Old Cellulose Found in NM Salt Crystals

This photo provided by Jack Griffith, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, shows Waste Isolation Pilot Plant staff member Sam Dominguez using a core drill to extract salt crystal samples from a salt wall at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. in December 2006. Griffith and his team found cellulose dating back 253 million years _ along with some possible ancient DNA _ in salt crystals from the underground nuclear waste dump. The crystals were taken from newly mined areas 2,000 feet below WIPP's desert surface last fall and a couple of years ago, Griffith said Wednesday, April 9, 2008. Griffith said he thinks looking for cellulose in salt deposits is a good way to go searching for life on other planets. (AP pPhoto/Courtesy of Jack Griffith)

(AP) -- Cellulose dating back 253 million years - along with some possible ancient DNA - has been found in salt crystals from an underground nuclear waste dump in southern New Mexico.