Mar 07
Speaking of alien life (and really, who isn’t, these days?), scientists may have already discovered the stuff–right here on Earth. That was certainly handy. It saved someone a whole heck of a lot of travel. Thing is, the apparent life form discovered by Richard Hoover, an astrobiologist based out of Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama is really, really small and really, really old.
The fossilized, microscopic bacteria apparently hitched a ride to our planet on a meteorite. Hoover’s carbon-based bacteria is similar in form to blue-green algae. Says Hoover, “We have known for a long time that there were very interesting biomarkers in carbonaceous meteorites and the detection of structures that are very similar … to known terrestrial cyanobacteria is interesting in that it indicates that life is not restricted to the planet Earth.”
Scientists claim to have discovered evidence of microbial in extraterrestrial rock formations in the past, but the evidence has proven difficult to prove conclusively. These most recent findings will no doubt be subject to similar scrutiny. In the meantime, keep a close eye on your Reese’s Pieces stash.
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