Express and News from San Antonio, Texas • Page 17

With each hewiextension of knowledge and probe into outer space, scientists speculate anew about what kind ef life, if any, may be out there. The only trouble till now, says the noted astronomer Carl Sagan, is that the speculation has not been imaginative, enough. Somehow we cannot help seeing life on other planets in terms of life on our own; In this excerpt from his new book, The Cosmic Connection, Sagan helps us prefigure the hitherto unimaginable. Express and News Saturday, December 29, 1973 Page 7-B By Dr. CarlSagan are a way of dealing with anxiety.

Fof' example, -there a class of jokes dealing with extraterrestrial life. In one, an extraterrestrial visitor lands on earth, walks up to gasoline pump apd asks, "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" Elsewhere, beings are very i from But ihc joke fails because it assumes cxlraterreslrials will if not like human beings, Ihen like gasoline pumps. Nothing Like More likely, extraterrestrial beings will look i like any organisms or a i known lo us. Don't Bui such jokes underscore a general problem and a general virtue in thinking about life elsewhere. The problem is we have only kind of life lo study, the co-related biology of our planel carlh.

il is difficult for us -for (lie biologist as well as the From the book, The Cosmic Connection, copyright 1973 by Carl Sagan and Jerome Agcl. Published by Anchor Doubleday Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission. a a delcrniine which 'properties of life on our planet arc accidents and which arc a a i i of i everywhere. Your Health Skin Peels, Head Hurts From Excess Vitamin A By George C.

Thosteson, M.D. Dear I read your column about vitamin A. I was having headaches lhat unbelievable. The my feet i I was dizzy, had spots before my eyes, ringing in my ears and ul- i so a bad body odor. A I read I your I slopped a i I anything high in i i i i A.

The 'headaches and the skin i and in facl i spots before my eyes. I asked a doctor about il and he i say anything except lo put me on vitamin ll-C tablets. Is- the proper a for the i a i A a i i a i a i or is there more lo it? How Much? You i i il. but I gather lhat yon had been taking vilamin A in large quantities in vilamin tablets. Vilamin A poisoning occurs often enough so the College of Physicians had a discussion of it at a recent meeting.

Prolonged use of this vilamin in amounts of 50,000 i a day or more can cause a variety of symptoms mosl of those you experienced, some you may not have. Blood calcium can be elevated, and there can be pain from changes in bone structure. Such changes can even be seen on X-ray. Liver function also can be impaired. Clamp All these i i i i nf course, are why Ihc food and Drug Administration is clamp, down on preparations con: a i i large doses of i a i except on prescription.

I Treatment of such poisoning is to-slop I i vilamin A in large doses, and i a i gradually corrects itself! That's why your doctor i do anything except tell you lo I lake i a i mixtures that did not contain any A. I- 1 Calm Yourself From here on, I would not be inclined to worry about vilamin A in your" food yellow vcge- lahles, The iimbun'ls in such foods, I while ample for your, needs, arc not a enough lo t'ausc vitamin accumulation. One Iliing lhal should be kept in mind: Children arc more readily'affected by excess vi', a i A a a a Something to remember. As lo the spots before your ycs i hey may not have lo do with the vitamin A. I'd discuss this wilh an eye Blood llralth Deaf My daughter lias type 0 blood She was told a she could never have a healthy child Is (his Irue? Mrs A.I Either there is more lo Ihe ilory lhaii having type 0 blood, or her I a was talking through his (or her) hal.

Type 0 is Ihe commonest of all Ihe blood types, so obviously il is nol trui! lhal having lhat type blood a i healthy children. Handwriting Dear Cm a psychiatrist determine by reading an individual's a i letters whether the individual is menially or emotionally disturbed? I have always contended lhal a i i a a i alone cannot lie used for lihls purpose. F.ti.U. You're right bnl a the person says in the lellers may indicate the answer with considerable validity. as what a person says very often can be a significant part of psychiatric diagnosis.

Arthritis Help Dear If you were treating a a i i severe a i i would you prescribe, hot towels, a i a hoi water bottle, or cold treatments like ice pack, cold wcl tow els or cold water bottle? F.I!. I'd i heal in any form, but would nol prescribe cold of any kind. Diabetes Dear Dr. Thoslcson: 1 am 64 and had a glucose lolcranc.c (esl last year. The doctor said 1 had diabclcs.

Since i a blood sugar lesls have been normal. I also went on a dicl and gradually lost 28 pounds. The doctor says I have done well bill am still diabolic. Is this possible? Mrs. A.

You have done well wilh your dicl bill you should nol be surprised (he doctor says arc still diabetic. That is nol only possible bill il is whal yon should cxpecl. Using Sugar Cut il this way: you cannot use up sugar, as as you would normally. 1 That's what diabetes is. But by getiingrfld of excess weight (and ndl eating as much food lhat i sugar) you arc keeping the diabetes under contrql; even though you sllll havc'l'hc disease.

Fairly mild cases oflcn can be controlled by diet nlono. A sugar might'show high blood sugar levels and sugar in the urine under the test conditions, sulfcrerl con toe helped. Or. 1 ho)Felon's bocvieldllcimd manv lynet or arlhrllls and related lolnl discoltl 01 well 01 cflccllve Ireatrncnli end rredlcoliflril. For copy ol "Hoiv You Control AMhrllli" write lo Mm care ol the Sort Aftlon'o Eorcil enclosing 35 cenls In loin and tno.

sell addressed (use rla Damped tnveFone. The assumption lhal life elsewhere has to be, in some major sense, like life here is a conceit--or chauvinism Bui Hie i of i i aboul life elsewhere is thai it forces us lo our imaginations, lo devise aller native solutions lo biological problems already solved in one particular way on Kor example, take Ihc comparatively recent appearance of Hie wheel, which seems have been invented in the an- cienl i ICasI less a 10.000 years ago. Biology IMology--Ihe i a process---did nol i wheel, despite (be facl lhal its selective a a a a manifest Why arc there no wheeled spiders or goals or elephants rolling along the. highways'" The answer is clearly lhat i recently there no highways, Wheels are of use only when there are roads. Since Ihe a is a heterogeneous, place wilh few long smooth areas, there was no a a a to evolving the wheel.

But we can imagine a planet long slrelches of smooth lava fields in which wheeled organisms would be abundant. The evolution of life on carlh has-been a product of random events, chance miitalions.and individually unlikely steps. Small differences early in the i of i had a profound significance later. Factors Were we lo start (he earth all over again and let only random factors operate, I believe we would wind up with nothing at all resembling human beings. This being the case, how much less likely is it lhal organisms evolved over five, billion or more years in a quite i i nf another planel of a far-off star would closely resemble a beings? the hoary scicnce-fic- lion stand-by of love between a human being and an intiabilanl of a planet ignores, in Ihe mosl a a sense, biological reality.

John Carter could love Dejah Thoris on Mars, bill despite whal their creator, Edgar Rice Hnrroughs, believed, their love could not be consummated. Category Likewise, (lie category of story now quite fashionable in some circles of UTO enthusiasts, of sexual contact bclw.eeii a and saucer i a recently described in a newspaper headline wilh Ihc modest title. "We Scxcd a Blonde. from a Plying be relegated to the realm of improbable fantasy. Such events are about as reasonable ns the mating of a man and a petunia.

Whal is "life as we know It depends entirely on who the is. Idea A person unsophisticated in biology, who lacks a keen appreciation of (he countless a i i of i a org a i i have only a meager idea of Ihe range of possible biological habitats. There are discussions, oven by famous scientists, which essentially come down lo i i a an environment a a for my grandmother is impossible lo life. At one lime II was thought a oxides of nitrogen had bet'ii dclecled in the almosphi'r About The Carl Sagan is Director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies and Professor of Ast and Spa.tei Sciences at Cbrnel.1 University. IIi received his A.B..

B.S,,- M.S. in physics and Ph.D.",in' astronomy and astro from I i i Chicago, sub-1 sequenlly serv-J ing as i Fellow in Hie: I i Basic Research in Science of the i i California. Sagan. Berkeley: as Assistant Professor of i i at Slanfo'rd" Universily Medical School: A i i a( i sonian Aslrophysica! lory: and as Assistant Professor of Astronomy at Universily. He has been a Xalioiia'j Science a i and is a recipient nf NASA's 1 A A i A a and A A l-Acep lional Scientific Achievemciu Award Medal Dr.

Sagan's prini'ijial research activities are in physics i of a i i a a i a a in space vehicle, exploration of (he planets, aitd on the origin' of life on F.arfh..' lie is also known for his studies' in exobiology, the merging disc i i which deals i I'lfc' possibility uf extraterrestrial' life and Ihc means for i tection. Dr. Sagan serves on advisory groups lo the XaliongJ Academy of Sciences and tjie a i A a i ai)d Space A i i a i i i or Mars. A scientific paper was i on' i a a finding. Us authors argued that life on Mars was impossible because oxides of nitrogen are poison gases.

There arc at least two objections I i argument. Poison Kirst, oxides of nitrogen are poison gases only lo some organisms on earth'. Second, 1 calculated the a i of oxides of nitrogen thought lo be i on Mars, it turned mil lo be less than (lie average.ahovo I.os Angeles. Oxides of i are an important constituent or siring. Life in l.os Angeles may be i i but it is not yet impossible.

Chauvinism Oxygen chauvinism is also common. If a planet has no oxygen, it is alleged to be uninhabitable. This view ignores (he. fact thai life arose on earth in (he absence of oxygen. Fundamentally, oxygen is a poison gas.

II i i and destroys the organic molecules of which terrestrial life is composed. There are many organisms on earth lliat do without oxygen and many tlial are iHiisnned by it. Adaptations In a i i a set of tionary adaptations, organisms sucli as insects and frogs and fish and people learned not only lu survive in the presence of oxygen lint actually lo use it lo increase the efficiency wilh which they metabolize foodstuffs. Hut tint should not blind us lo the fundamentally poisonous character of oxygon. Us absence, therefore, on a place like forms of life on earth evolved in Ihc absence a high Iraviolcl (lux, Protections elsewhere it is not hard lo imagine adaptations lo pro- loci a i a a i Iraviolel light.

On Mars, where (here is little ozone, the ultraviolet light at the surface is intense. liul Hie a i a a material is a strong absorber of ultraviolcl light--as most soil and rocks a a we can i a i a i a i a a shields on llieir backs, say, Martian turtles. Or a a i a a i carry a traviolcl parasols. It's Cold There are also a chauvinists. They say a freiv.ing a oiuplancts i i a make i there impossible.

But these low temperatures do not apply lo all portions of these planets, only lo outermost cloud layers which are accessible the i a telescopes that read (einpera- inres. I if we had a telescope i i i i i and pointed il at the a we would deduce the a had very low a tures. liul dial's because we would be a i the a in Hie clouds a not warmer surfaces of our planet. Necessary On (he olher hand, why is il necessary lo have lemperalues like those on earth in order for life lo proliferate? Why not other temperatures. is hardly an argument other biochemistries? against lite on such planets.

Ultraviolet are a i light chauvinists. Because of a layer of ozone high in the earth's atmosphere' which absorbs short-wave'ultraviolet rays from Ihe sunj these rays are prevented from reaching the surface: of our planet. a i rays arc ger- We use ultraviolet lamps to sterilize surgical Inslrumcnts. Strong ultraviolet rays from Our biological molecules are put together in complex lliree- dimensional arrangcmenls. On a much holler planet like our biological molecules would fall lo pieces.

On a much colder planel in the outer system, our biological molecules would he rigid and chemical reactions would not proceed at any useful rale. Strong Bonds However, it is conceivable the sun arc an lhat much stronger bonds on serious hazard lo most forms of Venus and much weaker bonds life on earth. in the outer solar system could But this is only because, most serve the same i as herein earth. a hreu much loo (luick lo reject the idea of life at a very i from those on our planel. I a a chemical reaclions known a can proceed at useful rates at (lie very low a which mighl exisl on Plulo.

:10 40 degrees above absolute zero. But there are also very few elwmical laboratories on earth where experiments are performed at or -10 degrees above absolute zero. Mentalities Thus we a i a smalt fraction of possible range of chemical reaclions because of some unconscious bias a because i i (o work in i shirtsleeves. Another common prejudice i as 1 i 1 share is carbon chauvinism. A carbon chauvinist holds that biological systems elsewhere ill Ihe.

universe will In. 1 constructed out of carbon compounds, as life is on our'e'arlh. liul (here are conceivable alternatives. A like silicon or germanium can i some of i same i of chemical reactions as carbon tines. However, there appears lo be a wider a i of complex compounds that can be buill from carbon than from silicon or germanium.

More of It In addition, (here's more of il. Everywhere in Ihe universe, and particularly in i i i planetary environments where Ihc origin of life occurs, there is simply more carbon a a i a a a a i atoms, to a molecules. Therefore, we can conclude a both the atoms and Ihe simple molecules from which we arc a are probably common lo organisms elsewhere in the universe. But the specific way (nose molecules are put together, and the specific and physiologies of extraterrestrial organisms, may be, because of i i i a histories, extremely i from what is common on our planet. how different, It will be man's good in Ihe not loo distant (iilurc lo iind out.

Offbeat John The Prophet Says Kissinger Will Marry By Sam Kintlrick Once again, John Lcmus (The Prophet.) O'Toole McSpaddcii offers his predictions for- the new year. The enigmatic Mc.Spaildcn is i mosl A gamblers. Sometimes he draws to a I'ull-boiisi' and i a i i he rips his hi'ilclics. I lei care but a few of his prognostications for 107-1: Women libbers increase hl miml)cr President Kindrlck Xixou springs a tremi'ridous surprise a lie China asks the V.S. for help.

Henry Kissinger marries. l.ifr. reappears on tin 1 news stands. More earthquakes in California a a makes i prediction). A Llic power a causes people to come closer a keep a Shocked San Antonio College student' a Trevino saved S100 lo give his molher a i a present.

Me couldn't figure out what lo buy her, so he put a SIDO' bill in Ihe center fold of Playgir! Magazine. Said the 10-year-old student: "She said she was shocked. I don't know what shocked her Ihc most. The bill or Ihc center fold photograph." Cheer The Golden Mile Optimist Club recently raised 83,000 for I Special a i Children's Olympic Program wilh a $100-per-heail a at the Magic Time Machine. Optimist Club president Bill Manning said 100 men drew for Ihc a new Mark IV automobile which was won by Wiley (iillil.

Dallas Cowlmy cheerleaders drew Ihe tickets. Caught There is a new Christmas.lw game i a I lies." A fellow I said the other kids" named his second nldc'sT' i a I i game they played. The other sprouts cauyhl linu chraling. Country Style Maybe (he mosl i i a lighted and energy consuming Christmas decoration uas'(hal one jusl wcsl of Sabin'al. II was a windmill, fesloniii'il i i uf i bulbs, (he up to' the a blades.

Unselfish Seven-year-old Jay of Kxpress staffer Jerry. asked his pop why so presents were going to people during the recent "Operation Xool." which Deal dreamed gp- lie a (old they were.going; lo poor people who would no except for the, Thc'kid pondered this'. (lien put his new loy train back'iii' Hie box. It wcnl lo Ihc Ji'i'ali; Aguero children of An entire column herd xyas devoted to.bad-monlhing.an.fl. low-rating bullerfly.bow tics.

Now the monkey's dead; Hie show's over, and. organ' grinder Is out'on strike. guessed il. I got two of the ticsjqii Christmas--oiie vntf mother, and a big polka-dot job from my dear little sister.h,i. law.

Kilher (hey don't bother lo read my words ot wit and wisdom, or they are cold-bloodedly trying (9 tell me..