01-21-2013, 10:23 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 491
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'Strongest evidence yet to there being life on Mars'
Quote:
Prof John Parnell, 55, has co-written a theory with Dr Joseph Michalski, a planetary geologist at the Natural History Museum, that suggests they have discovered the best signs of life in the huge McLaughlin Crater on the surface of Mars.
The document, published today in Nature Geoscience journal, describes how they assessed the crater, created by a meteorite which smashed into the surface of Mars, flinging up rocks from miles below.
The rocks appear to be made up of clays and minerals which have been altered by water - the essential element to support life.
Speaking from his laboratory at the University of Aberdeen, geochemist Prof Parnell said: "We could be so close to discovering if there is, or was, life on Mars.
"We know from studies that a substantial proportion of all life on Earth is also in the subsurface and by studying the McLaughlin Crater we can see similar conditions beneath the surface of Mars thanks to observations on the rocks brought up by the meteorite strike.
"There can be no life on the surface of Mars because it is bathed in radiation and it's completely frozen. However, life in the sub surface would be protected from that.
"And there is no reason why there isn't bacteria or other microbes that were or still are living in the small cracks well below the surface of Mars.
"One of the other things we have discussed in our paper is that this bacteria could be living off hydrogen, which is exactly the same as what microbes beneath the surface of the Earth are doing too.
"Unfortunately, we won't find any evidence of animals as the most complex life you might get in the sub surface would be fungi.
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