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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Got Mica?"
Fully produced report in MP3 format:
48 kbps |
96 kbps
(90 seconds)
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READER SCRIPT
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FOR THE LOVE OF MICA… THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. THE NEXT TIME THAT SOMEONE SAYS, "WHAT ROCK DID YOU CRAWL OUT FROM UNDER?" TELL THEM THAT IT WAS MAYBE MORE LIKE A MINERAL. YOU SEE, THE ORIGIN OF LIFE--ACCORDING TO A NEW THEORY FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION'S HELEN HANSMA--COULD HAVE ACTUALLY TAKEN PLACE SANDWICHED BETWEEN SHEETS OF MICA. HANSMA'S THEORY IS CALLED THE "SOUP AND SANDWICH" MICA HYPOTHESIS. IN THIS CASE, THE SOUP IS ALSO ACTUALLY IN THE SANDWICH--BETWEEN LAYERS OF MICA THAT PROVIDE A NEAR-PERFECT SETTING TO GENERATE AND SUSTAIN LIFE. HERE'S WHY: HANSMA NOTES THAT, FIRST, THE ENVIRONMENT IS SIMILAR TO THAT OF A CELL--NEGATIVELY CHARGED, AND POTASSIUM-RICH. SECOND, EVOLUTIONARY ISOLATION--WE'RE BETWEEN SHEETS OF MICA; YOU DON'T GET MUCH MORE ISOLATED. THIRD, THE MOVEMENT, EXPANSION, AND CONTRACTION OF THE MICA HELP TO KEEP THINGS ROCKING--REARRANGING MOLECULES FROM THE PRIMORDIAL SOUP, AND ALLOWING THEM TO BOND. ALL ARE NECESSARY FACTORS FOR THE ORIGIN OF LIFE IN A MICA SANDWICH. AT LEAST WE DIDN'T SPRING FROM A SIX-FOOT HOAGIE. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
