It’s worth noting that organic molecules can be created by processes not related to life as we know it, and thus aren’t direct evidence of life.
Saved you a click.
Naturally, organic simply means carbon is present in the (non-metal) structure. Generally carbon-carbon, carbon-hydrogen, and a few other bond-types are considered organic. Many articles prey on people’s misunderstanding of this in order to craft a good headline, since “carbon-based material” doesn’t sound as exciting as “organic material”.
And when they say it “be created by processes not related to life as we know it” they should also probably mention that it can be created in the absence of any life at all; since if that weren’t true then it would in fact be direct evidence of life.
Funny how that’s the most important part and it’s not in the headline.
Almost like they know what they’re doing and don’t care because it makes them more money.
Thank you. This is exactly why I tended to go right to the comments in Reddit, because inevitably an “expert” would comment on why the article headline was bullshit (an “expert” can be somebody with experience, a PhD, or just somebody who actually read the article). It’s so annoying how the news gets framed in order to increase the number of clicks on a page.
Writers always know that “organic” will be misinterpreted by the public, and do it anyway, hiding behind “technically correct”. Personally, I think avoiding creating more misunderstandings about science and space exploration outweighs any “technically correct” bullshit. Stop intentionally hurting public understanding for clicks.
While I agree with your main gist, I actually think this overall creates less misunderstanding than more; at least, and probably solely, with respect to what organic means. Because people read that headline and think ‘z0mg life discovered on mars’ and then one of a few things may happen which leads them to realize that organic != organism. Though some of those ‘few things’ may include temporarily spreading their incorrect interpretation to others, I believe even a slightly intelligent person will realize that they may have wrong information when this finding doesn’t end up as front page news and ‘breaking news’ segments around the world.
So at least in that respect, this kind of journalism constantly teaches and reminds people that organic doesn’t mean life. Though, ultimately, I still dislike it as much as the next guy.
this kind of journalism constantly teaches and reminds people that organic doesn’t mean life.
Except… it doesn’t. That’s just a dreamy hypothetical way that it might manifest, but that doesn’t match reality. It misinforms. The end.
Talks about Perseverance.
Image is of Spirit or Opportunity.
So this is material that is free of chemical pesticides?
“So far, the only Martian rocks we’ve ever been able to study on Earth have been meteorites. Getting our hands on intact Mars rocks, carefully stored and protected from contamination, will be invaluable to planetary science,” said Joseph Razzell Hollis, a postdoctoral fellow at London’s Natural History Museum.
Hollis is also an author on a research paper recently published in the journal Nature titled “Diverse organic-mineral associations in Jezero crater, Mars.”
I’m confused: is this article just summarizing Hollis’s paper, or is this a new discovery and they asked Hollis to comment because he’d previously written a relevant paper?
Man I wish NASA (or some private pioneer) would send an archeology team (human or robot) to find evidence of previous life. Like dinosaurs or something. If you discovered that, you’d be immortal.
How would this make us immortal?
