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In an $80 motel room, a discovery to shed light on the origins of life

296 points · 107 comments · danso

  1. codedokode · · focus · HN ↗
    So $80 is considered a "cheap room"? How is a person supposed to earn $80 a day to pay for it and have something left?

    Also, cells can have scales? Amazing.

    1. mkirsten · · focus · HN ↗
      Have you stayed at hotels? Most people that work don’t stay at hotels and pay the hotel out of pocket.
      1. codedokode · · focus · HN ↗
        I am not from US and with that money I could rent a tiny apartment for 2-3 days. However, I prefer cheaper accomodation. $80 is super expensive if you have no other place to live.
        1. physicalecon · · focus · HN ↗
          Motels are not a habitation of last resort by any means. They’re a convenient place to stay while traveling.

          I expect the vast majority of motel patrons are additionally paying a rent/mortgage for their main habitation.

        2. WalterGR · · focus · HN ↗
          From my reading of the article, my understanding is that they’re doing science in the hotel room, not living there long-term.
        3. yencabulator · · focus · HN ↗
          In most places, you don't pay the day rate for long stays.
        4. thatfrenchguy · · focus · HN ↗
          Yeah salaries in the US are higher in nominal terms
        5. natedagreat22 · · focus · HN ↗
          Where are you from? What would be a normal or comfortable rate for you?
        6. buildsjets · · focus · HN ↗
          I'm currently on a business trip staying a Hampton Inn in a low cost rural area of the USA. The nightly rate is $120. This is not a high end hotel- generally considered 2-star level out of 5. The nearby Comfort Inn is one step lower in quality of accommodation and guests, and gets $75. Anything cheaper than that is a filthy, crime-ridden bucket of blood.
          1. iso1631 · · focus · HN ↗
            I'm in Singapore at the moment and it's 200 USD a night for my current hotel, which is near the office - not down town - and not particularly expensive. There are some cheaper ones which aren't on our corporate booking system.

            Last week in Beijing it only cost 150 USD at a fairly central Crown Plaza, which I felt was very cheap compared to how much it normally costs in London, and London is a bargain compared to anything I/work pays for in the US (which is mainly in DC and NY)

            The flights dwarf the cost of the hotels though, indeed the flights cost more than the cost of me for the two week trip (Work paid a premium to avoid Russian airspace though)

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