(August 7, 2012 at 1:17 pm)downbeatplumb Wrote: If they find life on Mars would that automatically be a bar to terraforming it?
Would it be too dangerous to send people if there are alien microbes?

I wouldn't not think so on both counts.

The ability to infect another organism is a costly biological feature whose existence must be justified. Evolution rewards parsimony and it would be a sign of strange extravagance for Martian microbes to already possess the ability to infect earth organisms it couldn't possibly have touched until now.

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(August 7, 2012 at 7:33 am)jonb Wrote:

(August 7, 2012 at 4:13 am)Tiberius Wrote: CONSPIRACY!!!

They never have explained this photo from Mars-


Which is obviously a mermaid smoking a cigarette.

No tits, no mermaid.

(August 7, 2012 at 1:40 pm)Chuck Wrote: .

The ability to infect another organism is a costly biological feature whose existence must be justified. Evolution rewards parsimony and it would be a sign of strange extravagance for Martian microbes to already possess the ability to infect earth organisms it couldn't possibly have touched until now.

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Bet your life?

(August 7, 2012 at 1:43 pm)downbeatplumb Wrote:

(August 7, 2012 at 1:40 pm)Chuck Wrote: .

The ability to infect another organism is a costly biological feature whose existence must be justified. Evolution rewards parsimony and it would be a sign of strange extravagance for Martian microbes to already possess the ability to infect earth organisms it couldn't possibly have touched until now.

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Bet your life?

What do I get if I win the bet?

(August 7, 2012 at 1:44 pm)Chuck Wrote:

(August 7, 2012 at 1:43 pm)downbeatplumb Wrote: Bet your life?

What do I get if I win the bet?

You get to keep living, at least for awhile.

I can keep living without taking the bet.

But I'd happily bet anyone else's life for the pleasure of finding out.

(August 7, 2012 at 1:17 pm)downbeatplumb Wrote: If they find life on Mars would that automatically be a bar to terraforming it?

No. What do you think this is, the Federation? We don't need no stinking Prime Directive.

In all seriousness, if there is life on Mars, it would almost certainly be microbial, and I would think an evolutionary dead end (with respect to achieving sentience). So my thought would be that it would be afforded the same consideration that we give similar life forms here on Earth, which is to say none at all, if we wished to terraform Mars.

If there are microbes on mars, they are probably very hardy, adaptable and difficult to eradicate. They can probably survive much better on earth than earth microbe life can survive on Mars. I bet they would give earth's biosphere a run for its money in long-term survival. Also, although they probably won't have the ability to infect earth life now, it's unclear how fast they can evolve the ability to infect earth life once there is extensive opportunity for them to come into contact with earth life. I would think once we start to make return journy's from Mars, it's only a matter of time before Martian microbes are released into the environment on earth. Then the evolutionary battle will begin.

If there are shown to be Martian microbe, I think we definitely should spend quite a considerable amount of effort to understand how many varieties there are, and how their biochemistry, metabolism, reproduction, and genetic system works.

(August 7, 2012 at 1:40 pm)Chuck Wrote: No tits, no mermaid.

Your categories restrict your vision

If you can fuck a fish face, that's your problem.

Latest images indicate that Mars may be rather more active than initially supposed: