Friday, April 23, 2010

Earth Day +1

Today I'd like to share an essay I wrote on a chapter from the posthumously published The Varieties of Scientific Experience, a collection of lectures from the great Carl Sagan. I originally intended to put this up on Earth Day, as it is of great value to understand just where life originated in order to more fully appreciate why our "pale blue dot" is so precious and deserving of our species' protection. It is interesting that such appreciation can be found (for me at least) by coming to grips with the notion that we are likely not alone in this vast universe. We share this unyielding expanse with countless other planets, some which likely harbor biospheres capable of supporting life. How might such life look or behave? Is it intelligent?


We may never know for sure, but we will never begin to understand if we choose the path of self-destruction. Our place in the cosmos is not unique in its chemistry or probability, but in our ability to choose whether we forsake the opportunity to maximize the potential of this chemistry. Our biology has brought us to the point of cognition, and with it brought the demons of arrogance and esotericism. Now we find ourselves at once both privileged and cursed by our own mental faculties, in a microcosmic tug-of-war between polarized ideologues who fail to see our world as nothing more than it truly is - a fragile, interconnected collection of star dust.


There is a great need for people such as Carl Sagan today. I like to think that perhaps we can each carry on his most prominent contributions to public knowledge in our daily conversations and interactions. Is it too much to ask to keep a little bit of "Saganism" in our lives, and make the most of these solitary notes we play in the cosmic fugue?


Now for the science - An essay on the molecules of life:


(In response "Our Organic Universe," a chapter from The Varieties of Scientific Experience)


Organic molecules, Carl Sagan’s “fundamental biological building blocks” of life on Earth are a cornerstone of the discourse contained in this chapter. Sagan himself defines them simply as carbon-based compounds, excluding carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Any student of organic chemistry would recognize this simple definition, and likely dread any further discussion of the topic. Biologists on the other hand, may be much more interested in further exploring the defining characteristics of organic molecules. They may be curious about why our planet’s life revolves around these modified carbon chains... Do organic molecules possess an intrinsic life-harboring property lacked their inorganic counterparts? A common distinction drawn between organic and inorganic compounds can be found in this very question – That is, organic compounds are distinguished as being derived from, or contained within living systems. Thus, compounds such as diamond are classified as inorganic despite being comprised solely of carbon.


Sagan likely saw a flaw in this understanding, and obviously spent some time pondering the nature of organics in the universe and their involvement in the origins of life. He saw that organic chemistry was the chemistry of life on our planet, but also recognized that understanding how organic chemistry had lead to life on Earth would necessitate a probe into organic chemistry prior to life. Since so much of our current understanding is based on observations of organic chemistry operating in biological systems, it would seem prudent to understand the chemistry of carbon compounds as they behave outside of these systems. Sagan reasons that this understanding can be found by looking beyond our planet – Beyond the realm of life as we know it.


His rationale is founded on early spectroscopic measurements which indicate the ubiquitous nature of organic compounds in our solar system (and the universe in general). Logic might suggest then, that given the apparent importance of organics to the origins of life, we might observe life where organics exist. This begs the question: What is the likelihood of such a discovery? Well, as Sagan points out – that depends. It depends on the state of water, the vapor pressure of atmospheric gasses, the exposure to energy sources such as ultraviolet radiation from starlight, etc. The organics are there, so what is the right combination of everything else? Well, it turns out that Earth is just about right. Not to be cheeky – This is glaringly obvious as I am clearly alive and writing this essay. But think about the example of Saturn’s moon Titan. Here is a satellite world harboring the same organics that likely gave rise to life on Earth. What would happen on Titan if conditions more closely resembled those on Earth? Would we see life evolve over eons as it has on Earth?


This begs the question: Is it really the chemical/molecular composition of our cosmos which enables life to spring forth, or are the limiting factors actually the conditions required to do so? If the Miller-Urey experiments are any indication, the precursor molecules for amino acids and nucleic acids can be formed in early Earth conditions from nearly ubiquitous organic material. And if, as Sagan argues, this wealth of organic molecules can come to exist on a planet through on-site formation, or by collecting from cosmic debris, then the probability that life forms from it would be dependent on the circumstances present on a planet more than the existence of the organic material itself. So, again we return to the likelihood of the existence of Earth or other Earth-like planets where liquid water may exist to catalyze the generation of higher-order organic molecules. A quick search online turned up an estimate that 20-60% of stars in our galaxy may contain earth-like planets within a “warm dust” zone around their star, where temperatures range from -280 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and support planetary formation. This would seem to indicate that our planetary conditions are not all that rare, and given the interstellar organic ubiquity discussed by Carl Sagan, perhaps the life we see on Earth isn’t all that rare either.

1. Loyd, Robin. “Study: Earth Like Planets Common,” Space.com, February 17, 2008. Accessed 2/10/2010. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080217-rocky-planets.html>

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Cat 3 Debut Part Deux

Okay, so the race was a pretty fun event.

It didn't go quite according to plan, but I'm really pleased with our team's performance. Plus, I met a great new teammate- Doug Bailey. Doug seems like a fun guy to have on the squad, plus he's got some serious power in his legs. Should make for a good wheel in addition to our already strong squad.

The race unfolded with a series of "test" attacks from myself, and Frye before Mark took off on a multiple lap breakaway. The guys in his group weren't putting their fair share of work though, and despite our team's attempt to block, they were all eventually pulled in. Then I believe Doug took a dig and got off the front for a bit. I managed to throw a good couple of attacks midway through the race, but neither time was I accompanied by anybody, and the legs just weren't fresh enough to do the job on my own.

Things were looking good as we came into 3-laps to go, and I took a good dig up the inside of a gradual uphill bend to force a separation from the pack. The team did a great job of blocking, allowing myself Brian Krueger, and another rider to get up the road for a while. Knowing Brian and his strength, I was convinced we'd be able to keep the gap and take 1st-3rd. But unfortunately, the workload was split between Brian and I, while the third member of our break decided to do no work at all. We made a bad decision to call it quits once our third member failed to pull through, and were reabsorbed on the final lap. Brian and I were both pretty upset about the other guy, but I think we know that we did our best to make something happen. Sometimes, it just doesn't work out.

The race got a bit sketchy at times (as we all expected), and Mark was almost taken out on the last lap due to some unfriendly riding from another team. That's racing though. With some impressive composure, Mark avoided becoming pavement paste and wiggled his way through the ensuing mess to finish 10th overall. Way to go, Mark!

Doug finished 18th, while I meandered in for 24th and Frye cooked himself in an attempt to start a failed lead out train. Talk about sacrifice...

A shout out to fellow UW riders John Heile and Julio Jacabo on great racing today. John was in a bunch of the early breaks today, while Julio managed to sneak himself onto the podium with a sly move on the final corner and a quick kick into 3rd place. Nice job guys!

Good job to everybody on Team Wisconsin/MC2 today. Our team was represented in every break, and looks to be the most serious team threat in the 3's peloton this season. Things should shake out well for us this year.

Regards and thanks for reading.

Cat 3 Debut

Yo everybody!

I'm about to depart for my first cat 3 race - an early spring crit hosted by the Great Dane Velo Club. It's around a well-known, and safe course at Research Park Drive in Madison.

I'll be heading out with my Wisconsin/MC2 teammates Mark, Mike, and Nick - Plus local feline aficionado Bryan Fosler. I'll also get to see Brian K, a fast rider from Merrill WI who dumped some serious watts on the climbs with the UW team at our North Carolina training camp this past spring break. Can't wait to see how the 3's field looks for this season!

Should be a fun day of racing - I'll update briefly tonight on how the race goes.

My legs feel like crap after a long ride yesterday, and a total of 5 consecutive days on the bike/trainer - We'll see how it goes. I think my excitement will more than make up for any poor legs. I'm going to call it right now - Team Wisconsin/MC2 takes the victory, 4th place, 5th place, and um... 7th place? Why not?

Catch ya later - thanks for reading.