On 30 Jan 2004, (Thomas Smid) wrote:

"Two Australian scientists have developed new technology to confirm
claims by NASA that a meteorite from Mars found in Antarctica in 1984
contained microscopic fossils from the red planet. [...]

I would generally be very sceptical with such claims which have come
up before in the past but later proved to be erroneous.


The recent thread-leading paper by Taylor and Barry is an continuation
of research on the ALH84001 meteorite that McKay et al (1996) proposed
may contain fossilized magnetotactic bacteria. While counter
hypotheses have been raised and a general consensus tends to favor
them as a standard cautionary protocol, it would not be fair to say
the biogenic hypothesis has been "proved to be erroneous." For
example, Buseck et al, who argue against a biogenic interpretation,
observe that the contents of ALH84001 are "controversial."

Prior to the recent findings of Taylor and Barry, scientists have been
arguing both sides of the ALH84001 debate. For example, Barber and
Scott (2002) and Buseck et al (2001) have argued against the biogenic
hypothesis, while Thomas-Keprta et al (2002) and Friedmann et al
(2001) have argued for a biogenic interpretation. Taylor and Barry's
new findings appear to constitute important advancements in the
analysis of the contents of ALH84001, purportedly satisfying important
additional biogenic-interpretive criteria. We'll have to see how their
new findings play out in this ongoing controversy.


Barber and Scott (2002)
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/99/10/6556

Buseck, et al (2001)
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/98/24/13490

Friedmann, et al (2001)
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/98/5/2176

McKay et al (1996)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

Taylor and Barry (2004)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

Thomas-Keprta, et al (2002)
http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/full/68/8/3663


Ian Goddard's Journal: http://iangoddard.net/journal.htm

"When we have lived any time, and have been accustomed to the
uniformity of nature, we acquire a general habit, by which we always
transfer the known to the unknown, and conceive the latter to resemble
the former." David Hume