The boffins at the Merriam-Webster dictionary tell me there have been a lot of ‘lookups’ recently on their website for this word ‘biosignature.’
This word was coined back in 1995 and means ‘a chemical or physical indication of the presence of life (currently or in the past) on a planet.’
As you may know, there are three operational automated Mars rovers, dropped in from Earth, currently crawling over the surface of the red planet.
A total of eight mars rovers have been sent over the years, seven of them landed successfully and transmitted back data, and three of those are still functional.
Well, one of them, while collecting tiny specs of mudstone from what scientists think might be a dry riverbed, found something that might (or might not) be poppyseeds (or perhaps something not entirely unlike poppyseeds—remember this limited data, transmitted from 225 million kilometres away).
You can see how such find might excite scientists because it qualifies as a ‘biosignature’—as evidence that life might once have existed on Mars.
Mind you, this is a long way from H. G. Wells’ novel The War of the Worlds (1898) in which intelligent (and rather nasty) Martians invade Earth; but, as I remember, after inflicting a lot of damage, they die inside their huge fighting machines—killed by the common cold to which they were not resistant.
The point is that there is a huge distance between ‘life’ and ‘intelligent life.’
When we say ‘life’ we are including anything that can reproduce itself (which is pretty much the definition of living matter).
Rocks can’t do this, but even the smallest plants can.
Even one-celled bacteria are living things—because they can reproduce.
I remember how excited some scientists were when a rock from Mars showed traces of dead one-celled bacteria.
But, as I said, this is a long way from intelligent life.
The famous sweeping of the night skies by radio telescopes is called SETI—the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (not just life, intelligence!)
And evolutionary biologists (in their moments of honesty) will tell you that they don’t have clue how homo sapiens came to be intelligent, and, therefore, haven’t a clue as to whether this can ever be reproduced on another planet.
So, a ‘biosignature’ is exciting—but only in a modest way!
The latest issue of The Spectator Australia is at your newsagent now -- with a cartoon of protestors on the front cover, and my 'Language' column in the back (in the lifestyle section).
The latest issue of the podcast 'Words with Kel Richards' is now available (with the dateline 9 September). You can find it by scrolling down this page, or from wherever you get your podcasts.
My latest column for Sky News Online has just been posted. It looks at the future of conservative politics in Australia. You can read it here:
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BY THE WAY...
If you'd like to see my A-Z list of Aussie slang, you'll find it here in the Australian Geographic website -- A-Z list of Aussie slang. Here’s the link: The A-Z of Aussie slang - Australian Geographic
The liveliest part of this website is usually the Q and A page -- be sure to check it out from time to time.
