Menu

Blog

Archive for the ‘existential risks’ category: Page 2

Dec 23, 2024

Land-sea ‘tag-team’ caused mass extinction 185 million years ago

Posted by in categories: evolution, existential risks

The course of evolution on Earth was altered by a series of severe environmental crises caused between 185 and 85 million years ago in the oceans, according to scientists.

The phenomenon, described as a ‘tag-team’ between the oceans and continents, severely harmed the marine life which existed during that phase and also changed the evolution course on our planet.

The oceanic anoxic events, as per the term given by the researchers, occurred when the dissolved oxygen in the water depleted to a critically low level.

Dec 23, 2024

Mass Extinctions May Hold the Key to Life in the Universe

Posted by in category: existential risks

An exploration of whether mass extinction events lead to a higher likelihood of intelligence and complexity of life on earth and exoplanets.

My Patreon Page:

Continue reading “Mass Extinctions May Hold the Key to Life in the Universe” »

Dec 21, 2024

Keith Wiley — The Fermi Paradox, Self-Replicating Probes, Interstellar Transport Bandwidth

Posted by in categories: alien life, existential risks, transportation

It has been widely acknowledged that self-replicating space-probes (SRPs) could explore the galaxy very quickly relative to the age of the galaxy. An obvious implication is that SRPs produced by extraterrestrial civilizations should have arrived in our solar system millions of years ago, and furthermore, that new probes from an ever-arising supply of civilizations ought to be arriving on a constant basis. The lack of observations of such probes underlies a frequently cited variation of the Fermi Paradox. We believe that a predilection for ETI-optimistic theories has deterred consideration of incompatible theories. Notably, SRPs have virtually disappeared from the literature. In this paper, we consider the most common arguments against SRPs and find those arguments lacking. By extension, we find recent models of galactic exploration which explicitly exclude SRPs to be unfairly handicapped and unlikely to represent natural scenarios.
We also consider several other models that seek to explain the Fermi Paradox, most notably percolation theory and two societal-collapse theories. In the former case, we find that it imposes unnatural assumptions which likely render it unrealistic. In the latter case, we present a new theory of interstellar transportation bandwidth which calls into question the validity of societal-collapse theories.
Finally, we offer our thoughts on how to design future SETI programs which take the conclusions of this paper into account to maximize the chance of detection.
Fermi Paradox paper on Arxiv http://arxiv.org/abs/1111.

Von Neumann Self-Replicating Probes. Percolation Theory, Interstellar Societal Collapse, ETI May Still Exist in our Galaxy.

Continue reading “Keith Wiley — The Fermi Paradox, Self-Replicating Probes, Interstellar Transport Bandwidth” »

Dec 21, 2024

Extended chart of life shows ancient species may have evolved slower and lasted longer

Posted by in categories: evolution, existential risks

If all the world’s a stage and all the species merely players, then their exits and entrances can be found in the rock record. Fossilized skeletons and shells clearly show how evolution and extinction unfolded over the past half a billion years, but a Virginia Tech analysis extends the chart of life to nearly 2 billion years ago. The study is published in the journal Science.

The chart shows the relative ups and downs in species counts, telling scientists about the origin, diversification, and extinction of ancient life.

With this new study, the chart of life now includes life forms from the Proterozoic Eon, 2,500 million to 539 million years ago. Proterozoic life was generally smaller and squishier—like sea sponges that didn’t develop mineral skeletons —and left fewer traces to fossilize in the first place.

Dec 18, 2024

Are We Living In The Dark Forest? | An Answer to the Fermi Paradox

Posted by in categories: alien life, existential risks

Is advanced alien life hiding from human eyes? Join us… and find out!

Subscribe: https://wmojo.com/unveiled-subscribe.

Continue reading “Are We Living In The Dark Forest? | An Answer to the Fermi Paradox” »

Dec 17, 2024

ENGINEERING EARTH: Official Trailer

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, existential risks

If humans want to survive long-term — millions of years into the future and beyond — we will have to grapple with existential threats to civilization and life itself. But we are more empowered than any species in history. This film is a journey far into the future to explore the extreme challenges we will face, and a vision into how far humanity might go to reinvent our planet.

Coming Spring 2025.

Dec 13, 2024

MIT Unveils Breakthrough in Detecting Tiny Asteroids, Boosting Planetary Defense

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks

Researchers at MIT have developed a method to detect small asteroids in the main asteroid belt, significantly improving our ability to spot objects as little as 10 meters across.

This new technique, which identified 138 space rocks ranging from bus-to stadium-sized, allows for earlier detection and better tracking of potential near-Earth objects, enhancing planetary defense. The approach, using data from telescopes initially aimed at exoplanets, has uncovered over a hundred new asteroids, with implications for understanding asteroid origins and collision processes.

Advancements in Asteroid Detection.

Dec 9, 2024

MIT astronomers find the smallest asteroids ever detected in the main belt

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks

The asteroid that extinguished the dinosaurs is estimated to have been about 10 kilometers across. That’s about as wide as Brooklyn, New York. Such a massive impactor is predicted to hit Earth rarely, once every 100 million to 500 million years.

In contrast, much smaller asteroids, about the size of a bus, can strike Earth more frequently, every few years. These “decameter” asteroids, measuring just tens of meters across, are more likely to escape the main asteroid belt and migrate in to become near-Earth objects. If they make impact, these small but mighty space rocks can send shockwaves through entire regions, such as the 1908 impact in Tunguska, Siberia, and the 2013 asteroid that broke up in the sky over Chelyabinsk, Urals. Being able to observe decameter main-belt asteroids would provide a window into the origin of meteorites.


The team’s detection method, which identified 138 space rocks ranging from bus-to stadium-sized, could aid in tracking potential asteroid impactors.

Continue reading “MIT astronomers find the smallest asteroids ever detected in the main belt” »

Dec 3, 2024

How do “Predator Civilizations” solve the Fermi Paradox?

Posted by in categories: alien life, existential risks, military, singularity

♺ DETAILS

A pair of researchers, one with the Carnegie Institution for Science, the other with California Institute of Technology, has developed a possible solution to the Fermi Paradox. In their paper published in Journal of the Royal Society Interface, Michael Wong and Stuart Bartlett suggest that the reason that no aliens from other planets have visited us is because of superlinear scaling, which, they contend, leads to a singularity. (How do “Predator Civilizations” solve the Fermi Paradox?)

Continue reading “How do ‘Predator Civilizations’ solve the Fermi Paradox?” »

Nov 29, 2024

More than 40% of coral species face extinction, according to new research

Posted by in categories: climatology, existential risks

Yikes o.o! What I believe is that we need to have cooling systems underwater to keep things cooler so coral and fish can survive. It could also mean even that fish food supplies could run out in the future from the ocean.


Following a global assessment, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has revealed that 44% of reef-building coral species globally are at risk of extinction. The announcement was made at the ongoing COP29 UN climate conference.

Dr. Michael Sweet, Professor of Molecular Ecology and Head of the Aquatic Research Facility at the University of Derby, is among a pool of experts who contributed to the global coral assessment, which has revealed the severe impacts of our rapidly changing climate.

Continue reading “More than 40% of coral species face extinction, according to new research” »

Page 2 of 15112345678Last