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Martian Meteorite May Have Held Life
http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/d...-held-life.html

Space Rock Re-Opens Mars Debate
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4688938.stm

"A mix of carbon compounds filling the miniscule veins in a Martian meteorite has refuelled the debate on the possibility of life on Mars. Similarities between the carbon-rich filler and that found in fractured volcanic samples from the Earth's ocean floor dangle the possibility that life produced the Martian material, say scientists.

Sceptics have cast doubt on previous claims of organic material in Nakhla, saying the carbonaceous matter was simply contamination from Earth. But Colin Pillinger, a team member from the Open University in Milton Keynes, UK, says results from the new samples from the carefully protected interior of the meteorite lay those concerns to rest. "We're pretty confident this is indigenous stuff,” he says. “We don't think it's contamination.”

The work will be presented at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, US, in March.

In two abstracts submitted to the conference, the team outlines possible sources of the carbon-containing components. Either a carbon-bearing impactor introduced them to Mars between 600,000 and 700,000 years ago or they are "products of biogenic activity and introduced by groundwater into the fracture features in Nakhla," the team writes."

The two LPSC abstracts, with photos and graphs, are here:

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2006/pdf/2251.pdf

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2006/pdf/2039.pdf