Monday, July 11, 2011
Ogoja is a lovely town about an hour and thirty(30) minutes drive from the famous Obudu cattle ranch.It is a part of Northen Cross River, that is highly rich in Salt,clay,brimestones,cassavas,yams,mushrooms and assorted cows.
The people are very welcoming and open.It does not rain here unlike Calabar.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
NASA FINDS NEW FORM OF LIFE
Bacteria that thrive on arsenic
have been scooped from a
California lake, a discovery that
redefines the building blocks of life
and offers new hope in the search
for other organisms on Earth and
beyond.
Not only do the bacteria survive,
they grow by swapping
phosphorus for arsenic in their
DNA and cell membranes, said the
study funded by the US space
agency NASA and published
Thursday in the journal Science.
The findings add a new dimension
to what biologists consider the
necessary elements for life,
currently viewed as six elements:
carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen,
oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur.
"What we've found is a microbe
doing something new -- building
parts of itself out of arsenic," said
scientist Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a
fellow in NASA's astrobiology
program who made the
groundbreaking discovery at Mono
Lake in eastern California.
"There's an organism on Earth
doing something different," said
Wolfe-Simon. "We've cracked open
the door to what's possible for life
elsewhere in the universe. And
that's profound."
Ariel Anbar, a co-author of the
study, explained how Wolfe-Simon
was able to get the bacteria
known as strain GFAJ-1 of the
Halomonadaceae family of
Gamoproteobacteria to grow
under extreme arsenic-laden
conditions in the lab.
"She takes this sediment, puts it in
a bottle essentially where there is
lots of arsenic and very little
phosphorus, and she does it over
and over so only organisms that
are going to be happy in that
environment survive," said Anbar.
"The organism came from nature,"
said Anbar, a scientist at Arizona
State University's School of Earth
and Space Exploration. "It is a
known bacteria. It is not a brand
new bug but nobody realized it
could do this," he said.
Scientists have known for some
time that some microbes can use
arsenic for energy, much like
humans do with oxygen or food.
"The way I like to put it is they
smoke it but they don't inhale it,"
said Paul Davies, a co-author of
the paper and British-born
cosmologist at Arizona State
University.
"So the big question we all wanted
to know was where has the
arsenic gone? Is the arsenic really
in their innards?
"Eventually, bit by bit, the
evidence accumulated that indeed
the arsenic was in the DNA, the
proteins, the lipid membranes and
the metabolites, so it was
everywhere where it is important."
The trio of Wolfe-Simon, Anbar and
Davies published in 2009 their
hypothesis that arsenic, which is
directly below phosphorus on the
periodic table, could substitute for
phosphorus in Earth life forms.
"We conjectured that maybe life
started via the arsenic route and
phosphorus was the later
adaptation," said Davies, noting
that they still are not sure which
came first, or if this bacteria could
be "like a living fossil, a hangover
from an earlier arsenic epoch."
But the discovery has made him
think about all the forms of life
out there that scientists may
have missed.
"This is going to open up a whole
new line of inquiry. First of all this
can't be the only arsenic organism
on the planet, there is going to a
be lot more, so this is a whole new
domain of microbiology that it
represents," said Davies.
"Who knows what else is out there
if we take a harder look?"
The findings, leaked early in a
vague but intriguing
announcement by NASA that
mentioned "extraterrestrial life,"
lit up the blogosphere and stunned
many scientists.
Arizona State University professor
James Elser said he has spent
years telling students that
phosphorus was a necessary part
of DNA.
"The idea that I am sitting here
today discussing the idea that this
is not true is shocking," said Elser,
a panelist at a NASA press
conference on the discovery.
Caleb Scharf, a Columbia University
astrobiologist, told The New York
Times he was amazed.
"It's like if you or I morphed into
fully functioning cyborgs after
being thrown into a room of
electronic scrap with nothing to
eat," he said.
NASA has conducted numerous
probes at eastern California's
Mono Lake, an unusually salty
body of water with high arsenic
and mineral levels, as it is likely to
reflect conditions under which
early life evolved on Earth, or
perhaps Mars.
"Sometimes you think something is
not going to work, but then you
go looking for it and sometimes
you may find it," said Anbar.
"And then you realize, oh, I didn't
understand things quite as well as
I thought I did before. And that
happens all the time in science.
That's part of what makes it fun."
have been scooped from a
California lake, a discovery that
redefines the building blocks of life
and offers new hope in the search
for other organisms on Earth and
beyond.
Not only do the bacteria survive,
they grow by swapping
phosphorus for arsenic in their
DNA and cell membranes, said the
study funded by the US space
agency NASA and published
Thursday in the journal Science.
The findings add a new dimension
to what biologists consider the
necessary elements for life,
currently viewed as six elements:
carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen,
oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur.
"What we've found is a microbe
doing something new -- building
parts of itself out of arsenic," said
scientist Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a
fellow in NASA's astrobiology
program who made the
groundbreaking discovery at Mono
Lake in eastern California.
"There's an organism on Earth
doing something different," said
Wolfe-Simon. "We've cracked open
the door to what's possible for life
elsewhere in the universe. And
that's profound."
Ariel Anbar, a co-author of the
study, explained how Wolfe-Simon
was able to get the bacteria
known as strain GFAJ-1 of the
Halomonadaceae family of
Gamoproteobacteria to grow
under extreme arsenic-laden
conditions in the lab.
"She takes this sediment, puts it in
a bottle essentially where there is
lots of arsenic and very little
phosphorus, and she does it over
and over so only organisms that
are going to be happy in that
environment survive," said Anbar.
"The organism came from nature,"
said Anbar, a scientist at Arizona
State University's School of Earth
and Space Exploration. "It is a
known bacteria. It is not a brand
new bug but nobody realized it
could do this," he said.
Scientists have known for some
time that some microbes can use
arsenic for energy, much like
humans do with oxygen or food.
"The way I like to put it is they
smoke it but they don't inhale it,"
said Paul Davies, a co-author of
the paper and British-born
cosmologist at Arizona State
University.
"So the big question we all wanted
to know was where has the
arsenic gone? Is the arsenic really
in their innards?
"Eventually, bit by bit, the
evidence accumulated that indeed
the arsenic was in the DNA, the
proteins, the lipid membranes and
the metabolites, so it was
everywhere where it is important."
The trio of Wolfe-Simon, Anbar and
Davies published in 2009 their
hypothesis that arsenic, which is
directly below phosphorus on the
periodic table, could substitute for
phosphorus in Earth life forms.
"We conjectured that maybe life
started via the arsenic route and
phosphorus was the later
adaptation," said Davies, noting
that they still are not sure which
came first, or if this bacteria could
be "like a living fossil, a hangover
from an earlier arsenic epoch."
But the discovery has made him
think about all the forms of life
out there that scientists may
have missed.
"This is going to open up a whole
new line of inquiry. First of all this
can't be the only arsenic organism
on the planet, there is going to a
be lot more, so this is a whole new
domain of microbiology that it
represents," said Davies.
"Who knows what else is out there
if we take a harder look?"
The findings, leaked early in a
vague but intriguing
announcement by NASA that
mentioned "extraterrestrial life,"
lit up the blogosphere and stunned
many scientists.
Arizona State University professor
James Elser said he has spent
years telling students that
phosphorus was a necessary part
of DNA.
"The idea that I am sitting here
today discussing the idea that this
is not true is shocking," said Elser,
a panelist at a NASA press
conference on the discovery.
Caleb Scharf, a Columbia University
astrobiologist, told The New York
Times he was amazed.
"It's like if you or I morphed into
fully functioning cyborgs after
being thrown into a room of
electronic scrap with nothing to
eat," he said.
NASA has conducted numerous
probes at eastern California's
Mono Lake, an unusually salty
body of water with high arsenic
and mineral levels, as it is likely to
reflect conditions under which
early life evolved on Earth, or
perhaps Mars.
"Sometimes you think something is
not going to work, but then you
go looking for it and sometimes
you may find it," said Anbar.
"And then you realize, oh, I didn't
understand things quite as well as
I thought I did before. And that
happens all the time in science.
That's part of what makes it fun."
Thursday, November 25, 2010
An Angel At Work
An Angel at work
Will not ignore
The cries of the helpless.
An Angel at work
Will always see
The tears of the broken.
An Angel at work
Will never scorn
The pain of the injured.
And because of this-
In the heavens above
And on earth below;
“ The work of an Angel
Will not ignore
The cries of the helpless.
An Angel at work
Will always see
The tears of the broken.
An Angel at work
Will never scorn
The pain of the injured.
And because of this-
In the heavens above
And on earth below;
“ The work of an Angel
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Spurs Defeats Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur striker Jermain
Defoe admits he is delighted to be
back playing again after two months
out on the sidelines due to ankle
ligament damage.
The 28-year-old replaced Aaron
Lennon at half time and played a key
role in Spurs' astonishing second
half come-back over Arsenal.
He told reporters: "I couldn't wait
just to get on and to get that buzz
playing football again.
"I've been out such a long time.
“ Hopefully, I made an impact,
helped the boys win the game.
"But second half was a great
performance from all the lads.
“ I put all the work in on the rehab
stuff, so I knew I'd be ready,
"The ankle feels good, which is
always nice, and it was a great
result. ”
Spurs, who had not defeated
Arsenal in 17 years, scored three
second-half goals to win the north
London derby after the Gunners led
2-0 at half-time.
The England striker claims he did
not doubt that his team could fight
back and overcome the their rivals.
Defoe admits he is delighted to be
back playing again after two months
out on the sidelines due to ankle
ligament damage.
The 28-year-old replaced Aaron
Lennon at half time and played a key
role in Spurs' astonishing second
half come-back over Arsenal.
He told reporters: "I couldn't wait
just to get on and to get that buzz
playing football again.
"I've been out such a long time.
“ Hopefully, I made an impact,
helped the boys win the game.
"But second half was a great
performance from all the lads.
“ I put all the work in on the rehab
stuff, so I knew I'd be ready,
"The ankle feels good, which is
always nice, and it was a great
result. ”
Spurs, who had not defeated
Arsenal in 17 years, scored three
second-half goals to win the north
London derby after the Gunners led
2-0 at half-time.
The England striker claims he did
not doubt that his team could fight
back and overcome the their rivals.
Chelsea News
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti had few
complaints after seeing his side lose
at Birmingham City despite
dominating the game.
The defeat was the champions' third
in four games, with losses to
Liverpool and Sunderland adding to
Ancelotti's woes, but Chelsea remain
top of the table on goal difference.
However, Ancelotti has spoken
positively of his side's performance
against Birmingham and is confident
Chelsea can retain their title if they
put in similar displays during the
season.
"If we play like we did today we will
win the league," Ancelotti said.
"We deserved to win today and for
that reason we are really
disappointed.
"We played good football, played
with a good spirit and made a lot of
chances, but is not enough as
sometimes you need to be lucky.
"The performance was really good,
but this is football."
He added: "It's easy to explain a
defeat when you don't play well, but
today was different."
Ancelotti refused to be drawn on
speculation regarding the dismissal
of assistant manager Ray Wilkins
complaints after seeing his side lose
at Birmingham City despite
dominating the game.
The defeat was the champions' third
in four games, with losses to
Liverpool and Sunderland adding to
Ancelotti's woes, but Chelsea remain
top of the table on goal difference.
However, Ancelotti has spoken
positively of his side's performance
against Birmingham and is confident
Chelsea can retain their title if they
put in similar displays during the
season.
"If we play like we did today we will
win the league," Ancelotti said.
"We deserved to win today and for
that reason we are really
disappointed.
"We played good football, played
with a good spirit and made a lot of
chances, but is not enough as
sometimes you need to be lucky.
"The performance was really good,
but this is football."
He added: "It's easy to explain a
defeat when you don't play well, but
today was different."
Ancelotti refused to be drawn on
speculation regarding the dismissal
of assistant manager Ray Wilkins
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