Tuesday, September 6, 2011

There's more than rain in them there clouds



According to Nancy, of the blog Science Girl, not only is water from the Gulf of Mexico a part of the rain today (as the remnants of tropical storm Lee pass over Washington), but also some sea salt, and even DNA!

"well, there is a -little- salt in the storm clouds, but only what comes from the sea surface being all whipped up and tiny droplets getting dispersed directly into the air and caught up in the wind. So there's more salt in hurricane clouds than in other clouds over the sea. Just as a non-sequitur - my lab recently sequenced the DNA of a local cloud. Indeed there was DNA in the cloud! More than I would have thought, all from spores and microorganisms caught up in the wind."


A little creepy, thinking about spore DNA in rain. When I go for my walk today, I will take the big umbrella.

What I wish more than anything is that I could send this rain directly to Texas. I have a lot of friends there, one in particular whose house has probably burned, another who is preparing to evacuate. It's out of my hands, but I'm praying anyway.

9 comments:

ellen abbott said...

I wish you could too. All my begging and pleading, inviting, hoping and wishing has produced nothing. So the other day I tried insults. still bubkis.

The Bug said...

I've been off the grid all weekend (we had internet at the hotel, but my little netbook didn't like it). I've loved all the posts of yours that I missed. It's a chilly drizzly day here in Ohio. I REALLY wish I could just ship it straight to Texas (except maybe it should warms up a little - don't want to send everything down there into shock).

Washington Cube said...

I don't wanna look at a raindrop and have it looking back at me. Shudder.

Reya Mellicker said...

They're ALL lookin' at you right now, Cube! Ha.

Washington Cube said...

Don't tease me, Reya. I'll never leave the house.

Hammer left a comment over on Velvet's blog. I'm jealous. I NEVER hear from Hammer anymore.

Jo said...

Wow, I never thought of DNA being in storm clouds. Makes me think of them in a whole new way, sort of like a FedEx delivery system to some other land.

Very cool post. Thank you!

Expat From Hell said...

Thanks for the good thoughts and prayers. I heard some thunder and lightning the other night, and actually SMELLED rain. More frustration to have it that close, and not fall. As Ellen so aptly says, still bubkis. EFH

Reya Mellicker said...

My friend's house is still standing, but her life in that corner of Texas is over. They will be able to retrieve a few things, then they're moving on. Right now they're talking about where they're going to move. Both of them are retired and able to mobilize since they travel all the time.

I worry for their spirits, nevertheless.

Cyndy said...

That's a difficult thing to go through, whether it's losing a home or deciding that you're through with a place. I hope the transition to their next home is a smooth one.