tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2832448906499949997.post4109526093453166453..comments2023-08-11T12:28:34.947+01:00Comments on Aurea Mediocritas: First Bristolians in Space?TonyDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01419247851163118883noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2832448906499949997.post-14376148112273669822010-01-02T18:06:47.127+00:002010-01-02T18:06:47.127+00:00The Geek shall inherit the Earth.
Surely the real...The Geek shall inherit the Earth.<br /><br />Surely the real sign of geekery is writing "10exp22" rather than "roughly 4 out of 5 animals are nematodes"? ;-)<br /><br />I have also been told off for failing to mention that the Bristol worms had gone on an earlier space mission. <br /><br />The earlier flight was the ill-fated Columbia mission which exploded killing everything on-board - or so it was thought. A canister from the shuttle was found amongst other wreckage in a remote part of Texas, and when it was opened some 3 months after the disaster it produced the Bristol worms alive and well.<br /><br />Eventually four more canisters each containing 7 or 8 Petri dishes of worms were recovered. The worms apparently survived by going into a state of "suspended development". <br /><br />However, before doing so, they appear to have been "active" because at launch each Petri dish contained 10 to 500 worms but when re-opened there were up to 27,000 worms in each dish.<br /><br />Their survival has apparently re-opened debate about the origin of life on Earth because as the NY Times put it;<br /><br /> "If a tiny soil worm could do it, why not a hardy bacterium from a distant world, hitching a ride on a space rock or, dare we think it, sent by an advanced civilization?" ;-)TonyDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01419247851163118883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2832448906499949997.post-34172497513647947792010-01-02T14:44:43.796+00:002010-01-02T14:44:43.796+00:00Exceptional geekery here Tony ;)
Although I don&#...Exceptional geekery here Tony ;)<br /><br />Although I don't know how you could write so much about nematodes without mentioning that most bio9logists think that they are the most numerous animal on earth, with perhaps 10exp22 living at any one time...Cllr Mark Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00634942331096249579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2832448906499949997.post-48476227363573944312010-01-01T22:18:57.654+00:002010-01-01T22:18:57.654+00:00Great. We need more of this kind of blogging. Make...Great. We need more of this kind of blogging. Make the world a better place.<br /><br />It's good that they have not been driven to extinction already. I bet some fertiliser manufacturers consortium have given thought to the chances of getting compost heaps made illegal. H&S grounds.<br /><br />Sorry, I'm burbling. Good post, Tony.DocRichardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08903964792092284406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2832448906499949997.post-81039485538246201842010-01-01T21:32:40.867+00:002010-01-01T21:32:40.867+00:00Talking about worms from a Bristol compost heap, w...Talking about worms from a Bristol compost heap, when do Bristol City Council get back into what passes for action after the new year break?Chris Hutthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01532451004057748734noreply@blogger.com