[meteorite-list] Cyanobacteria in meteorites?

From: Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:02:51 -0500
Message-ID: <18771BB127A2409F8BCAB091C71C226D_at_ATARIENGINE2>

Eric, Richard, List,

The website panspermia.org is funded by a
private organization, a one-man foundation.
It has donated chiefly to Cardiff University in
Wales and Chandra Wickramasinghe's research.

The SPIE conference schedule is here:
http://spie.org//app/program/index.cfm?fuseaction=conferencedetail&export_id=x13102&ID=x12769&redir=x12769.xml&conference_id=915535&event_id=894261&programtrack_id=915692

No paper with the title "Comets, Carbonaceous
Meteorites, and the Origin of the Biosphere"
is mentioned anywhere in the published
Schedule for the Conference.

Hoover delivered an invited paper, "Chiral
biomarkers in meteorites" (no publication
data and no abstract; it will be published in
the Proceedings). Hoover essentially moderated
the panel discussions, and he was a co-author
on several other papers presented. One by
Marina M. Astafieva, and Alexei Y. Rozanov
"Comparative characteristic of methods of
ancient rocks (AR-PR1) microfossils investigations,"
and another by the same and other authors,
"Early Precambrian pillow lavas as habitat
for microfossils."

However, perhaps you mean this:
Hoover, R. B. "Comets, Carbonaceous Meteorites
and the Origin of the Biosphere" in Biosphere
Origin and Evolution (N. Dobretsov, N. Kolchanov,
A. Rozanov and G. Zavarzin, Eds.) Springer US,
New York 55-68, (2008).
http://www.springerlink.com/content/u17384273280174l/

The item on the panspermia.org website:
http://www.panspermia.org/hoover4.htm
is only the most recent of such announcements
from Hoover. There's these two from 2004:
http://www.panspermia.org/hoover3.htm
http://www.panspermia.org/hoover2.htm
The plentiful references suggests these are
not "made up." There are a lot of references
there if anyone wants to chase them down.

Hoover himself seems to cautiously add the
term "biomorph" after every description, as in,
"Well, they LOOK like living cells..."

On a lighter note, there were several presentations
at the Conference by Godfrey Louis and Chandra
Wickramasinghe on the continuing ruptures
of bat red blood cells in highly pressurized jars of
super-heated oil, which they believe to be alien
lifeforms that are multiplying --- the so-called
"Red Rain" of Kerala.

I love standup...

Beyond the question of contamination of
meteorites by contact or surface exposure, is
the fact that micro-organisms can go ANYWHERE.
There is nowhere on this planet (or any other
planet, I imagine) that they cannot penetrate.
They are found in situ and alive in solid rock
samples from five miles down in the Earth's
crust. They are found high in the atmosphere.
If you are small enough, you can squeeze in
anywhere.

There will be no acceptance of, say, microbial
life on Mars until we can go there and observe
them directly at work and at play in their own
environment. And even then, there will be cries
of contamination.

It would be much better if alien life would simply
walk up and ask to be taken to our leader...

...if we had one.


Sterling K. Webb
-------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Kowalski" <damoclid at yahoo.com>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 21, 2010 7:54 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Cyanobacteria in meteorites?


Lars,

The abstract of Richard Hoover's lecture at SPIE was entitled
"Comets, Carbonaceous Meteorites, and the Origin of the Biosphere"

In this abstract he states in part "Field Emission Scanning Electron
Microscope (FESEM) studies carried out during the past several years on
freshly fractured interior surfaces of the Orgueil CI meteorite has
revealed in-situ the existence of the well-preserved mineralized remains
of a complex suite of trichomic prokaryotes. Many of the forms found
embedded in the mineral matrix are morphotypes of cyanobacteria and
sulphur bacteria."

He was the Chair for a number of the sessions at this astrobiology
conference.

I would suggest that anyone who takes this subject seriously and has
questions about the topic, be suspicious about any sources other than
his own. You can probably contact him directly more information and
possibly a copy of his presentations.

--
Richard Kowalski
Full Moon Photography
IMCA #1081
--- On Sat, 8/21/10, Lars Zielke <zielke at nightsky.dk> wrote:
> From: Lars Zielke <zielke at nightsky.dk>
> Subject: [meteorite-list]  Cyanobacteria in meteorites?
> To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Date: Saturday, August 21, 2010, 2:55 PM
> Hi all
>
> My first post here on this excellent list.
>
> I think it's strange that the only place I can find
> anything about Hoovers
> presentation is on the panspermia web-site. From my fast
> google schearch it
> seems that Richard Hoover and the team is very respectable,
> so why only an
> article on what seems to be a very biased web-site?
>
> The agenda for the Astrobiology XIII session don't give me
> enough
> information.
>
> Can it be confirmed that the claims was actually put
> forward by Richard
> Hoover at the conference, and do we know if there will be
> any official paper
> about it?
>
> In short, can the source of this story be trusted?
>
>
> Regards
> Lars
>
> -----Oprindelig meddelelse-----
> Fra: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
> [mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com]
> P? vegne af Meteorites
> USA
> Sendt: 20. august 2010 23:48
> Til: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Emne: Re: [meteorite-list] Cyanobacteria in meteorites?
>
> Amazing there's No response on a meteorite list about
> possible
> fossilized bacteria and microbes in meteorites.... Is it
> because it's on
> "Panspermia.org" or that the word "Panspermia" is used?
>
> Why the silence on such a HUGE subject?
>
> Eric
>
>
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Received on Sun 22 Aug 2010 12:02:51 AM PDT