Hardy bug re-opens Mars debate (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

Controversial claims have again emerged that Martian microbes could have established themselves here on Earth after hitching rides on meteorites.

A handful of bacteria on Earth today have the ability to survive exposure to extremely high levels of radiation that would kill other organisms.

Now, a team of scientists argues that the bugs could only have evolved this unusual ability on a planet like Mars.

The claims by a Russian-American team appear in the journal Astrobiology.

Recent discoveries of water in the permafrost on Mars and signs of subsurface water in mid-latitude regions have raised hopes that the Red Planet might host the right conditions for life.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6191197.stm