Testing the Hydrogen Peroxide-Water Hypothesis for Life on Mars with the TEGA instrument on the Phoenix Lander

Since Viking has conducted its life detection experiments on Mars, many missions have enhanced our knowledge about the environmental conditions on the Red Planet. However, the Martian surface chemistry and the Viking lander results remain puzzling. Non-biological explanations that favor a strong inorganic oxidant are currently favored (e.g., Mancinelli, 1989; Quinn and Zent, 1999; Klein, 1999, Yen et al., 2000), but problems remain regarding the life time, source, and abundance of that oxidant to account for the Viking observations (Zent and McKay, 1994). Alternatively, a hypothesis favoring the biological origin of a strong oxidizer has recently been advanced (Houtkooper and Schulze-Makuch, 2007). Here, we report about laboratory experiments that simulate the experiments to be conducted by the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA) instrument of the Phoenix lander, which is to descend on Mars in May 2008. Our experiments provide a baseline for an unbiased test for chemical versus biological responses, which can be applied at the time the Phoenix Lander transmits its first results from the Martian surface.Comment: 11 pages and 3 figure

The next generation HAPPEX experiments

A new generation of parity violating electron scattering experiments began running in Summer 2004 at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. HAPPEX-H will measure the parity violating asymmetry in polarized electron scattering from protons at Q 2 = 0.11 (GeV/c)2. This asymmetry is sensitive to a linear combination of the strange electric and magnetic form factors of the proton. HAPPEX-He will measure the parity violating asymmetry in polarized electron scattering from a 4He target at the same value of Q 2, using the same spectrometers and similar detectors, accessing the strange electric form factor cleanly. PREX will use parity violating electron scattering to determine the neutron radius of the 206Pb nucleus. PACS: 13.60.Fz Elastic and Compton scattering – 11.30.Er Charge conjugation, parity, time reversal, and other discrete symmetries – 13.40.Gp Electromagnetic form factors – 14.20.Dh Protons and neutrons – 24.80.+y Nuclear tests of fundamental interactions and symmetries – 21.10.Gv Mass and neutron distributions – 25.30.Bf Elastic electron scatterin

Uso e conhecimento tradicional de plantas medicinais no Sertão do Ribeirão, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil Use and traditional knowledge of medicinal plants at Sertão do Ribeirão, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi realizar um estudo etnobotânico sobre o uso e o conhecimento tradicional de plantas medicinais no Sertão do Ribeirão, uma comunidade de origem açoriana, inserida no domínio da Mata Atlântica e localizada dentro dos limites do Parque Municipal da Lagoa do Peri. Foram realizadas 13 entrevistas com moradores do Sertão do Ribeirão, sendo identificadas 114 espécies de plantas medicinais, distribuídas em 48 famílias botânicas. A diversidade de plantas medicinais conhecida no Sertão do Ribeirão é bastante elevada e a obtenção das plantas na própria comunidade sugere uma forte correlação entre uso e conhecimento tradicional de plantas medicinais e a possibilidade de obtê-las no local. O conhecimento etnobotânico sobre plantas medicinais não difere entre homens e mulheres e o uso de medicamentos industrializados e de plantas medicinais indica uma complementaridade entre a medicina moderna e a medicina popular. A transmissão do conhecimento feita na própria comunidade, com pais/avós e vizinhos, demonstra uma rica herança cultural local sobre plantas medicinais.<br>The aim of this research was to do an ethnobotanical study on the use and traditional knowledge of medicinal plants at Sertão do Ribeirão, an Azorean community, inserted in the Atlantic Forest domain and located within the boundaries of Lagoa do Peri Municipal Park. A total of 13 interviews were made with residents of Sertão do Ribeirão, identifying 114 species of medicinal plants, distributed in 48 botanical families. The diversity of medicinal plants known at Sertão do Ribeirão is quite high and the collection of plants by the community suggests a strong correlation between use and traditional knowledge of medicinal plants and the possibility of local gathering. Ethnobotanical knowledge of medicinal plants does not differ between women and men and the use of industrialized medicine and medicinal plants indicates a complementarity between modern and folk medicine. Knowledge transmission within the community, with parents/grandparents and neighbours, shows a rich local cultural heritage of medicinal plants

A piscicultura e o ambiente: o uso de alimentos ambientalmente corretos em piscicultura Fish farming and the environment: the use of environmental friendly feeds in fish culture

Embora a ciência da nutrição de peixes esteja longe de estabelecer um padrão geral de exigências nutricionais, a necessidade de desenvolvimento de alimentos de baixo impacto poluente há muito faz parte da agenda das comunidades científica e empresarial internacional da aqüicultura. Não só é absolutamente possível formular alimentos ambientalmente corretos, como é necessário modelar a formulação destes alimentos. Porém, é necessária absoluta acurácia para atender formulações espécie-específicas, considerando-se as interações da biologia e fisiologia nutricional das espécies com os alimentos e com as variações abióticas do meio. O conhecimento disponível sobre as mais de 200 espécies de peixe produzidas comercialmente no mundo é ainda incipiente e os sistemas de produção de peixe, nos diferentes regimes de exploração, estão implantados em todas as condições ecológicas possíveis. Neste cenário, produzir rações ambientalmente corretas é, senão impossível, pelo menos muito difícil e depende da ação coordenada e positiva de produtores, indústria da alimentação, agências regulatórias, e instituições de ensino e pesquisa para definir os parâmetros necessários à consecução deste objetivo.<br>Although fish nutrition science is far from establishing general standards of nutritional requirements, the need for developing low impact feeds has long been included in the agenda of aquaculture's international scientific and business communities of. Not only is absolutely possible to formulate environmental friendly feeds, as it is necessary modeling the formulation of these feeds. However, it is necessary higher accuracy to develop species-specific formulations, considering interactions of the biology and nutritional physiology of the species with the feedstuffs and variations of abiotic environment. The knowledge on more than 200 species of commercially farmed fish is still incipient and fish production systems, in their most varied farming conditions, are set up in every possible ecological conditions. In this scenario, producing environmental friendly feeds is if not impossible, at least very, very difficult, depending on coordinated and positive action of producers, industry, regulatory agencies, and institutions of higher education and research to define the parameters needed to achieve this goal