Magnetite morphology and life on Mars
Open accessAbstract
Nanocrystals of magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) in a meteorite from Mars provide the strongest, albeit controversial, evidence for the former presence of extraterrestrial life. The morphological and size resemblance of the crystals from meteorite ALH84001 to crystals formed by certain terrestrial bacteria has been used in support of the biological origin of the extraterrestrial minerals. By using tomographic and holographic methods in a transmission electron microscope, we show that the three-dimensional shapes of such nanocrystals can be defined, that the detailed morphologies of individual crystals from three bacterial strains differ, and that none uniquely match those reported from the Martian meteorite. In contrast to previous accounts, we argue that the existing crystallographic and morphological evidence is inadequate to support the inference of former life on Mars.
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Abiological processes could have created the signals in martian meteorite ALH84001, so the meteorite is not widely considered proof of life beyond Earth.
“As a result, we now know that abiological processes could have created these signals, and the meteorite is not therefore widely considered proof of life beyond Earth (Bradley et al., 1996, 1997; Frankel and Buseck, 2000; Buseck et al., 2001; McKay et al., 2003; Treiman, 2003).”
From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Buseck et al., 2001
Cites
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“As a result, we now know that abiological processes could have created these signals, and the meteorite is not therefore widely considered proof of life beyond Earth (Bradley et al., 1996, 1997; Frankel and Buseck, 2000; Buseck et al., 2001; McKay et al., 2003; Treiman, 2003).”
Microbial metal-ion reduction and Mars: extraterrestrial expectations?
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- Authors
- Buseck, P. R., Dunin-Borkowski, R. E., Devouard, B., Frankel, R. B., McCartney, M. R., Midgley, P. A., Pósfai, M., & Weyland, M.
- Affiliations
- California Polytechnic State University (US)
- Departments of Geological Sciences and Chemistry/Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1404; University of Cambridge, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, England; Department of Geosciences, Blaise Pascal University, 5 Rue Kessler, Clermont-Ferrand, France; Department of Physics, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407; Center for Solid State Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1704; and...
- University of Pannonia (HU)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2001-11-20
- Volume
- 98
- Issue
- 24
- Pages
- 13490-13495
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC61068
- OpenAlex
- W2124819462
- Cited by
- 168
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2025: 6 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 12
- FWCI
- 4.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Repository of the Academy's Library (Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) (acceptedVersion)
- DigitalCommons - CalPoly (California State Polytechnic University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Space and Planetary Science › Planetary Science and Exploration
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Space and Planetary Science › Astro and Planetary Science
- Keywords
- magnetite, nanocrystals, extraterrestrial life, crystal morphology, bacterial magnetite, holographic tomography, transmission electron microscopy
- MeSH terms
- Extraterrestrial Environment, Iron, Oxides, Ferrosoferric Oxide
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