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Possible Evidence of Martian Bacteria

Posted by michael on from the obelisks-still-not-located dept.

half-seas-over writes "NASA issued a very interesting press release today. It highlights a recent study that compared tiny magnetite crystals in the Allan Hill meteorite to similar magnetite crystals that are created here on Earth by bacteria (who use the magnetite as a compass). The study (abstract available here (PDF) from this site) uses fairly strict criteria to determine that 25% of the magnetite content of the meteorite was created by ancient (>3.9Gyr ago) martian bacteria... either that or there is some strange natural process that makes very pure, isolated magnetite crystals that we haven't imagined or seen on Earth which is present on Mars. We'll have to wait and see what happens next, 'extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence' -Carl Sagan."

10 of 190 comments (clear)

  1. Re:2nd poster by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    you are officaly THIRD
    which makes you JAPANESE or something

    like THIRD WORLD, get it

  2. We Come by Alec+Varezz · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    in peace..

  3. 3 -1's in 25 seconds, impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I just saw the first 3 posts, all "FP!" trolls, moded down in 25 seconds of being posted.
    Something's going on.
    When I get mod points, I rarely -1 someone for a FP. It's just a waste of a point that could +1 someone.
    I think michael sits around for a few mins after posting a story, and -1's the FP's. Because there is no way 3 stories could get -1'd in 25 fucking seconds.

    1. Re:3 -1's in 25 seconds, impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      I think Micheal is a mother fucking piece of shit faggot.

    2. Re:3 -1's in 25 seconds, impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      Oh, I agree. Either there's a bunch of mamma's boys sitting around being Taco's houseboys by modding down, or there's a script or something. I mean I posted some puerile stuff that took all of 1 minute to get -1 troll.

      Due to excessive bad posting from this IP or Subnet, comment posting has temporarily been disabled.
      If it's you, consider this a chance to sit in the timeout corner. If it's someone else, this is a chance to hunt them down. If you think this is unfair, please email jamie@slashdot.org with your MD5'd IPID and SubnetID, which are "55555555555555555555555555555555" and
      "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa".

      See? I mean come on.

    3. Re:3 -1's in 25 seconds, impossible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      I disagree.

      It's not uncommon, when I have mod points, for me to see a story with somewhere between 1 and 10 comments.

      If I no stories have interested me enough for me to read at -1 and look for people to mod up, my points can be used effectively and importantly by modding down such useless drivel.

      One person such as I at the right time with 5 mod points, can certainly do what you say in MUCH less than 25 seconds.

      You yourself declare they are "FP Trolls". As such, someone should mod them down. So it is not you. Someone does it, why get concerned over it? It's a valid use of mod points, and it makes the overall experience enjoyable to us all.

      Personally, I'd like to see modding of Anonymous Coward comments charged back to their original owner...although at perhaps a 1/5 of a point ratio or somesuch. Maybe it would keep the first post crap down.

      I am posting this as an AC simply because it is genuinely off topic, and will probably be modded as such.

  4. first bacteria post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    we have come all the way from mars to bring you this message....

    "one two three o'clock rock."

  5. Re:Holy S***! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    fr1st p0St!

  6. hahahahahhahaha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    hahahahahhahaha weee

  7. Re:Translation in normal human language: by jd142 · · Score: 2, Offtopic

    Yes, people are starving. But more food is produced every year than is eaten. The US pays farmers not to grow crops, it pays them for their over production and then puts the crops in a warehouse, never to be seen again until it spoils and must be destroyed.

    So obviously we have the means *right now* to end all hunger on the planet. We simply don't care (because most of the people who are starving are black and in countries with no political importance), can't (because those countries are openly hostile to us and either won't accept our help or steal what help we do send), or won't (does anyone know the last time we sent aid to Cuba? I know Castro offered to provide medical care to the people of Appalachia, which has some of the poorest people in the country.).

    Remember when the Russia sub sank? We offered to help and they wouldn't take it because of pride. A similar situation occured a few years before that where we needed help but we wouldn't take the Russians up on their offer because, well, duh, they're the Ruskies.

    That having been said, I don't think a human mission to mars is the way to go. I've always been in favor of colonizing permanent space stations, then the moon, then from there to Mars.

    Better to send a robotic mission to Mars when searching for life, to eliminate any chance of possible contamination, no matter how small that chance is.