Life Forms May Have Evolved In Ancient Hot Springs On Mars
Data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) suggest the discovery of ancient springs in the Vernal Crater, sites where life forms may have evolved on Mars, according to a new report.
Hot springs have great astrobiological significance, as the closest relatives of many of the most ancient organisms on Earth can thrive in and around hydrothermal springs. If life forms have ever been present on Mars, hot spring deposits would be ideal locations to search for physical or chemical evidence of these organisms and could be target areas for future exploratory missions.
The connection between water, heat, chemical molecules and the first primitive life forms goes back to Miller and Urey experiment of 1952 in which they created a sterile environment and added ammonia (NH3), and hydrogen (H2), water (H2O) and methane (CH4). They used electrodes to simulate lightning – which would have been present in the atmosphere – the cocktail they whipped up produced 5 amino acids ( some researchers reexamined the experiment in 2008 and found 22 amino acids). In case anyone has foggy memories of high school biology, amino acids are major players in animal metabolism, very fundamental building blocks of proteins. Given similar conditions, even on a different planet, the same bio-gunk would produce amino acids. If scientists are able to find fossil remains of even one single celled organism on Mars, or some other planet in the future, that would mean that the rise of life is not an event exclusive to earth.
The Hottest Spots: Conservation in War Zones
More than 80 percent of the world’s major armed conflicts during the last half century have taken place in some of the most biologically diverse and threatened places on Earth, according to a study published by the scientific journal Conservation Biology.
The new paper entitled “Warfare in Biodiversity Hotspots” calls for conservation activities to remain strong during conflicts to ensure that local people will have the natural resources they need to survive and rebuild healthy communities post war.
The hotspots are home to a majority of the world’s poorest people who rely on natural resources for their daily survival. Forests and other healthy ecosystems help cleanse freshwater and provide sources of food, medicines and materials for building homes. They are often intertwined with centuries-old traditional lifestyles and unique indigenous cultures.
[ ]…The world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots are by far the most threatened terrestrial areas, and have within their borders more than three-quarters of all amphibians, birds and mammals listed as Critically Endangered or Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
What is more, more than half of all plant species and at least 42 percent of all vertebrates occur only within the hotspots and nowhere else.
While political systems, religion and some would say corporate interests, drive many conflicts – at least on the surface – its interesting how the geography of war also happens to overlap with concentrations of natural resources.
