The recent geological demonstrations made by Dr. Robert L. Folk and Dr. Kitty L. Milliken of the University of Texas in Uastin suggest that iron oxide filaments from geological periods on Earth are lifelike in form at microscopic levels, which could have some implications for search for forms of life in Mars and other planets.
The question of whether bacteria or viruses has something to do in rock formation rich in iron oxide or whether iron oxide (rust) result from biological or inorganic process has not yet been settled. But the microscopic shapes that they have discovered strongly suggest that living matter is involved.
Nannobacteria found in rocks and minerals are believed by scientists to be dwarfed forms of bacteria, being 1,000 times smaller than ordinary ones.
Many Biologists however, maintain that no living creature can be smaller than 0.2 microns as to contain a genetic material and that the structures do not suggest presence of life. The shapes they say are the result of chemical actions or weathering. While folks admit that the shape does not prove nor disapprove the presence of life, they believe them to be fossils of earliest life forms on earth.
In his most recent research he found that those tiny structures and other nanno-sized bodies are present in modern iron oxide deposits, which indicates that presence of life.
These some features were found by Dr. Folk in both new and ancient forms of oxide deposits. Since modern oxides remain in residue after having been leacked out, they are clearly organic.
Dissolving iron with hydrocloric acid reveals the embedded nannobacteria new technique not used before, nor the investigations of deposits under high magnification. If their research was correct the same methods can be used on iron-rich rocks retrieved by Martian explorers. Back in 1996, NASA announced the presence of old formations in a carbonate vein of 4.57 billion-year-old Martian meteorite based on Folks study made on a type of limestone. On other carbon-bearing meteorites, Folk said that these findings imply the existence of life on planets and asteroids.Read more