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feystorm
02-25-2010, 06:30 PM
Deep-Sea Bacteria Form Avatar-Style Electrochemical Networks | Wired Science | Wired.com (http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/02/electric-ocean-bacteria/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Ind ex+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29)


According to findings that could have been pulled from a deep-sea sequel to Avatar, bacteria appear to conduct electrical currents across the ocean floor, driving linked chemical reactions at relatively vast distances.
Noticed only when reseachers happened to test sediment leftovers from another experiment, the phenomenon may add a new mechanism to Earth’s biogeochemistry.
“The cycling of elements and life at the bottom of the sea, and in soil, and anywhere else you’re short of oxygen — this could help us understand those processes,” said microbiologist Lars Peter Nielsen of Denmark’s Aarhus University, co-author of the study, published Feb. 24 in Nature.

The original focus of Nielsen’s team wasn’t seafloor conductivity, but an especially interesting species of sulfur bacteria found on the floor of Aarhus Bay. To help quantify their chemical activity, the researchers kept a few beakers of seawater and sulfur bacteria-free sediment for comparison.
After those experiments ended, the beakers were almost forgotten. Then, a few weeks later, the researchers noticed strange patterns of activity. Changing oxygen levels in water above the top sediment layer were almost immediately followed by chemical fluctuations several layers down. The distance was so great, and the response time so quick, that usual methods of chemical transport — molecular diffusion, or a slow drift from high to low concentration — couldn’t explain it.
At first, the researchers were stumped. Then they realized the process made sense if bacteria in the top and bottom layers were linked. Anything that affected oxygen-processing bacteria up top would also affect the sulfide-eating microbes below. It would explain the apparent connection; and an electrical linkage would explain the speed. It would also boggle the mind.

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More in the article




I saw this and thought it was really neat. Shows the idea is actually feasable (though with JC, shouldnt be surprised) :-)

Grif
02-25-2010, 07:06 PM
It would make sense that the this would happen at the bottom of the ocean, untouched by humanity. Maybe in a million years or so it might rival what is (it feels odd saying something is when it is fictional) on Pandora.

Tsyal Makto
02-25-2010, 07:47 PM
So it's electrical based on the speed of the reaction? (couldn't resist)

D****it, why does all the good stuff have to be in the oceans!!! :ntongue: Why can't mother nature throw a bone to us land lubbers?

OelNgatiKameie
02-26-2010, 02:20 AM
So it's electrical based on the speed of the reaction? (couldn't resist)

D****it, why does all the good stuff have to be in the oceans!!! :ntongue: Why can't mother nature throw a bone to us land lubbers?

Because we would probably ruin it. A person wouldn't - People would unfortunately.

~O.N.K.

Prometheus
02-26-2010, 06:18 AM
So it's electrical based on the speed of the reaction? (couldn't resist)

D****it, why does all the good stuff have to be in the oceans!!! :ntongue: Why can't mother nature throw a bone to us land lubbers?

Mother Nature has thrown us plenty of bones. But like dogs, we tend to chew on them till there's nothing left and then we fight over the few that are left.

Carcharodon
02-26-2010, 07:00 AM
JC directed several documentaries about the deeps; this is probably the reason why a flying seed on Pandora looks like a jellyfish. May be he also knew about this 'comunication system'...

Jean-Joey
02-26-2010, 07:46 AM
So it's electrical based on the speed of the reaction? (couldn't resist)

D****it, why does all the good stuff have to be in the oceans!!! :ntongue: Why can't mother nature throw a bone to us land lubbers?
Who knows? maybe millions of years, we lived like Na'vi and experienced the same relation with the planet. in the age of Pterodactyl!!- Ikran?
I know there was no human in this time. but who knows? maybe there is navi???
After the great catastrophe, maybe our tree of souls went out?

PS: i heard somewhere that we- or the earth- has exposed to many catastrophes and Master Flood.. maybe that's why we're like this now..
(Having an Atrophied tail)--> did we once had a tsahaylu and lost it?

neytiriii
02-26-2010, 07:49 AM
Because we would probably ruin it. A person wouldn't - People would unfortunately.

~O.N.K.

You say it.

AuroraGlacialis
02-27-2010, 03:18 PM
Nice find. Who knows, maybe there was something like that on land also. The thing closest to it is explained in this ted talk (http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_stamets_on_6_ways_mushrooms_can_save_the_worl d.html). Fascinating!

Jean-Joey
02-28-2010, 03:37 PM
Nice find. Who knows, maybe there was something like that on land also. The thing closest to it is explained in this ted talk (http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_stamets_on_6_ways_mushrooms_can_save_the_worl d.html). Fascinating!
Btw Aurora..
according to ted talk, giant mushroom-like plants where on the earth.., right? or i missunderstanded/ interpreted what he said?

Anyway, there is a Roger dean painting, features a giant mushroom-like plants.. in that page we shared... :)
(!!)

Tsyal Makto
02-28-2010, 05:51 PM
Who knows? maybe millions of years, we lived like Na'vi and experienced the same relation with the planet. in the age of Pterodactyl!!- Ikran?
I know there was no human in this time. but who knows? maybe there is navi???
After the great catastrophe, maybe our tree of souls went out?

PS: i heard somewhere that we- or the earth- has exposed to many catastrophes and Master Flood.. maybe that's why we're like this now..
(Having an Atrophied tail)--> did we once had a tsahaylu and lost it?

I actually made a thread talking about this a while ago on the Pandora forum, about what the world would be like if the KT extinction event never took place.

If Jupiter was "hot" (in the habitation zone), and we were it's moon, we would probably end up having an ecosystem like Pandora, because asteroids and such would be funneled into Jupter by it's massive gravity field. Similarly, if Pandora was a planet, it would probably not be as biologically advanced as it was in the movie because it would probably have a lot more extinction events due to asteroids.

Human No More
02-28-2010, 05:57 PM
I swear I posted in this thread before...

Anyway, it's a start... :nsmile:
Maybe this is how life on Pandora originally evolved.

Jean-Joey
03-01-2010, 12:29 PM
yeah.., maybe..
we're now making a quest to dig our past, and try to figure out what happened and what bonds us all. what makes Pandora a home for us where we feel comfortable..

Just as a note.. if anyone is interested, here is the link to the topic in pandora's forum..
http://www.avatar-forums.com/pandora/7136-i-felt-like-i-lived-pandora-before-smell-taste-any-help.html..

I believe something big and interesting may reveal.. but first we need some solid evidences...

Greetings..,
Jean


I actually made a thread talking about this a while ago on the Pandora forum, about what the world would be like if the KT extinction event never took place.

If Jupiter was "hot" (in the habitation zone), and we were it's moon, we would probably end up having an ecosystem like Pandora, because asteroids and such would be funneled into Jupter by it's massive gravity field. Similarly, if Pandora was a planet, it would probably not be as biologically advanced as it was in the movie because it would probably have a lot more extinction events due to asteroids.

Tsyal Makto
03-01-2010, 04:42 PM
Who knows? maybe millions of years, we lived like Na'vi and experienced the same relation with the planet. in the age of Pterodactyl!!- Ikran?
I know there was no human in this time. but who knows? maybe there is navi???
After the great catastrophe, maybe our tree of souls went out?

PS: i heard somewhere that we- or the earth- has exposed to many catastrophes and Master Flood.. maybe that's why we're like this now..
(Having an Atrophied tail)--> did we once had a tsahaylu and lost it?

Maybe not back then - all mammals were very small. It will be interesting to see what evolves millions of years from now. On earth things appear to have a tendency to elvolve up into bipedalism. So far we there have been three examples of intelligent bipedal creatures.
- Humans
- Neanderthals
- Dinosauroids (would have evolved if dinosaurs didn't die off in KT)

Once humans are long dead, one must wonder what the next creature will be that will take our place.:nsmile: Hopefully the asteroids will keep themselves at bay...

I've never accepted the theory among scientists that alien life would look exceptionally different form ours, as long as the planets are similar to ours. If we find a planet similar to Pandora, within 20% +/- of our gravity, and similar atmospheric composition, we'd probably see that creatures will share similar features to ours (just like Pandoran creatures!)

It'd be a different story if the planets are exceptionally larger/smaller than earth.

Inny Binny
03-01-2010, 07:03 PM
This is very, very interesting.

I sincerely doubt it would have evolved into more advanced forms of life, however, as it probably wouldn't be necessary to anything when there are plenty of other ways you can get energy.

Jean-Joey
03-13-2010, 03:35 PM
Well, the way we live right now doesnt seem right to all the true humans.. or should i say for only "who can see?"
from the People reactions after the movie, i can truly "SEE INSIDE" people who felt a shock/internal awakeness in them. thinking" this is true. this looks beautiful and honest", trying to hide their feelings; And diffrentiate them from who got amazed by the CG and all the eye-candy stuff.

All i hope now is that we had such an amazing world in the past then we ruinedd it. cuz, sooner or later, this world will come back to us.
Remember: Everything that has a beginnig, has an End!

Dreaming Of Pandora
03-18-2010, 06:01 PM
Very interesting indeed. More and more Avatar is being proven realistic even though it seems complete fantasy.