[ExI] Possible microorganism fossil found on MARS?

BillK pharos at gmail.com
Wed Jan 7 20:41:28 UTC 2015


The Register has a report on an article in Astrobiology Magazine.
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/01/07/curiosity_fossils_mars/>

Quote:
Fossil found on MARS: Curiosity nuke-tank stumbles on microbe clues
'Worm' trails in lake bed remarkably similar to Earth rock
7 Jan 2015

The pictures were shot at the Gillespie Lake outcrop in Yellowknife
Bay, which used to be a huge lake back when Mars had surface water. Dr
Nora Noffke, who has spent 20 years studying fossils of early
microbes, said formations on the Martian rocks looked very similar to
those found on Earth - formations created by microorganisms.

As life evolved on Earth, layers of organic matter spread out wherever
moisture could be found, leaving behind microbial-induced patterns in
rocks. She acknowledges it's possible that the structures on Mars
could have formed through natural erosion.

"But if the Martian structures aren't of biological origin," Noffke
says, "then the similarities in morphology, but also in distribution
patterns with regards to [microbially induced sedimentary structures]
on Earth would be an extraordinary coincidence."
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BillK



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