New research from the University of North Carolina (very prestigeous) suggests that finding cellulose microfibers may be another way to detect life; if this is true, than it pushes back direct evidence of life on Earth by about 200 million years.
""So in looking for evidence of life on Mars, for bacteria or higher plants that existed on Mars or other planets in the solar system, then looking for cellulose in salt deposits is probably a very good way to go. Cellulose appears to be highly stable and more resistant to ionizing radiation than DNA. And if it is relatively resistant to harsh conditions such as those found in space, it may provide the ideal 'paper trail' in the search for life on other planets.""
To find out more about how cellulose is linked to early forms of life, check out the full article here
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment