Mrs. Darth Vader
04-21-2010, 02:20
Chapter seven starts explaining how we breath in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. The plants breath in carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. Our waste is their need. Our need is their waste. Here plants and animals have a symbiotic relationship. Plant life started before animal life. To start life a hydrogen rich atmosphere is needed. Asteroid collisions happening more often was also important. In these asteroids are the stuff of life. The collisions with the early earth happened so often that globs of the stuff of life was every where on earth. But they came from space. Collisions from space happen so seldom that if all life on earth were to be extinguished today than the earth would become a desolate place never again to have life because we have an oxygen rich atmosphere not a hydrogen rich atmosphere and with no source of the stuff of life coming to earth things would remain desolate.
Sagan then goes back to the world of cells. He describes a type of cell called “eukaryote”. the eukaryote has a nuclei in it. It also has an inner court which is the nuclei and an outer court. This cell structure is used in many plants like flowers and trees. All algae, fungi and protozoa are eukaryotes. All animal life use this cell format. This also includes humans. Bacteria and viruses are not eukaryotes. Eukaryotes have two sets of walls protecting the nuclei from the outside world. Sagan compares the eukaryote to a mid-evil castle with two sets of walls to protect it. Sagan compares the nuclei DNA to the monarch. The chloroplasts and mitochondria are like independent Dukes and their holdings. Every other molecule is like the serfs, having to obey the orders of the realm. These molecules dutifully perform their functions. Then suddenly this kingdom sounds more like America of the orders of the President that is nonsense. Sagan compares how even the worker molecules know the difference between orders that Have to be obeyed and orders that can be ignored. Sagan here gives a funny example of how our DNA function in this capacity. In the example given of the mad (meaning crazy) President with garbled orders, Sagan says our DNA says “DRIVEL AHEAD, PLEASE IGNOR.”. Then the drivel sequence is given and at the end the DNA says “END OF DRIVEL”.
Now it gets interesting because Sagan explains how over very long periods of time this gibberish can fall in the right place and then make sense. These become individual words, a phrase and at best a sentence but this little bit is enough to ensure survival. In a changing environment this is important. The smallest change may up the chances for survival. Just a punctuation mark can make the difference between life and death. The trick is to remember the sequences.
Sagan here reminds us that the evolutionary process is short sighted and only thinks of the now. It acts one crisis at a time. There is no long plan. No orders from the top. In many ways it runs like our economy, what ever profit’s the moment, with no thought of tomorrow. This is not a planned economy. After explaining how cells normally function, Sagan describes how another organism can “hack” their way into the nuclei and change the orders coming out. Now the cell is infiltrated and it is used to make copies of the imposter. This is similar to some computer viruses that order your computer to do something other than what it used to do.
Sagan then tells how cells became beings that are highly complex. These beings are made up of many cells. The cells had specialized functions like removing poisons or conduits of electrical impulses, locomotion, breathing and much later thoughts. Our “grey” matter (cerebellum) evolved last. Here Sagan tells of how cells were part of such large organisms as to need things like kidney, liver, heart, brains and sex organs.
Sagan explains how the plants in creating an over production of oxygen allowed for life to live on land. This abundant oxygen supply is how we got ourO3 (ozone layer). The ozone layer protects us from the ultra violet rays of the sun. This then lead to why life started in seawater (Salt Water) because at certain dept seawater is opaque blocking the ultra violet light making the sea safe.
Sagan then tells us that ancient organisms are not always simpler than the modern organism. Sagan then says;
“Viruses and parasites, in general, show signs of having evolved by loss of function from some more self-sufficient forebear.” Here Sagan gives proof of what Charles Darwin said about an organism can become a degraded version of itself if the environment lead it in that direction. Hence an organism can devolve. Sagan gives the lab proof to Charles Darwin and evolution but also devolution or becoming degraded. To go from being a self-sufficient organism to leaching off another is going backwards in evolution. Next I will give the Charles Darwin quote about how an organism can become degraded so you can see the part that Sagan proved. To admit and prove this statement takes real courage in which both Charles Darwin and Carl Sagan had. They bucked prevailing culture to tell the truth, the Whole truth.
"We have also seen that as the specialization of parts is an advantage to each being, so natural selection will tend to render the organism of each being more specialized and perfect, and in this sense higher; not but it may leave many creatures with simple and unimproved structures fitted for simple conditions of life, and in some cases will even degrade or simplify the organization, yet leaving such degraded beings better fitted for their new walks of life.". Page 337 “Origin Of Species” by Charles Darwin. I gave the whole quote so you see both the upward evolution process described and the degrading process described. Note: that Natural Selection is only interested in surviving. It does not care if a once high organism has to degrade into a lower version or more base version of itself. Here is the Devolution or Degraded part of the statement. I repeated it by itself to make it stick out. This is the part of evolution that even public school does not teach. You will only see this in both “Origin Of Species and “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” to the best of my knowledge.
“and in some cases will even degrade or simplify the organization, yet leaving such degraded beings better fitted for their new walks of life.".
Life became very diverse around the time that humans were just getting going. Life has been diverse ever since. Now it is loosing it’s diversity because humans are destroying beings and habitats at a rapid rate. There are natural times of mass extinctions like at ice ages but it seems humans are destroying things just as fast. After mass extinctions it takes the earth about ten million years to recover and have many varieties of life again. From here Sagan tells us how the dinosaurs lived on the earth until a massive cometary or asteroidal collision happened on earth. This caused an ice age which killed off all the dinosaurs. As a result of the dinosaurs being made extinct, little nocturnal mammals were given the chance to flourish. The dinosaurs were a threat to these little guys so with dinosaurs removed the little nocturnal mammals had a chance at survival. This branch lead to the mammals we see today. Sagan tells how we find fossil remains of dinosaurs and evidence of the creatures of this period. There is evidence of a colossal impact with the earth. This caused world wide fires because in this layer is found soot and we know there were no factories then. So the earth and everything on it once did go in flames. Sagan describes in detail, step by step of how this mass extinction took place. More dangerous than the fires themselves was all the smoke Thrown into the atmosphere blocking out the sun light from getting in. This killed all the chloroplasts which killed all one celled animals because they ate the chloroplasts. Shrimp like creatures ate the one celled animals so they died. Small fish ate the shrimp like creatures died because there were no shrimp like creatures to eat. Big fish which ate the small fish died. This death toll happened all the way up the food chain. This is like dominos you knock one and the rest fallow. All life unraveled. Life is all interconnected. If you wipe out some here or there you do not know how far the damage will go.
Sagan then tell us the value of insects and other arthropods. Both of these clean up dead plants and animal excrement. The scarab beetle brings the animal excrement down in the dirt to the plant roots. Here the plants can use it. Then discussion of how insects like the bee act as agents for sexual reproduction of plants. Insects go from flower to flower and in this process helps pollinate the plants to make new plants. Plants get animals to plant their seeds. Sagan then reminds us of the struggle to survive between plants and animals and how animals will eat too much if the plants did not evolve things to make it hard for the animals to eat them. Sagan then ends this chapter by reminding us how connected and interdependent life on earth is. The ecosystem does not have boarders like countries do so what we do here can effect what happens in china for example.
Sagan then goes back to the world of cells. He describes a type of cell called “eukaryote”. the eukaryote has a nuclei in it. It also has an inner court which is the nuclei and an outer court. This cell structure is used in many plants like flowers and trees. All algae, fungi and protozoa are eukaryotes. All animal life use this cell format. This also includes humans. Bacteria and viruses are not eukaryotes. Eukaryotes have two sets of walls protecting the nuclei from the outside world. Sagan compares the eukaryote to a mid-evil castle with two sets of walls to protect it. Sagan compares the nuclei DNA to the monarch. The chloroplasts and mitochondria are like independent Dukes and their holdings. Every other molecule is like the serfs, having to obey the orders of the realm. These molecules dutifully perform their functions. Then suddenly this kingdom sounds more like America of the orders of the President that is nonsense. Sagan compares how even the worker molecules know the difference between orders that Have to be obeyed and orders that can be ignored. Sagan here gives a funny example of how our DNA function in this capacity. In the example given of the mad (meaning crazy) President with garbled orders, Sagan says our DNA says “DRIVEL AHEAD, PLEASE IGNOR.”. Then the drivel sequence is given and at the end the DNA says “END OF DRIVEL”.
Now it gets interesting because Sagan explains how over very long periods of time this gibberish can fall in the right place and then make sense. These become individual words, a phrase and at best a sentence but this little bit is enough to ensure survival. In a changing environment this is important. The smallest change may up the chances for survival. Just a punctuation mark can make the difference between life and death. The trick is to remember the sequences.
Sagan here reminds us that the evolutionary process is short sighted and only thinks of the now. It acts one crisis at a time. There is no long plan. No orders from the top. In many ways it runs like our economy, what ever profit’s the moment, with no thought of tomorrow. This is not a planned economy. After explaining how cells normally function, Sagan describes how another organism can “hack” their way into the nuclei and change the orders coming out. Now the cell is infiltrated and it is used to make copies of the imposter. This is similar to some computer viruses that order your computer to do something other than what it used to do.
Sagan then tells how cells became beings that are highly complex. These beings are made up of many cells. The cells had specialized functions like removing poisons or conduits of electrical impulses, locomotion, breathing and much later thoughts. Our “grey” matter (cerebellum) evolved last. Here Sagan tells of how cells were part of such large organisms as to need things like kidney, liver, heart, brains and sex organs.
Sagan explains how the plants in creating an over production of oxygen allowed for life to live on land. This abundant oxygen supply is how we got ourO3 (ozone layer). The ozone layer protects us from the ultra violet rays of the sun. This then lead to why life started in seawater (Salt Water) because at certain dept seawater is opaque blocking the ultra violet light making the sea safe.
Sagan then tells us that ancient organisms are not always simpler than the modern organism. Sagan then says;
“Viruses and parasites, in general, show signs of having evolved by loss of function from some more self-sufficient forebear.” Here Sagan gives proof of what Charles Darwin said about an organism can become a degraded version of itself if the environment lead it in that direction. Hence an organism can devolve. Sagan gives the lab proof to Charles Darwin and evolution but also devolution or becoming degraded. To go from being a self-sufficient organism to leaching off another is going backwards in evolution. Next I will give the Charles Darwin quote about how an organism can become degraded so you can see the part that Sagan proved. To admit and prove this statement takes real courage in which both Charles Darwin and Carl Sagan had. They bucked prevailing culture to tell the truth, the Whole truth.
"We have also seen that as the specialization of parts is an advantage to each being, so natural selection will tend to render the organism of each being more specialized and perfect, and in this sense higher; not but it may leave many creatures with simple and unimproved structures fitted for simple conditions of life, and in some cases will even degrade or simplify the organization, yet leaving such degraded beings better fitted for their new walks of life.". Page 337 “Origin Of Species” by Charles Darwin. I gave the whole quote so you see both the upward evolution process described and the degrading process described. Note: that Natural Selection is only interested in surviving. It does not care if a once high organism has to degrade into a lower version or more base version of itself. Here is the Devolution or Degraded part of the statement. I repeated it by itself to make it stick out. This is the part of evolution that even public school does not teach. You will only see this in both “Origin Of Species and “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” to the best of my knowledge.
“and in some cases will even degrade or simplify the organization, yet leaving such degraded beings better fitted for their new walks of life.".
Life became very diverse around the time that humans were just getting going. Life has been diverse ever since. Now it is loosing it’s diversity because humans are destroying beings and habitats at a rapid rate. There are natural times of mass extinctions like at ice ages but it seems humans are destroying things just as fast. After mass extinctions it takes the earth about ten million years to recover and have many varieties of life again. From here Sagan tells us how the dinosaurs lived on the earth until a massive cometary or asteroidal collision happened on earth. This caused an ice age which killed off all the dinosaurs. As a result of the dinosaurs being made extinct, little nocturnal mammals were given the chance to flourish. The dinosaurs were a threat to these little guys so with dinosaurs removed the little nocturnal mammals had a chance at survival. This branch lead to the mammals we see today. Sagan tells how we find fossil remains of dinosaurs and evidence of the creatures of this period. There is evidence of a colossal impact with the earth. This caused world wide fires because in this layer is found soot and we know there were no factories then. So the earth and everything on it once did go in flames. Sagan describes in detail, step by step of how this mass extinction took place. More dangerous than the fires themselves was all the smoke Thrown into the atmosphere blocking out the sun light from getting in. This killed all the chloroplasts which killed all one celled animals because they ate the chloroplasts. Shrimp like creatures ate the one celled animals so they died. Small fish ate the shrimp like creatures died because there were no shrimp like creatures to eat. Big fish which ate the small fish died. This death toll happened all the way up the food chain. This is like dominos you knock one and the rest fallow. All life unraveled. Life is all interconnected. If you wipe out some here or there you do not know how far the damage will go.
Sagan then tell us the value of insects and other arthropods. Both of these clean up dead plants and animal excrement. The scarab beetle brings the animal excrement down in the dirt to the plant roots. Here the plants can use it. Then discussion of how insects like the bee act as agents for sexual reproduction of plants. Insects go from flower to flower and in this process helps pollinate the plants to make new plants. Plants get animals to plant their seeds. Sagan then reminds us of the struggle to survive between plants and animals and how animals will eat too much if the plants did not evolve things to make it hard for the animals to eat them. Sagan then ends this chapter by reminding us how connected and interdependent life on earth is. The ecosystem does not have boarders like countries do so what we do here can effect what happens in china for example.