Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Little Green Men Redux
They're green, they're little, they may have lived on Mars, but men they ain't. Scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder have found a strange bunch of green microbes living inside acid-infused simmering rocks at the Yellowstone National Park. The researchers said that the discovery could be a boon for astrobiologist searching for life on Mars.
"This is the first description of these microbial communities, which may be a good diagnostic indicator of past life on Mars because of their potential for fossil preservation," said team member Jeffrey Walker. "The prevalence of this type of microbial life in Yellowstone means that Martian rocks associated with former hydrothermal systems may be the best hope for finding evidence of past life there."
Walker's colleague Norman Pace said that "the pores in the rocks where these creatures live have a pH value of one, which dissolves nails. This is another example that life can be robust in an environment most humans view as inhospitable."
"This is the first description of these microbial communities, which may be a good diagnostic indicator of past life on Mars because of their potential for fossil preservation," said team member Jeffrey Walker. "The prevalence of this type of microbial life in Yellowstone means that Martian rocks associated with former hydrothermal systems may be the best hope for finding evidence of past life there."
Walker's colleague Norman Pace said that "the pores in the rocks where these creatures live have a pH value of one, which dissolves nails. This is another example that life can be robust in an environment most humans view as inhospitable."
