Methane discovery hints at living Martian microbes

[struggle4progress]

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Plumes of methane in the atmosphere of Mars provide evidence of the possible existence of microbes living below the Martian surface that produce the gas as some do on Earth, U.S. scientists said on Thursday.

The methane likely was produced either by water reacting with hot rock below the surface or by living microorganisms as a waste product, they said during a NASA news briefing. The scientists said the evidence does not suggest the methane was brought to Mars by an object like a comet.

"This is exciting because we have evidence that we need to think about in terms of the possibilities of life on Mars," Indiana University scientist Lisa Pratt told the briefing ...

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE50E6TD20090115?feedType=RSS&feedName=scienceNews

[kenny blankenship]

1. ...or it could be the dog