Methane found in desert soils bolsters theories that life exists on M

[Celebration]

http://www.physorg.com/news7724.html

To see if methane could be found in Mars-like soil, the investigators collected soil and vapor samples from the arid environment of the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, and then compared them with vapor samples taken from the Idaho High Desert and soil samples from Death Valley, the Arctic and the Atacama desert in Chile. Three of five vapor samples from the Utah site showed the presence of methane; there was no methane found in any of the vapor samples from Idaho. Similarly, while five of 40 soil samples from Utah produced methane after the addition of growth medium to the samples-indicating that the methane was being given off by a biological organism, most likely a bacterium-none of the other soil samples showed signs of methane production.

Finding methane in the Utah desert is no guarantee that methane-producers exist on Mars, admits Miller, who has previously analyzed data from the Viking Lander missions and found that soil samples taken in the 1970s from the Martian surface exhibited a circadian rhythm in what appeared to be nutrient metabolism, much like that present in terrestrial microbes. However, Miller says, this recent experiment does provide "proof of principle it improves the case that such bacteria can and might exist on the Martian surface." And that, he adds, surely warrants further investigation during future missions to Mars.

In conclusion, the researchers write, "The detection of methane, apparently of biological origin, in terrestrial desert regolith bodes well for future biodetection experiments in at least partially analogous Martian environments."

[patdem]

1. I read that SO wrong..thought it said meth aka methaphetamine (sp?)

you know the drug that is so dangerous...and that THAT proved that there was life on Mars, because of DRUG ADDICTS...I am glad I clicked on your post to realize it was the gas and not the drug and how very wrong I was!