evolutionary comparison of whole genomes. Genomics has made it possible to study gene function at a broader level, revealing sets of genes that interact to impinge on...

study of the structure, function, and inheritance of the genome (entire set of genetic material) of an organism. A major part of genomics is determining the sequence of molecules that make up the genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) content of an organism. The genomic DNA sequence is contained within an organisms chromosomes, one or more sets of which are found in each cell of an organism. The...

The genome of HIV mutates at a very high rate, and the virus in each infected individual is thus slightly different. The genetic mechanisms that underlie the individual variation have been investigated through approaches based on genome sequencing. The HIV-1 genome in 2009 was the first HIV genome to be sequenced in its entirety. Prior to that achievement, the ability of HIV RNA to fold into...

New work on genome sequences, the total amount and quality of all of the genes that make up a live being, permits more accurate assessment of the material basis of the theoretically smallest and simplest extant free-living organisms. The complete DNA sequences of a few extremely small free-living organisms are now knowne.g., Mycoplasma genitalium with its 480 genes. All the...

type of life cycle that takes place when a bacteriophage infects certain types of bacteria. In this process, the genome (the collection of genes in the nucleic acid core of a virus) of the bacteriophage stably integrates into the chromosome of the host bacterium and replicates in concert with it. No progeny viruses are produced. Instead, the infecting virus lies dormant within the bacteriums...

an alteration in the genetic material (the genome) of a cell of a living organism or of a virus that is more or less permanent and that can be transmitted to the cells or the viruss descendants. (The genomes of organisms are all composed of DNA, whereas viral genomes can be of DNA or RNA.) Mutation in the DNA of a body...

Salamanders have enormous genomes that contain more nucleic acid and larger chromosomes in each cell than any tetrapods. The genomes vary greatly in size among species, even within a family. Large genomes impose large cell size, which means that small salamanders have relatively few cells. The apparent anatomic simplicity of salamanders may be a direct and phylogenetically secondary outcome.

The nucleic acids of virions are arranged into genomes. All double-stranded DNA viruses consist of a single large molecule, whereas most double-stranded RNA viruses have segmented genomes, with each segment usually representing a single gene that encodes the information for synthesizing a single protein. Viruses with single-stranded genomic DNA are usually small, with limited genetic...

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what is a genome? give some example.? | Yahoo Answers

Posted: at 10:42 pm

Best Answer: The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA.More precisely, the genome of an organism is a complete genetic sequence on one set of chromosomes; for example, one of the two sets that a diploid individual carries in every somatic cell. The term genome can be applied specifically to mean that stored on a complete set of nuclear DNA (i.e., the "nuclear genome") but can also be applied to that stored within organelles that contain their own DNA, as with the mitochondrial genome or the chloroplast genome. The genome of a diploid organism including eukarya refers to a full set of chromosomes or genes in a gamete; thereby, a regular somatic cell contains two full sets of genomes. In haploid organisms, including bacteria, archaea, viruses, and mitochondria, a cell contains only a single set of the genome, usually in a single circular or contiguous linear DNA (or RNA for retroviruses). In modern molecular biology the genome of an organism is its hereditary information encoded in DNA (or, for retroviruses, RNA).

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Home – Complete GenomicsComplete Genomics

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Complete Genomics is a leader in whole human genome sequencing based in Mountain View, California. Using its proprietary sequencing instruments, chemistry, and software, the company has sequenced more than 20,000 whole human genomes. The companys mission is to improve human health by providing researchers and clinicians with the core technology and commercial systems to understand, prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases and conditions.

Over the past three years, Complete Genomics has initiated a large number of clinical utility studies designed to demonstrate thatpatients, payers, and physicians may be better off with a whole genome sequence as compared to standard of care. We have engaged key opinion leaders around the world to explore this question. While these studies cover many different clinical areas, three examples of the outcomes in autism, intellectual delay, and the lifetime benefit of whole genome sequencing are illustrated in these short videos.

Complete Genomics is now previewing its first commercial product, the Revolocity system. Unlike other providers who focus on providing only sequencing equipment, Complete Genomics has designed the Revolocity system to be a total end-to-end genomics solution for large-scale, high-quality genomes.

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Atopic dermatitis: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

Posted: at 10:42 pm

SKIN CARE AT HOME

Daily skin care may cut down on the need for medicines.

To help you avoid scratching your rash or skin:

Keepyour skin moist by using ointments (such as petroleum jelly), creams, or lotions 2 to 3 times a day. Choose skin products that do not contain alcohol, scents, dyes, and other chemicals. A humidifier to keep home air moist will also help.

Avoid things that make symptoms worse, such as:

When washing or bathing:

MEDICATIONS

At this time, allergy shots are not used to treat atopic dermatitis.

Antihistamines taken by mouth may help with itching or allergies. You can often buy these medicines without a prescription.

Atopic dermatitis is usually treated with medicines placed directly on the skin or scalp. These are called topical medicines:

Wet-wrap treatment with topical corticosteroids may help control the condition, but may lead to an infection.

Other treatments that may be used include:

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