Interesting

[vlebo]

Saw this today and if true the implications are amazing.

http://www.asylum.co.uk/2009/12/02/microscopic-alien-colony-found-in-uk/

and another link

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/6707476/Martian-colony-in-Britain.html

The reports are a bit subdued but I will check out Nasa's site and see what they have to say.

[vlebo]

Just had a look at Nasa's website and can't seem to find anything.

I don't know about everyone else but I find this really exciting and if it's proven I can tick off one of the questions I had hoped would be answered in my lifetime.

Forever the optimist

Vlebo

[TheThing]

Isn't this fairly old?

I seem to recall Bill Clinton making a huge announcement about it during his term of office. It was found in a metor that had been discovered in the Antartic ice, but it turned out they couldn't rule out contamination whilst on Earth.

[vlebo]

Yes, but if you read the second link Nasa have had another look at it with a high resolution electron microscope they never had 13 years ago and now think it may be fossilised Martian microbacteria 16 million years old.

[John]

That is interesting but I strongly suspect terrestrial contamination. What is also interesting, but only quite interesting, is that part of the the Nakhla meteorite is reputed to have hit a dog when it fell in Egypt in 1911. Here is the proof :

[iamjulian]

I read something about this on the radio, but it was about a week ago, why would those two papers only pick up on it today!? I got the impression from the radio story it was a re-examination of the same rock, just as vlebo says. Yet that was all I heard about it. For something so big it doesn't seem to be generating much interest. Maybe there have been too many false alarms.

[TheThing]

I'm confused - how do you read something on the radio?!?

[markystars]

After the fuss that was made years ago over a possible bacteria in rock from mars, i would expect alot more press coverage on this one, this is the first ive heard about it, i would say the story is probably exagerated somewhat

[RichardW]

From my experience - way back, everything you put under an electron microscope looks as if it is full of alien life and comes from Mars.

Richard

[iamjulian]

I'm confused - how do you read something on the radio?!?

Errrrrr. Good point. The verb I was looking for was 'heard'. Sorry.