Evidence of life on Mars lurks beneath surface of meteorite, Nasa experts claim

News Type: Event — Seeded on Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:58 AM EST

Article Source: The Times

Nasa scientists have produced the most compelling evidence yet that bacterial life exists on Mars.

It showed that microscopic worm-like structures found in a Martian meteorite that hit the Earth 13,000 years ago are almost certainly fossilised bacteria. The so-called bio-morphs are embedded beneath the surface layers of the rock, suggesting that they were already present when the meteorite arrived, rather than being the result of subsequent contamination by Earthly bacteria.

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{"commentId":10911433,"authorDomain":"alkimija"}

alkimija

Dennis Bazylinski, an astrobiologist from the University of Nevada who peer-reviewed the findings, said: “Until now I was on the fence but this paper has really thrown out the non-biological explanation.” However, he added that the study was not a “smoking gun” for life on Mars. “One meteorite is never going to answer such a complex question,” he said.

According to scientists, the meteorite was broken off the surface of Mars by the impact of an asteroid, and reached Earth after floating through space for about 16 million years. It landed in Allan Hills in Antarctica. Scientists were able to trace the meteorite back to Mars, as its chemical composition matched the relative proportions of various gases measured in observations of the atmosphere of Mars made by the Viking spacecraft in the 1970s.

The meteorite also preserves evidence of liquid water on Mars, suggesting that the planet may have had more suitable conditions for life to develop in the past.

{"commentId":10911433,"threadId":"733637","contentId":"3552075","authorDomain":"alkimija"}

3 votes

#1 - Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:58 AM EST

{"commentId":10911805,"authorDomain":"dungbeetlemania"}

dungbeetlemania

I remain unconvinced. Thanks for the seed, it looks like the evidence is better than in 1996, but there is a long way to go before showing that these actually are fossils. They are much smaller than any known bacteria on earth - one of the problems is imagining how any life-like functions could occur in such a small package. Of course, this is life v2, so we have no idea what processes it may have, but we must be cautious.

{"commentId":10911805,"threadId":"733637","contentId":"3552075","authorDomain":"dungbeetlemania"}

2 votes

#2 - Fri Nov 27, 2009 2:33 AM EST

{"commentId":10912170,"authorDomain":"bobnelsonfrance"}

Bob Nelson.

Interesting... but I'm a bit wary of the fact that this hasn't gotten more play. If it were conclusive, I think it would have made front page headlines: "Proof of Life on Mars!!"

So I'll wait a bit....

{"commentId":10912170,"threadId":"733637","contentId":"3552075","authorDomain":"bobnelsonfrance"}

1 vote

#3 - Fri Nov 27, 2009 5:27 AM EST

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ALKIMIJA

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Evidence of life on Mars lurks beneath surface of meteorite, Nasa experts claim

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