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Very interesting. It is great that there are scientific researchers out there that are sufficiently open minded to pursue these type of questions. It always makes me cringe when scientists speak of humans as the only intelligent species - we may be so unintelligent that we cannot see the elegant intelligence embedded in all life.

my mate has an argyreia nervosa vine that is now about 2 years old. it is pretty big now, about 2 meters off the ground and 4 meters across, however it hasn't flowered yet. when would it be expected to flower? I have read that one way to induce flowering is top trim the roots but this plant is in the ground and this wouldn't really be possible.

ha true, a bit optimistic to expect kids to drop the igadgets in favour of looking at bugs. need to get a microscope hooked up to a television screen!

I have a soft cover, b/w copy of trouts notes if want it, pm me

this one is in the ground and seems very lush even when it hasn't rained for a while, so water is not a problem. It has been pruned to keed it from going into the neighbours yard - I wonder if there is a pruning technique that would promote flowering?

wow I bet your kids were fascinated with those tardigrades, I would be at least! just had a quick look over the wikipedia page and it said that they took some into space for 10 days, and although the majority survived the trip many of them subsequently died after a few days. so although tardigrades are certainly extremephiles, they are no interstellar travellers. the earth has gone through many chaotic periods in the past few billion years, so one could argue they developed these abilities just to survive any condition the Earth could throw at them (e.g. planetary impacts, solar storms, ice ages, volcanic eruptions etc). the study of the possibility of life existing throughout the universe is called astrobiology, and as far I understand one of the most promising candidate for existence outside of Earth are viruses: Recently, viruses have been recognized as the most numerous entities and the primary drivers of evolution on Earth. Historically, viruses have been mostly ignored in the field of astrobiology due to the view that they are not alive in the classical sense and if encountered would not present risk due to their host-specific nature. What we currently know of viruses is that we are most likely to encounter them on other life-bearing planets; that while some are exquisitely host-specific, many viruses can utilize hundreds of different host species; that viruses are known to exist in our planet's most extreme environments; and that while many do not survive long outside their hosts, some can survive for extended periods, especially in the cold. In our quest for extraterrestrial life, we should be looking for viruses; and while any encountered may pose no risk, the possibility of an encounter with a virus capable of accessing multiple cell types exists, and any prospective contact with such an organism should be treated accordingly. http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ast.2012.0959 It seems unlikely to me that life would limit its range to a single planet in the vastness of the universe. Perhaps proto and primative life forms are constantly drifiting throughout the universe or embedded in comets. Planets however seem like the place where life really gets going, however, and can achieve complex forms such as human beings. Our insatiable desire for evermore complex and powerful tools, exemplified by computers and space craft, may just be natures way of devising a strategy for highly evolved life to leap frog from the earth to other more fertile worlds in the universe. So if we are not yet aliens, we soon will be.

maybe that was said in jest, but many people seriously consider this possibility. Perhaps the original seed of life originated from outside the Earth (panspermia), but most animals that have had their genome sequenced show striking similarity. For example chimpanzee's share 96% of their DNA with humans, and even fruit flies share 60% of their DNA with us. We are very different from all other forms of life on Earth, but we are almost certainly share a common ancestor.

why should a former defense minister be an expert on extraterrestrial life?

yeah maybe not enough sunlight hours although it is still growing prolifically. it has been a dry year in these parts from what I have heard so maybe it just needs a bit more time. shall wait and see, thanks for the help guys!

gold coast. a little bit more similar to its natural habitat than perth, but still the sub end of subtropical. reckon its just sensitive to the climate?

Yeah you have a very good point. The dilemma that humanity must face is that deep down we know our way of life is killing the planet.

well said - I catch myself doing exactly this on forums such as this. however I still have some faith that sufficiently articulate and concise presentation of scientific facts will eventually motivate our civilization to take appropriate action on climate change. as william blake said: Truth can never be told so as to be understood, and not be believed. edit: but maybe it is not enough for people to see the reality of climate change via scientific evidence, when we don't seem willing to sacrifice our own standard of living for the future of our planet. the real problem could be that we lack empathy for the future generations that will inhabit this planet.

Especially when presenting the case for anthropological climate change. Given that this is such a potentially important issue for the planet, I think presentations such as this should be more rigourous in proving their case. I think most people can understand that even a 2 degree change in average temperature in the next few decades will have a significant impact on the Earth's biosphere - the real challenge is demonstrating with scientific evidence that this will occur.

It is a nice presentation, but a few more references to the literature used in compiling the figures would be useful. Does TedX require the speakers to submit a paper in order to get a podium?

I am looking forward to contributing more in 2014, as I am back down under and keen to get back into gardening again. I must say that I have been put off by some of the trolling and personal attacks that have been going on, but hopefully that stuff gets drowned out by a flood of more productive posts in the year to come.

The Abbott government is cutting funding to many programs and industries that do not fit in with their mining and military oriented agenda. For example aboriginal legal aid has also had a 3 million dollar cut. At the same time the construction project to build navy destroyers is leaking 10 million dollars a month - this is the same amount of money that the environment legal centres discussed in the article above were promised over a 4 year period. We have the resources to build a better world, it is just a matter of directing our efforts in the right direction. We need forward thinking and visionary people to take control of this planet - that means people like us.

It is my understanding that visitors to the Bunya Mountains are not supposed/permitted to take the nuts as it will reduce the availability of seeds to produce new trees. I am not sure how this relates to people of aboriginal decent. Also I remember reading that during the tri- or bi-annual bunya nut feasts animals were not to be killed or eaten, and that people from as far away as Bundaberg would walk to the Bunya mountains for the feasts.

the tastiest mo:mo's are those made with fresh yak meat the week after divali festival, when the yak's are slaughtered. best enjoyed above 3000m with a ghurka beer. namaste to you all, from nepal!

Has anyone here been to Nepal? Any stories and tips on travelling around this intriguing country would be much appreciated. I plan to just take the bear essentials in a backpack, do some treking (not anywhere near the hoards towards Everest base camp, if possible), soak up the hindu and buddhist spirituality and hopefully meet the banjankri namaste

fair call, I guess the lesson for many people from psychedelics and psuedo-psychedelics like cannabis is that its not for them and they are better off without them. using cannabis constructively is an art in itself and it involves equally how much you don't do it as how much you do. When you say you love cannabis, what does that mean to you?

+1 to what anodyne said. A lack of sense of belonging and purpose in the society we live in, I think, is a root cause of much substance abuse. It may well be that this is because we live in a mad world and introversion for many is the sanctuary - I certainly can relate to this. But ultimately we all, as in the human race, are in this together and we must find community one way or another. Personally I have found ayahausca sessions to be highly beneficial in realigning my habits in more positive directions. The ted talk by graham hancock I think is especially relevant here: http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=36774 I don't think it is necessary to totally abstain from cannabis, or to be totally addicted to it like some of the comments made in this thread, but rather to use it in such a way that honours the great gift that it is.

Ken Adams' film 'the terence mckenna experience' looks amazing! Anyone seen it?

Hey vegetarium, I have struggled with sleep most my life too, but have now ejust come to accept that some nights I won't get as much as I need. Last night I got 6 hours for example, but it was deep sleep and I feel rested enough to face the day. What tends to happen for me is I will get more and more tired due to low sleep then eventually I will get 8 hours that will fix me up. In the end you have just got to listen to your body - no point in trying to sleep if your body doesn't want to. Exercise can really help here too, especially soon after you wake up and at the end of the day. That way, in oz at least, you will also be getting melatonin doses twice a day from the sun to reinforce your circadian rhythm. Gut Schlafen!

Wow epic dream! I find dreams that are not focused on people or personalities (like this one which was focused on plants) to be the most interesting, as it seems to hint at source deeper within the psyche. I have had a few vivid dreams focused on animals, such as an anaconda like creature and a giant preying mantis. Mostly however they are focused on people I know from my past. I bet a psychologist would have a field day analysing them! Also from watching that great talk on dreaming, what he was describing as lucid dreaming doesn't seem to fit my experience as it definitely felt like I had to adhere to the rules of that world, and couldn't change it at my will. I can't remember what the other category he described was though...