Viruses have been around since the beginning of time. Historical data has proven this fact. But where did they originate? Did they begin as an aberation of our planets biome? Did they get deposited in our planets biome from galactic dust, comets or solar radiations? Were they simply mutations of early life processes of our own planet?

We may never know the answers to those questions but one thing is certain; a virus will probably spell the eventual extinction of the human race.

Global warming(whether you believe it or not), is man-made and is causing the melting of ice masses that are covering land masses in the far north. They call it perma-frost. As it melts it has the potential to release that deadly virus that has been frozen for millions of years under the ice. I think that will probably be the source of the extinction virus. A very scary proposition indeed!

We are made of stardust, the saying goes, and a pair of studies including University of Michigan research finds that may be more true than we previously thought.

The first study, led by U-M researcher Jie (Jackie) Li and published in Science Advances, finds that most of the carbon on Earth was likely delivered from the interstellar medium, the material that exists in space between stars in a galaxy. This likely happened well after the protoplanetary disk, the cloud of dust and gas that circled our young sun and contained the building blocks of the planets, formed and warmed up.

Carbon was also likely sequestered into solids within one million years of the sun's birth -- which means that carbon, the backbone of life on earth, survived an interstellar journey to our planet.

Previously, researchers thought carbon in the Earth came from molecules that were initially present in nebular gas, which then accreted into a rocky planet when the gases were cool enough for the molecules to precipitate. Li and her team, which includes U-M astronomer Edwin Bergin, Geoffrey Blake of the California Institute of Technology, Fred Ciesla of the University of Chicago and Marc Hirschmann of the University of Minnesota, point out in this study that the gas molecules that carry carbon wouldn't be available to build the Earth because once carbon vaporizes, it does not condense back into a solid.

"The condensation model has been widely used for decades. It assumes that during the formation of the sun, all of the planet's elements got vaporized, and as the disk cooled, some of these gases condensed and supplied chemical ingredients to solid bodies. But that doesn't work for carbon," said Li, a professor in the U-M Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Much of carbon was delivered to the disk in the form of organic molecules. However, when carbon is vaporized, it produces much more volatile species that require very low temperatures to form solids. More importantly, carbon does not condense back again into an organic form. Because of this, Li and her team inferred most of Earth's carbon was likely inherited directly from the interstellar medium, avoiding vaporization entirely.

To better understand how Earth acquired its carbon, Li estimated the maximum amount of carbon Earth could contain. To do this, she compared how quickly a seismic wave travels through the core to the known sound velocities of the core. This told the researchers that carbon likely makes up less than half a percent of Earth's mass. Understanding the upper bounds of how much carbon the Earth might contain tells the researchers information about when the carbon might have been delivered here.

"We asked a different question: We asked how much carbon could you stuff in the Earth's core and still be consistent with all the constraints," Bergin said, professor and chair of the U-M Department of Astronomy. "There's uncertainty here. Let's embrace the uncertainty to ask what are the true upper bounds for how much carbon is very deep in the Earth, and that will tell us the true landscape we're within."

A planet's carbon must exist in the right proportion to support life as we know it. Too much carbon, and the Earth's atmosphere would be like Venus, trapping heat from the sun and maintaining a temperature of about 880 degrees Fahrenheit. Too little carbon, and Earth would resemble Mars: an inhospitable place unable to support water-based life, with temperatures around minus 60.

In a second study by the same group of authors, but led by Hirschmann of the University of Minnesota, the researchers looked at how carbon is processed when the small precursors of planets, known as planetesimals, retain carbon during their early formation. By examining the metallic cores of these bodies, now preserved as iron meteorites, they found that during this key step of planetary origin, much of the carbon must be lost as the planetesimals melt, form cores and lose gas. This upends previous thinking, Hirschmann says.

"Most models have the carbon and other life-essential materials such as water and nitrogen going from the nebula into primitive rocky bodies, and these are then delivered to growing planets such as Earth or Mars," said Hirschmann, professor of earth and environmental sciences. "But this skips a key step, in which the planetesimals lose much of their carbon before they accrete to the planets."

Hirschmann's study was recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"The planet needs carbon to regulate its climate and allow life to exist, but it's a very delicate thing," Bergin said. "You don't want to have too little, but you don't want to have too much."

Bergin says the two studies both describe two different aspects of carbon loss -- and suggest that carbon loss appears to be a central aspect in constructing the Earth as a habitable planet.

"Answering whether or not Earth-like planets exist elsewhere can only be achieved by working at the intersection of disciplines like astronomy and geochemistry," said Ciesla, a U. of C. professor of geophysical sciences. "While approaches and the specific questions that researchers work to answer differ across the fields, building a coherent story requires identifying topics of mutual interest and finding ways to bridge the intellectual gaps between them. Doing so is challenging, but the effort is both stimulating and rewarding." =

Blake, a co-author on both studies and a Caltech professor of cosmochemistry and planetary science, and of chemistry, says this kind of interdisciplinary work is critical.

"Over the history of our galaxy alone, rocky planets like the Earth or a bit larger have been assembled hundreds of millions of times around stars like the Sun," he said. "Can we extend this work to examine carbon loss in planetary systems more broadly? Such research will take a diverse community of scholars."

Funding sources for this collaborative research include the National Science Foundation, NASA's Exoplanets Research Program, NASA's Emerging Worlds Program and the NASA Astrobiology Program.

Copied From: Science Daily
Source: University of Michigan

Some historians speculate that April Fools??" Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. In the Julian Calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called ??SApril fools.⬝ These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as ??Spoisson d??"avril⬝ (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.

There are many reasons why people enjoy a hobby. Look around your home or neighborhood and see how other people are enjoying their talents and skills. Note their smiling faces and other signs of happiness.

Enjoy is the keyword for the number one reason people embrace a hobby. Enjoyment brings happiness, contentment, success, and feelings of pride and achievement. In return the body responds with mental and physical good health. A person feels like they are having a good day and it feels great to be alive.

Health Benefits of Hobbies

• Mental distraction from worries; build self-esteem and self-worth
• Relieve stress and tension; develop a healthy mind and body
• Socializing with family and friends; heartfelt importance and happiness
• Developing new talents and skills; it may become a new career
• Improving memory and mental skills; our brain needs exercises
• Nurturing creativity and imagination; helps to think out-of-the-box
• Building a strong and healthy body; maintaining peak performance
• Developing positive attitudes; negative thinking is undesirable waste

As you can see from the above list, there are many good reasons to have a hobby or an interest which satisfies your passions. Good mental and physical health makes for a pleasant life style. There are so many things which we can enjoy. Our enthusiasm disappears when we are not feeling good or have an illness.

As an adult what is causing difficulties in choosing a new hobby? Some people have so many interests that they fear lack of time to get it all done. And then there are those individuals that have difficulty finding a hobby or any leisure interests.

Reasons for difficulty selecting a new hobby:

1. Too many hobbies to choose from and cannot decide on one project
2. Too tired and lacking energy after a day of employment
3. Extremely creative and imaginative causing indecision
4. Negative thinking against any selected project
5. Lack of monies to invest in a hobby
6. Lack of time or cannot find the time for leisure relaxation

Hundreds of Hobbies:

There are hundreds of hobbies to select. People have assorted interests and where to start can be puzzling. The easiest method to finding a hobby is to list what you like to do. If that list is too long; write an elimination list.

Review the list noting that there can be sub-categories for the main description. For example, the word gardening. This list will expand into different types of gardening; earth, water, chemical, hydroponics, aquatic, hydroponics, miniature, stone, flower, vegetables, exotic plants, butterfly, and other specialties. These terms can be broken down into further groupings.

To shorten this list, use the elimination list to erase the unwanted. Review the remaining items and make a selection.

Enjoy your newly selected hobby.

Article by Tricia Deed

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9805704

One hundred ten years ago in 1909, a large house was constructed in St Petersburg, Florida. But it was not a typical home that needed repairing. From the time it was built, the house never had repairs and nothing had to be replaced. The locals called it a "miraculous" home because nothing ever had to be repaired. Over the past one hundred years, there was a rumor that it was indestructible and nothing could harm it. Little is known about fifteen workers who built the house.

The only common knowledge is that they built the house in very little time. But some townspeople reported strange spooky chanting during the nights it was being built. After it was built, the workers were never heard from or seen again. Many believe the fifteen men somehow cursed the house. Was it the strange "rituals" and chanting that made the home indestructible?

The "indestructibility" theory had been successfully tested throughout the years. In 1995, an army of residents set out to disprove that rumor. They went inside while some stayed outside using every tool available to physically damage any part of the home. However, nobody could even put a dent inside or outside the home. A few years ago, attempts to use dynamite proved useless. Even the original paint stuck to the house, which had never even chipped or fallen off.

Local newspapers over the years reported the home still stood exactly like she did when she was constructed many years ago. Theories as to why the house couldn't be harmed ranged from angels built it to it was cursed. However, most people believed a meteorite from space hit the site thousands of years ago.

Since the home was completed, it had low owner turnover because of the low costs since the house never needed repairs. The only differences owners made was during Halloween and Christmas when they spruced up the house with holiday ornamentation.

But several years ago in 2015 Jim and Mary Dexter, a young couple bought the house from the last owner for a lot of money. They knew their new home had been considered "indestructible." The couple set out to find more out about their interesting home by researching its history in the local library. They gathered little useful information. So Jim decided he would explore the home a little deeper. However, Mary couldn't assist him because she had to go out of town for a business conference.

When Jim set about the hunt, he walked through each room, examining the walls and every corner for hidden doors. He looked for anything that had not been reported in the house's history. He searched around for nooks and crannies, even hidden rooms that had not been explored. Although he didn't find anything unusual, he journeyed to the basement, knocking on the basement's walls to listen for hollow spaces, but didn't have any success. Then he looked at the floor which appeared solid. Nevertheless, he walked carefully on it listening for weak floorboards.

He saw a dusty carpet that was so old, it was about as brown as the rest of the floor. He believed that carpet was the key to an entrance to something underneath. Jim tried to remove it, but it wasn't easy - it seemed stuck onto the floor. He went to his toolbox and dragged out a sledgehammer to smash the carpet so it would dislodge. After smashing it seven times, the wooden floor submitted to the pounding force by falling down underneath the house into a never before seen area.

So much dust kicked up that it swirled around the basement. Jim could scarcely breathe So he covered his nose and mouth with his hands until the dust settled. He moved toward an opening he made and took out a flashlight from his pocket, shining it all around downward. Apparently, he had found a way into a new room. As he looked around, he felt exuberant that he had possibly made a never before seen part of the house. Suddenly he saw a human skull on the floor in one corner. Then he moved the light around the room, he saw a dozen or so skeletons. Jim's eyes beamed wide open and thought, "Oh no!!!" He panicked and immediately called 911. Within five seconds a woman came on and Jim told her what he had found in his home. She told him a sheriff would be there immediately.

Jim tried unsuccessfully to call Mary on his iPhone. Although she was unavailable, Jim didn't leave a message. He was shaking, thinking about what he just saw. He wondered how those people ended up sealed underneath their home. The police raced out to the house with a firetruck tailing it. When the police car arrived at the house, the sheriff got out, Jim led him in and showed them the skeletons he had discovered. After the firefighters arrived they pulled out their ladders and positioned them downward. Police and firefighters climbed down the ladders, trying not to step on the bones.

The news of the discovery quickly got out to the St. Petersburg area. Reporters arrived at the house, but they were restricted as the yellow tape was placed around the house as the FBI forensic technicians carefully examined the bones. Hours later, the bones were separated and were individually taken out of the house with great care. But just as soon as all of the skeletons were taken out, suddenly an enormous cracking noise could be heard from the top of the house. Before anyone knew it, the roof had completely collapsed, followed by the rest of the house. Although people were standing near the house, they ran from it as fast as they could. Unfortunately, several FBI personnel fell and died right in front of the house.

Jim immediately called Mary who was already driving home. He told her the entire story, which she filled in the conversation with many surprised gasps, and lots of "I don't believe it!" and "OMG".

A week later, the St. Petersburg Times reported in its headlines: "One Hundred Year Old 'Indestructible' House Collapses from Inside". The article reported, "The skeletons of 15 dead people who, according to authorities may have been the home's original builders. They were lying near each other which formed a circle. All had been shot in the head in what appeared to be some kind of ritual cult murder. Apparently, this had been a hidden room discovered by the owner, who believed the floor he knocked in had been built to hide the skeletons. It has been suggested that the remains of these builders had something mystical to do with the house's 'indestructibility.' This theory is plausible since the house caved in after a forensic FBI took the last cadaver out of the home. The current occupants did not respond to questions."

By Harrington A Lackey

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10170892