Scientists find ancient lake bed on Mars that may have been an oasis for life

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Houston Chronicle

Scientists find ancient lake bed on Mars that may have been an oasis for life
Posted on December 9, 2013 | By Eric Berger


[font size=1]
The Yellowknife Bay area where the mudstone samples were collected. (Science)[/font]

There’s some incredible news about the planet Mars today.

The journal Science has published a trove of papers that characterize samples taken from mudstones — rocks made of mud and clay — that formed about 3.6 billion years ago in an area scientists have dubbed Yellowknife Bay. The data was collected by NASA’s Curiosity rover.

Teams of researchers, including many in Texas, determined that these mudstones must have been formed at the bottom of a lake, probably freshwater, that would have been conducive to life. That is — not too hot, not too cold, not too salty and not too acidic.

So while scientists haven’t found life, or direct evidence of microbial life, they have found conditions very much like those on Earth where microbes thrive by converting rocks and minerals into energy.

In addition to clays that would have formed in fresh water, researchers also found key biological elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur that are the building blocks of life on Earth.

Read more: http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2013/12/scientists-find-ancient-lake-bed-on-mars-that-may-have-been-an-oasis-for-life/?cmpid=hpbn

[dipsydoodle]

1. I wonder if there where newts there.

I like newts.

[Kurovski]

5. Somewhere out there has to be new forms of adorable animals

for youtube vids and the Sunday LOL cats.

[happyslug]

6. Eastern or Southern Newt?

Last edited Mon Dec 9, 2013, 05:11 PM - Edit history (1)

An Eastern Newt:



Or a Southern Newt:



More on NON-Southern Newts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_newt

http://www.paherps.com/herps/salamanders/

Pa Fish Commission list of Newts (In Pennsylvania, if something is Cold Blooded, it comes under the Fish Commission, including Snakes, Frogs, Salamanders and Newts. If it is warm blooded, such as deer, squirrels, turkey it is covered by the Pa Game Commission. I bring this up for the Appalachian mountains have more differ species of Salamanders (including Newts) then any place else on earth:

http://www.fish.state.pa.us/water/amprep/native.htm


78 different salamanders in the Appalachian Mountains out of a total of 535 salamander species in the world (14.5% of all salamanders), here is a site with a nice video on Salamanders:
http://amphibianrescue.org/tag/appalachian-salamander/

Giant Salamander also called the Eastern hellbender:

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTdx10q1boxj2bBN-1VnHqCMW_iAWASP143oUz0QRpPQtV3Mgd5pA

Red Spotted Newt:

[randome]

2. 'Incredible news'?

Amazing! We have 'discovered' -for the thirty-first time- that there MAY have been life on Mars at one time!

It's a sad state of science investment in this country when nothing new is revealed by the science 'news'.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Precision and concision. That's the game.[/center][/font][hr]

[srican69]

3. and then the republicans came .....

[JeffHead]

4. Have they found the....

Ancient fracking sites and the nuclear power plants yet? Yeah, yeah, I get it there was once life on Mars. Now find out what killed it. Then we'll have a eureka moment.

[Lint Head]

7. Bottled water from Mars. The next thing to be taken over

by greedy corporations. Of course it would have to be found underground.

[happyslug]

8. SPRING WATER FROM MARS, a new product for the masses!!!!

If it comes out of the ground, it must be from a "Spring" and therefore it is "Spring water". "Spring water" does NOT have to be safe to drink, just has to come from a "Spring". The "Spring" can be artificial, i,e, from a well.

[csziggy]

9. DEHYDRATED spring water from Mars - cheaper to ship!

Don't scoff at the idea - They already sell earthly dehydrated water: http://www.buydehydratedwater.com/

The testimonials are great:

"Evian, eat your heart out. Dehydrated water tastes better and is going to force you into bankruptcy, where you belong!"
Response: We couldn't agree more with you. By the way, we are seeking individuals like yourself to help us gain market penetration throughout local supermarkets around the world. All we need is a handful of investors who will help us pay the required $6.5 million slotting fee to get us on the shelves. If you are interested, please contact us at [e-mail]
http://www.buydehydratedwater.com/ts.htm