uber_snotling
uber_snotling t1_irn8jgr wrote
Reply to comment by wintersdark in What lifeform has the shortest genetic sequence? by teafuck
What about the Cordyceps fungus that infects insects and grows out of their heads? Or wasps that lay eggs in caterpillars or tarantulas to reproduce?
Replication requires conducive environmental conditions that may require other life forms. Life evolves to replicate within an environment - viruses are no different.
uber_snotling t1_irn2ae4 wrote
Reply to comment by joozwa in What lifeform has the shortest genetic sequence? by teafuck
Yes, but every lifeform requires environmental conditions to be right to survive. Animals need oxygen. Plants need sunlight. Viruses need cells. Parasites need host organisms.
Most lifeforms will die if you put them in Antarctica or Jupiter or the Oort Cloud. That doesn't mean they won't thrive in the right environment.
uber_snotling t1_j2kteqn wrote
Reply to Does cold temperature make vistas more 'crisp' looking? by colorado_hick
Humidity is the key thing here. Colder air holds less water vapor.
There is an equation that describes visibility and the Western US always has much longer view-lengths than the Eastern US because of the relative water vapor content (and to a lesser extent, sulfates from coal are way way down in the whole US).
Too much detail here, but RH = relative humidity and the other stuff is pollutants in particulate matter in the air.
bext ≈ 3 × f(RH) × [Ammonium Sulfate] + 3 × f(RH) × [Ammonium Nitrate] +
4 × [Organic Mass] + 10 × [Elemental Carbon] + 1 × [Fine Soil] + 0.6 × [Coarse Mass]
+ Rayleigh scattering