Building blocks of life formed on Mars

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Mars. Credit: NASA
Mars. Credit: NASA

Organic compounds contain carbon and hydrogen and form the building blocks of all life on Earth. By analyzing organic material and minerals in the Martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001, scientists at the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory have shown for the first time that building blocks of life formed on Mars early in its history. Previously, scientists have thought that organic material in ALH 84001 was brought to Mars by meteorite impacts or more speculatively originated from ancient Martian microbes.


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All News summaries for December 11, 2007

Phoenix Weathers Dust Storm

5 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
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6 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- The latest "damming" evidence suggests that manmade reservoirs are facilitating the spread of invasive species in Wisconsin lakes.

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8 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
A team of scientists, including astronomers from the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), have detected long wavelength radio emission from a colliding, massive galaxy cluster which, surprisingly, is not detected ...

Star Count Goes Global

8 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Schoolchildren, families and citizen scientists around the world will gaze skyward after dark from Oct. 20 to Nov.3, 2008, looking for specific constellations and then sharing their observations through the ...

21st century detective work reveals how ancient rock got off to a hot start

8 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
A new technique using X-rays has enabled scientists to play 'detective' and solve the debate about the origins of a three billion year old rock fragment.
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