'Life on Mars' Meteorite Rejected After 10 Years

An anonymous reader writes "Ten years ago, NASA announced that the Martian meteorite ALH84001 showed evidence of life on Mars. The announcement made headlines around the world, and even prompted President Clinton to make a statement. Ten years later, most scientists believe that everything in the meteorite can be explained by non-biological processes. "We certainly have not convinced the community, and that's been a little bit disappointing," said David McKay, a scientist behind the 'life on Mars' paper. Unfortunately, David McKay's own brother is one of his critics. "He [David] got a little testy about the results we were getting," said Gordon McKay. "What we have shown is that it is possible to form these things inorganically.""

Comments

No overlords after all

[cheesygrapes]

Well, this reporter was...possibly a little hasty earlier and would like to...reaffirm his allegiance to this country and its human president. May not be perfect, but it's still the best government we have. For now.

Re:The hard truth

[antifoidulus]

So are you telling me that Gil Gerard DIDN'T go back in time and ejaculate into the primordial ooze?

Re:The hard truth

[gEvil (beta)]

So are you telling me that Gil Gerard DIDN'T go back in time and ejaculate into the primordial ooze?

Bidibidibidi...Yup...Bidibidibidibidi.

McKays

[FuturePastNow]

David....Gordon

Their third brother, Rodney, was unfortunately too far away to comment on the possibility of life on other worlds.

Terrible

[bigmauler]

I feel a great disturbance in the net. As if millions of slashdoters cried out and were suddenly smacked with a cold reality they couldn't accept.

Meanwhile, at the McKay family dinner table

[Anonymous Coward]

Meanwhile, at the McKay family dinner table...

David: Hey Mom! Guess what? I just discovered life on Mars!

Gordon: Did not!

David: Did too!

Gordon: Did not!

David: Did too!

Mom: (Sigh.)

Re:The hard truth

[Anonymous Coward]

And why would "building blocks" be more likely to be found on meteorites rather than Earth itself? And conversely, why would Earth not have any building blocks?

Because the original poster knows little about meteorites and believes they have magical life giving properties.

From a programming perspective

[Millenniumman]

char* explainEvidence (char* evidence, char* method)
{
char* explanation;
if (method == "scientificMethod")
{
while( 1 ) explanation = test((hypothesis)evidence);
}

if (method == "intelligentdesign") explanation = "God";

return explanation;
}

Sorry, but your scientific method gives us an infinite loop. Revise it.