Briny liquid water discovered flowing on Mars

» Space discovery may lead to future advances

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

n September 28, NASA

made an announcement
confirming speculation and
igniting future questions of the
scientific global community. A
study published in the scientific
journal Nature Geoscience
detected Recurring Slope Lineae
(RSL), which are dark stains that
appear on slopes on the Martian
landscape. These stains are most
likely caused by hydrated salts,
or salt water, that flow down the
slopes during warm weather on
the planet.

The lead study author
of the expedition, Lujendra
Ojha, explained in a press
statement published on space.
com the possible scientific
implications. “Liquid water is
a key requirement for life on
Earth. The presence of liquid
water on Mars’ present-day
surface therefore points to
environments that are more
habitable than previously
thought.”

Indeed, the presence of
water in a liquid and flowing
format has implications for the
livability of Mars’ environment
in the past and future. It
points to a landscape more
capable of supporting life than
previously thought, in the

: form of naturally occurring

: organisms on the planet, or

: future human colonization.

: However, the discovery should

: not be taken as a definitive sign
: of extraterrestrial life.

The water detected

: is extremely diluted with

: perchlorate brines, mineral

: salts not easily accessible for

: living conditions for most

: known life forms. The evidence
: also suggests that the water

: only appears in the summer

: months of Mars. The exact

: chemical composition or origin
: of the flowing water remains

: unknown, leading only to

: speculation and debate about its :
: possible biological utilization. —:

The RSL was first

discovered in 2010 by Ojha

: using HiRISE, a camera on

: board the Mars Reconnaissance
: Orbiter first launched in 2005.
: Confirmation of the water

: origins of the streaks was

: finally detected through study
: of the perchlorate salts, which
: detected imbedded water

: molecules. The water’s origins
: may be from an aquifer or

: melting ice, or perhaps created
: in the Martian atmosphere.

Existence of water,

: including flowing water, on

: Mars has been previously

: known to exist from billions

: of years ago, when Mars had a

  

: warmer climate. But until now,

: present-day water flowage was

: not known to exist. This new

: discovery raises questions for

: livability and contamination of

: microbes—not only native to

: Mars, but invasively spread from
: Earth origins via humans or

: machines. :
Exploration of the red planet :

: and study of this water will

: continue. Scientific milestones
: and discoveries in the future

: may include confirmation of

: habitability by organisms,

: the first human to walk on

Illustration by Ed Appleby

: Mars, or even detection of

extraterrestrial life forms native

: to the landscape. Whatever may
: be found, this latest detection

: only leads to more curiosity

: about the ultimate nature

: of the universe—its design,

: accessibility, and very nature.

 

Respect your elders; they now outnumber you

» Number of aging baby boomers surpasses number of youth

Davie Wong
Sports Reporter

ll around the world, signs of

humankind aging litter the
land. From eroding monuments
to healing battlegrounds, proof
of humanity’s long past exists
almost everywhere. But for
Canadians, evidence of that
aging lies no further than in our
population.

For the first time in
Canadian history, the seniors
in the country outnumber the
youth. According to Statistics
Canada, the number of people
over the age of 65 is currently
higher than the number of
people under the age of 14. And
that gap is only supposed to get
wider.

David Foot, a demographer,
estimated in an interview with
the Canadian Press that, by 2035,
there will be approximately
50,000 more seniors than there
are youth.

The massive influx of
seniors comes from an era
nicknamed the “baby boom.”
These “baby boomers,” as they
have been nicknamed, consist

: of people born in between 1946-
: 65. After World War II came

: to an end, many of the soldiers

: returning home wished to settle
: down and start a family. The

: “baby bonus” monthly payments
: from 1945 onwards provided

: further incentive for having

: children.

Children were born by in

: massive numbers each day.

: Without knowing it, these

: “baby boomer” families had
: permanently impacted the

: future of the unborn, just by
: having children.

At the moment, Canada

: is in the midst of struggling

: to come back from an

: economic recession. With an

: unemployment rate of seven per
: cent, job creation has been a hot
: topic of the upcoming election.

: There aren’t enough jobs in

: Canada right now, and this is

: doubly true for BC, which has

: approximately 148,500 people

: unemployed, according to

: Statistics Canada.

Many of the unemployed

blame the senior population
: for crowding an already
: over-populated jobs market.

: These seniors make up to an

: approximated 37 per cent of

: the Canadian workforce. Data
: released by Statistics Canada in
: 2013 also proved that in many
: companies seniors held high

: positions that could have been
: given to younger employees.

: However, many seniors claim

: that they are doing the jobs

: that the younger demographic
: doesn’t want or are too

: inexperienced for.

Sometimes, seniors

: are necessary members of

: professions, such as in skilled

: trades. Trades professions

: include electrical work,

: carpentry, plumbing, and

: welding. In these lines of work,

: new trainees are required to

: work with a master of the trade
: to assist them in learning it.

: Due to the lack of interest in the
: skilled trades as of late, many of
: these masters are seniors.

Whether or not the aging

: population of Canada is a

: worrying trend has yet to be

: seen. All that is known is that

: the boom of seniors has begun,
: and there is nothing that can be
: done to stop it.

 

Image by Thinkstock