[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

ALH84001 and Me - Part 4


Is it really a fossil?

    We now move forward in time a few months.  A news 
conference was going to be held at which other scientists were going
to present the results of their work on ALH84001.  I arrived at the
NASA News Room and along with the other journalists went down to the
Remote Feed Television Room, where we would watch the conference and
be able to put our questions to the panelists.
     As the panelists made their presentations, it 
became clear that most of them doubted that the 
structure in ALH84001 was indeed a fossil.  Most telling was one
scientist's findings that the magnetite
crystals in the "fossil" were not of the type produced by living
beings, but instead of a type produced only by non-biotic chemical
reactions.  Came question time, I asked him whether or not the heat of
entry through the atmosphere and the force of impact could have
changed the magnetite's properties. This question evoked differing
views from the panelists, and the question was still open as to
whether the magnetite crystal had been formed by organic or in-organic
processes.
    The press conference over, the journalists proceeded back to the
News Room.  Leonard had a look on his face like he had been hit in the
stomach.  I went over to him.
    "Do you see now why I let you have the story?"
    "Yes."
    "Organic chemicals are surprisingly common.  You know what the
worst part of it is?  I think that McKay really has found a fossil. 
You remember the guy from Berkeley?"
     "Yes."
     "When he ran his laser across the structure he got 
organic chemicals only inside the ring of iron sulfides.  It looks
like the fossil of a cell membrane to me."
     "Oh", Leonard said, and his face brightened.  The scoop was still
his, and his reputation for accurate 
reporting undamaged.  As for me, it would not be until the following
year that I became aware of impact events and developed an intense
interest in historical impacts, and thus an interest in meteorites,
particularly in large ones.

         






_________________________________________________________
DO YOU YAHOO!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

----------
Archives located at:
http://www.meteoritecentral.com/list_best.html

For help, FAQ's and sub. info. visit:
http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing_list.html
----------