Dinosaur asteroid 'sent life to Mars'

[muriel_volestrangler]

The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs may have catapulted life to Mars and the moons of Jupiter, US researchers say.

They calculated how many Earth rocks big enough to shelter life were ejected by asteroids in the last 3.5bn years.

The Chicxulub impact was strong enough to fire chunks of debris all the way to Europa, they write in Astrobiology.

Thousands of potentially life-bearing rocks also made it to Mars, which may once have been habitable, they add.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25201572

A Hitchhikers Guide

Earth rocks big enough* to support life made it to:

Venus 26,000,000 rocks
Mercury 730,000
Mars 360,000
Jupiter 83,000
Saturn 14,000
Io 10
Europa 6
Titan 4
Callisto 1

*3m diameter or larger.

('well played' to the writer or editor who thought of 'hitchhikers guide')

[The Blue Flower]

1. Kudos to Douglas Addams

He also wrote nonfiction environmental books before he passed.

[TexasProgresive]

2. Ah so much speculation about the origins of life

Earlier it was thought that life originated on Mars and that meteorites from a collision on Mars carried the building blocks of life to earth.

It is fun to hypothesis but don't take any off it too seriously.

One day, "Coffee will kill you."
Another day, "Coffee will prolong your life."

[Warren DeMontague]

3. Well, technically, it's not known, so it's not a matter of "earlier it was thought"

We haven't found any life on Mars, yet, obviously, so questions of its origins there are premature.

And we KNOW life existed on Earth at the time of the Chixiclub impact. We also know enough of the genetic history of life on Earth that if life were found on Mars, or Europa, that had been transported at that time, it might be quite possible to not just deduce the Earth origins of that life, but also ascertain that that was the time of the transfer.

None of that precludes the idea that life might have originated on Mars earlier and been transported to Earth. Chixiclub was 65 million years ago- life existed on Earth for billions of years before that. Early Mars may indeed have been more habitable, by our standards, than Early Earth- however, we do not as of yet know exactly what conditions are ideal to get life going, as opposed to sustaining it. There is no reason to think that it couldn't travel more than once, either.

Other researchers have speculated that it may be the interiors of planets that provide the ideal conditions to begin the chemistry of life, as opposed to prior speculation that organic soups in shallow surface lakes and seas would be the medium in which it began. We don't know, yet- but it's a fascinating area of study.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/life-on-earth-may-have-developed-below-rather-than-above-ground-reveal-scientists-8991601.html

[TexasProgresive]

4. That's a fine bit of symantics, my friend.

They certainly were some thinking that life came from Mars by way of celestial collisions. And so the spent time searching Antarctica for meteorite remains to prove their theory.

It's no difference from this "finding". A scientist's theorizing is just that until he/she comes up with proof. My problem is that people latch onto these things accepting them as though gospel.

So which is it today- coffee kills or coffee is good for you?

I give as much credence to the story below as to the one in the OP. That's interesting, maybe so, maybe not.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/study-life-originated-on-mars-came-to-earth-meteorites-india-today/1/304404.html

World
Indians Abroad | Europe | Rest of the World | Neighbours | Michael Jackson
Tags: Mars | Earth | Humans | Study | Molybdenum | Meteorites | Goldschmidt conference
India Today / World / Story

New study says life originated on Mars, then came to earth on meteorites
India Today Online New Delhi, August 29, 2013 | UPDATED 13:23 IST

We are all Martians! That is if we are all going to believe a new study which suggests that all life on earth actually came from the red planet.

The new study claims that an element which is crucial for the origin of life would only have been available on the surface of Mars.

According to geochemist Professor Steven Benner, the seeds of life probably reached earth in meteorites that blasted off Mars due to meteorite impacts or volcanic eruptions.

[Warren DeMontague]

5. I think you're the one who is playing semantics, and I'm wondering what the underlying point is that

you're trying to make.

C'mon, don't be shy.

...

You have linked a piece from "india today". "New study says that life originated on Mars".. It's a hypothesis, really- not a "study". And "They", is one guy. Of course, Newspapers are pretty well known for not doing a good job of communicating science and science terms. That's why creationist numbskulls get away with blather about how evolution is "just a theory".. Capitalizing on things like the fact that the general public often doesn't know the difference between a Scientific theory and "I have a theory that if I wear red underpants I can fly like Superman".

We don't know precisely where the chemical processes that began life took place, or how, mostly because chemicals don't leave fossils and by any analysis it took place a VERY long time ago. One thing we do know about Mars, that we're learning through NASA's current exploration of that planet, is that 3-4 Billion years ago, Mars was a very different place with a very different climate. It is possible that life developed there and moved to Earth.. the evidence trail for life on Earth goes cold beyond the early bacterial mats, because again, chemicals don't leave fossils.

So it's not a question of "they thought" and now "they" think something different. As of now, it's all speculation. Of course, discovering life off Earth and establishing a common genetic ancestor, would certainly shift the parameters of the scientific study!

There are numerous hypotheses about the specifics around the chemical origin of life, however, the debate is still largely academic, barring additional evidence. The piece i linked mentioned the wide genetic similarity, globally, among the extremophile bacteria which are being found deep below the surface of the Earth. This could be- emphasis on could- another clue in the puzzle.