Science and SF Tidbits: October 13, 2012: Nobel Prizes, Bringing Back Dinosaurs, Martian Biorhythms

Have you watched my live interview with artist Brian Kolm yet? We talk about his design of the Biology in Science Fiction logo, teaching art, and socializing with other artists. Be sure to check it out!

From around the web:

• G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) win 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry | The Curious Wavefunction, Scientific American Blog Network
On Thursday the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to two biochemists: Brian Kobilka (Stanford) and Robert Lefkowitz (Duke). Their work helped explain how a signal on the outside of the cell (such as a neurotransmitter, hormone or even light) is translated into physiological changes inside the cell and altered gene expression. Their research focused on a particular class of receptors in cell membranes that are associated with "G protein" signalling molecules inside the cell. The article linked above is a pretty good overview of how they function.

• An Interview with Sir John Gurdon winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize Winner in Physiology or Medicine
I recommend this Cambridge University video interview with John Gurdon. He talks about his original work on frog cloning in the early 60s, the relevance of his work today, and how his parents helped him pursue studies in science after his teacher made him out to be a failure in the subject.

• DNA has a 521-year half-life :: Nature News
After 6.8 million years nearly every bond in a DNA molecule would be broken. That means no Jurassic Part-style cloning of extinct dinosaurs will be possible. Sad news for those of us wishing for a cute cloned Sciurumimus as a pet. It also brings into question reports of extracting DNA from very ancient amber.

• Weird Things » Blog Archive » Who Needs DNA to Bring Back the T-Rex?
Perhaps dinosaurs could be reconstructed even without their DNA. The trick is to use what we know about T. rex anatomy and modern animal biology and fake the rest:

"The blueprint for this creature will be everything we know about the T-Rex. We can design bone structure, ligature and a thousand other tiny details we’ve learned from the fossil records. Although we may never find DNA, we have found cells inside T-Rex fossils, resembling the same kind in ovulating birds. Cells, protein and other kinds of information can help us build a replica that’s perhaps 95% accurate"

• Ridley Scott Explains Prometheus, Is Lovably Insane | Tor.com
Ryan Britt summarizes Ridley Scott's commentary from the DVD release of Prometheus. Sounds either quite brilliant or a bit unhinged, or maybe both.  I may have to watch the movie with commentary myself to see what he says about the dumbest biologist in the galaxy (ooh, the goo in this alien building full of dead bodies is unexpectedly turning into a snake-like creature - let me pet it!)

• Fossil of Ancient Spider Attack - only one of its type discovered
About 100 million years ago a young spider was about to start munching on a wasp caught in his web. But before he could commence munching, tree resin flowed over spider, wasp and web and they were trapped in amber.  Click here to see the fantastic large image.

• How Blue Light And Caffeine Will Help Humans Move To Mars
Mars days are 24.6 hours long, which means we humans with Earthly 24-hour internal clocks can find it hard to adjust. It turns out the key is carefully timed blue light, caffeine, and a comfortable sleeping environment. Tests on members of the Mars Phoenix mission suggests it works, even for folks here on Earth.

• Science In My Fiction » Mind-Control and Instant Skill
Optogenetics combines advanced genetic engineering of neural tissue in the brain and implanted fiber optics to allow external control of behavior and learning in mice. It has even been shown to work to some extent in monkeys. And simply stimulating the brain with electrical current and speed up learning in humans.  Not surprisingly, the military is at he forefront of this sort of research. But it's still in it's early stages - there won't be human "mind control" using this technology any time soon. But if it did work, would you allow your brain cells to be manipulated if it would give you instant skills?

• Report: Ukraine Trains Dolphins With Friggin' Pistols on Their Heads | Danger Room | Wired.com
Pistols attached to dolphins may be far fetched, but it's already the case that navies (including the United States) use dolphins for mine clearing and other underwater operations. The US also apparently uses sea lions "equipped with a spring-loaded clamp that can be attached to a diver’s legs. The sea lion then swims back to its handlers, who can reel the enemy diver in like a snagged fish."  But if you want to make dolphins really lethal, give them mechanical arms and hands. Not only will they be able to kill, before you know it they'll be piloting starships!

Image: Courtesy of Brian Kolm at Atomic Bear Press. Used with permission.

Mars Life: An Interview with Ben Bova

Ben Bova's latest novel, Mars Life, takes place in the near future where there's trouble on Earth: advanced global warming has wreaked environmental havoc, while religious fundamentalists have gained positions of political power in the United States and are trying to block scientific research that conflicts with their religious beliefs. One of their targets is the research taking place on Mars, where scientists have discovered an ancient Martian village - and more excitingly, a fossil. The scientists on Mars struggle to keep their project going in the face of the loss of support at home.

Ben Bova kindly agreed to answer my long-winded questions about Mars Life and his thoughts about science, religion and the possibility of life on Mars. Be warned that there may be spoilers:

Me:
You say in the preface to "Mars Life" that speculation on whether Mars ever held intelligent life "can only be disproved by a thorough exploration of Mars, an exploration conducted by human beings, in addition to robotic craft." Do you think that a manned mission to Mars should be a short term goal for NASA?

Bova:
A manned mission to Mars should be a long-term goal of NASA. I believe a lot of prepatory work must be done before we can send human explorers to Mars.

Me:
There is also disagreement among the Martian scientists as to whether Mars should be terraformed - its soil and climate altered to match the needs of Earth life - or if it should be kept Mars-like. Do you think that we should focus on understanding Mars as it is before we attempt to make it more amenable to for us to live there?

Bova:
As I have shown in Mars Life and my earlier Mars novels (Mars and Return to Mars) I think Mars should be kept as pristine as possible while we study the planet and any life it may hold or may have once held. Terraforming is a ridiculous idea. Why spend the enormous amounts of money and time to make a unique planet into another Earth? If you want more real estate, build O'Neill type habitats in empty space. Leave Mars and the other planets as they are. They have much to teach us.

Me:
Even though we only glimpse the ancient Martians through their abandoned dwellings, faded inscriptions and a few bones, they seem surprisingly Earthlike in both their anatomy and culture. If we do find life on Mars, do you think that it will be similar to life on Earth?

Bova:
That's one of the fascinating questions that only the discovery of extraterrestrial life can give us the answer to. If life on Earth based on some universal pattern or would life forms on other worlds be different from our own? We have no idea, at present, because we have only our own terrestrial example to draw from. However, life on Earth is very diversified, even though all terrestrial life forms are based on carbon, water, and DNA. We need to find extraterrestrial examples and see what they have to tell us!

Me:
If life was found on Mars, even if only microbial, I would be incredibly excited. However, in the future United States of "Mars Life" the religious fundamentalists who have essentially taken over education, the media and the government see it as a threat. They attempt to squelch the exploration of Mars in the same way they have eliminated the teaching of evolution in the schools. Do you consider religious fundamentalism to be a serious threat to the teaching and practice of science in the US?

Bova:
I consider religious fundamentalism to be the most serious threat to democracy and individual liberty that this nation has ever faced. Religious intolerance has destroyed great empires in the past. It could destroy the United States of America in the foreseeable future.

Me:
There seems to be some tension in the book between the scientists who want to focus on Martian science and the project's more politically savvy supporters who want to "sell" Martian research to gain public support. Do you think that scientists generally do a poor job in generating public enthusiasm for research and science in general? Do you think that science fiction is good a way to present science with the public?

Bova:
Scientists are usually terrible at "selling" science to the general public. And science fiction isn't much better. Very little science fiction actually deals with scientists and their problems.

Me:
Dr. Carter Carleton is the anthropologist who is leading the uncovering of the possible ancient Martian village. He's old-fashioned, set in his ways, arrogant, rude and treats women badly. On top of that, he has fled rape charges on Earth. We readers know the rape charges are false, but his colleagues on Mars do not. I would think that including such a potentially disruptive and divisive individual could cause serious morale problems in an isolated research colony. The way I understood the story was that his brilliance as a scientist trumped any problems with his behavior. Is this an accurate reading? If there is a manned exploratory mission to Mars, do you think that expertise should be more important than personality in selecting its crew?

Bova:
There will have to be compromises made between expertise and personality. In Mars Life, most of the people on Mars believe Carleton to be innocent of the rape charges, although they understand he can be a pain in the butt - but then, so can many of the others among the team.

Me:
One of the people you dedicate "Mars Life" to is Carleton S. Coon. According to Wikipedia Coon was a mid-20th century physical anthropologist who proposed that the different races evolved separately from Homo erectus, with Europeans "evolving earlier" than other racial types*. He apparently fell into disfavor because his ideas about human evolution were used by American segregationists to justify discrimination, and since then, his work has been superseded by the work of physical anthropologists who have shown that his hypotheses are largely incompatible with population genetics and the modern evolutionary synthesis. Is there a particular reason why you singled out Dr. Coon in your dedication? Was he one of the inspirations for Dr. Carleton?

Bova:
Carleton S. Coon was a great anthropologist whose conclusion was that the Africans evolved later than the European and therefore are more modern and better adapted. He was drummed out of his profession because his views were unpopular. The genetic evidence that failed to support his hypothesis came later. He would have welcomed it. He was interested in learning, not in being correct, politically or scientifically.

Me:
The end of "Mars Life" pretty much left the story hanging with a small group of scientists left on Mars who are preparing to start a "million year experiment". Do you plan to revisit your characters on Mars to check in on how the experiment is proceeding?

Bova:
I might!

----

Read an excerpt from Mars Life (pdf).

I'll be posting my review of Mars Life tomorrow.

Note: Dr. Bova's answers have been reformatted for the blog, but were otherwise unchanged.

* ETA: If you are interested in a more detailed look at Carleton Coon's anthropological ideas, Afarensis has posted a review of Coon's The Origin of Races.

Tags:Mars Life, Ben Bova

Interview at Physicality of Words

Åka at Physicality of Words asked me a few questions about biology and science fiction (natch!). I was a bit humbled to be included in her interview series, since her other interviews are with authors Jo Walton, Peter Watts, and Alastair Reynolds. Anyway, if you are interested in about what I have to say, go check it out.

Tags:science fiction, biology

Paul Levinson's Conversation with Robert J. Sawyer

Paul Levinson has a podcast interview with Robert J. Sawyer. As Levinson describes it:

Rob is winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the Nebula Award for Best Novel, and more awards, almost as numerous as stars in the universe ... he's Canada's premier science fiction writer ... We talk not only about Rob's novels - including his latest, rollback - but about the true value of science fiction to humanity, a trip to Mars that almost happened in the 1960s, the Pope's Astronomer, and much more ... a no-holds-barred, unedited 20-minute conversation...

Sawyer's Rollback is "a novel of human rejuvenation and alien communication." Listen to the interview to find out why it's a "scientific romance."

If you want more from Levinson, you can listen to a free podcast of Levinson's novel The Silk Code (also available from Podiobooks), a Phil D'Amato mystery with biotechnology, genetics and possible present-day Neanderthals.

Tags: Robert J. Sawyer, rollback, Paul Levinson, The Silk Code

The Alien Next Door: An Interview with Nina Munteanu

Nina Munteanu is a Canadian science fiction writer, reviewer and ecologist. Her first novel, the science fiction-romance Collision with Paradise, was published by Liquid Silver Books in 2005. Her latest novel, Darwin's Paradox, is a science fiction thriller with biological elements:

When an intelligent virus and an intelligent machine community conspire to threaten the world with destruction and chaos, the only person who can save humanity is the woman who caused the cataclysm in the first place. Compelled by the virus awoken inside her, Julie Crane returns to the city from which she fled--accused of atrocity--in an attempt to redeem herself and fulfill her final destiny as Darwin's Paradox, the key to the evolution of an entire civilization.

On her blog, The Alien Next Door, Munteanu regularly writes about ecology and science fiction (and, in the spirit of disclosure, gave my other blog a nice plug). She recently posted one of her short stories, "Julia's Gift," which is based on "endosymbiosis, autopoiesis and other wonderful biological words."

Nina kindly agreed to let me interview her about her writing, science fiction and science.

---

According to the biography on your website you started reading science fiction as a girl, and you specifically mention Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Robert Silverberg and John Wyndham. Were there any stories or novels in particular that inspired your early love of science fiction?

John Wyndham’s Day of the Triffids lingered with me for a long time. But I think it was Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 that really started my love affair with science fiction and sparked a dream to write in this genre. It was actually classic writer, Thomas Hardy (e.g., Far From the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d’Urbervilles) who’s intricate and sensual writing inspired me to write. I was also deeply affected by Bradbury’s collection of short stories in Martian Chronicles. I also remember a short story by Isaac Asimov—can’t remember the title-- about a boy who decides to go outside in a world no longer interested in the outdoors.

What are some of your favorite recent science fiction novels (other than your own, of course)?

I love most of Kay Kenyon’s stuff (Maximum Ice, Braided World) and Greg Bear (Queen of Angels, Slant) and fellow Canadian SF writer, Robert J. Sawyer (Neanderthal Parallax and his newest, Rollback). They all write what I would call idea-based but socially-affecting, strong character-based SF with fantastic world building and grounded to today’s world. I also read fantasy, but not epic fantasy, mostly the grittier darker stuff that’s like alternate history (e.g., Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy, Philip Pullmans’ His Dark Materials).

You have written science articles for Beyond Centauri, a science and science fiction magazine for kids. Do you think that science fiction is a good way to introduce kids (and adults) to science?

Yes, I do. I think it’s a terrific way to get them to assimilate and explore the bigger questions that drive scientists today. It helps them see what issues interest the world in science and can offer some incredibly imaginative solutions to problems, and technological possibilities for the future. Science fiction writers, some of whom are scientists themselves, have often demonstrated incredible prescience in their writings. Recognized as futurists, creative problem solvers and thinkers who ponder outside the box, SF writers have been consulted often in think tank groups. But to go back to the kids, what better place to introduce them to some of the more complicated issues facing science and society than in an entertaining book about aliens, robots and gizmos?

When you are wearing your scientist hat, you are a limnologist, which (according to Wikipedia) is the study of fresh water systems, such as lakes and rivers, and involves a combination of biology, chemistry and geology. Did your youthful love of science fiction influence you to study science?

It might have subconsciously, but my decision to study science actually came from a compelling need to help make this planet a better place. I was quite an outspoken and active environmentalist in school (did the sit-ins and marches and letters to the Prime Minister, etc. [grins with slight embarrassment]); I initially thought of becoming an environmental lawyer. I really wanted to make a difference, to educate people about the environment and provide workable solutions. I taught for a while at college and university. Well, ironically, and to no surprise, my SF writing often centers on some environmental theme. So, I guess I’m still educating people about the environment in my fiction writing.

How has your science background influenced your fiction? Has your work as a scientist inspired any of your stories?

Oh, yes! Being a practicing scientist is a wonderful way to get ideas. As a limnologist, I work for an environmental consulting firm, where most of what we do is study environmental problems and provide recommendations for solutions. It’s an area close to my heart and there isn’t a book or short story that I’ve written that doesn’t reflect that interest. As for actual plot or thematic ideas, those usually spring to mind from moments of lucid dreaming, thoughtful ponderings of a mixture of social and environmental conflicts, which come from a diversity of sources. I’ve even gotten some very cool ideas from dreams. My latest book (the one I’m currently writing) is an example of that.

Your first novel, Collision with Paradise, is a science fiction romance. Of course sex is one aspect of biology, but, aside from that, did you include other aspects of biological science in your novel? Dare I ask if it could be considered "hard" science fiction romance?

[LOL] It actually is! Hard science fiction romance is pretty rare and a weird combination, I think. By tradition, hard SF has been the purview of male authors and (soft) SF romance the bailiwick of female authors. What I write combines the two, something I haven’t seen done a great deal. I found, however, that it was highly appreciated by a growing readership, both men and woman. So, obviously, I was filling in a niche.

Your latest novel is titled "Darwin's Paradox". Where does it fall in the spectrum between science fiction and romance?

It’s definitely science fiction. Although it has romance in it, the romance aspect isn’t the main thing driving the story (like in romances). Even “Collision with Paradise” isn’t a romance in that sense. Its main theme centers on healing and self-forgiveness (though love was a major aspect of that). I’d describe “Darwin’s Paradox” as social science fiction that explores the aspects of being human through our relationships with things other than human. Several hard science concepts are explored and used in the book like chaos theory, spontaneous organization, autopoiesis, co-evolution and quantum mechanics. But these don’t drive the story as much as provide vehicles for exploring the human heart.

You explain on your blog that "Darwin's Paradox" refers to the puzzle of coral reefs that thrive as rich ecosystems in nutrient-poor water. How do you use that concept in your novel?

I don’t [LOL]. It just happens to describe the “real” Darwin’s paradox that scientists today have been trying to answer for decades. The title of my book doesn’t refer to this paradox, but to a fictional Darwin’s Paradox, whose paradox is something entirely different…You’ll have to read the book to find out [wide grin].

According to the description of "Darwin's Paradox" it involves a conspiracy between an "intelligent virus" and an "intelligent machine community". How did you get an organism as simple as a virus to communicate with artificial intelligences?

Well, you haven't been to parties with adolescents then, as Dr. Lynn Margulis would say. [LOL] Ah…at the root of this premise lie some fantastical reflections in the area of autopoiesis, spontaneous order, and chaos theory. Without giving some of the book’s plot away (there’s a major plot item that explains why this virus can do what it does) I proposed that a kind of spontaneous order arose within this particular viral community through its association with artificial intelligence (embedded within a human’s brain or in the case of the protagonist through non-local phenomena). As a result, the virus, acting as an autopoietic entity (self-organized), could tap into the higher cognitive intelligence of the machine world like a parasite and eventually communicate. I like what Dr. Margulis says about bacterial intelligence: that consciousness is awareness of the world around you and we’ve proven that bacteria are conscious; they orient themselves, work together to make structures. It’s still wild, unproven edgy kind of stuff. But it’s fun to contemplate the possibility.

How do you see the evolution of humanity? Do you think that the future of humanity (and AI) involves human-computer hybrids?

I think it’s inevitable that we will “join” in some way with machine AI. We’re already using many forms of AI to enhance our health, memory, physical abilities, appearance, etc. Think of neural implants, cell phones and plug-in phones, wearable AI, smart shoes and clothes, RDI, embedded IDs. What may seem outlandish, imposing or intrusive today will be seamless and normal tomorrow.

Is there any recent research in the biological sciences that you find particularly interesting or exciting?

I find the whole area of neurobiology incredibly fascinating. How the brain works, along with the other systems of the body, like a community in a symbiotic sort of relationship. Investigations into consciousness. As an ecologist, who studies larger systems like ecosystems, I find the whole Lovelock/Margulis argument for the Gaia Hypothesis (now Theory) wonderful to follow. The study of autopoietic systems, synchrony and fractals within chaos theory is something I’ve been studying with utter fascination. It even touches upon my work as an ecologist: how every living and non-living thing is connected—as if within a huge, multi-level, breathing and changing network—interacting and affecting everything around it like a self-organized system. I think that the defined fields of science will begin to blur as we find more and more that every system is related, linked and influences other levels of organization, from the smallest molecule through to a cell and up to ecosystems and biomes of a planet. I think that “intelligence” will find new and exciting definitions as a result of the evolution of both our biological and our artificial systems.

Are you working on a new novel?

Yes…always [slanted grin]. I never stop writing. I’m currently shopping a trilogy to a publisher while I finish the book I’m currently writing. And I’m so excited by it! Briefly, it’s a historical SF (alternate history/world) that begins in Medieval Prussia with a girl who is about to realize, of course, that she is no ordinary girl…but a being of light. One who can alter history. The story has been so fun to research and write, I sometimes feel guilty that I’m having so much fun.

---

Darwin's Paradox is scheduled to be released by Dragon Moon Press in November. Nina plans to make a pdf version available on her blog before then, so keep an eye out for it. If you prefer to read physical books, you can pre-order Darwin's Paradox from Amazon.com (or Amazon.ca).

Tags:Nina Munteanu, Darwin's Paradox, ecology, autopoiesis, science fiction, interview