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Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2005 19:39:38 +0000
From: [unknown]
To: phylocode@ouvaxa.cats.ohiou.edu
Subject: We could be even Martians
=46rom http://www.astrobio.net/news/article428.html Q: Do you think there could have been multiple origins of life, or th= at life could have come to Earth from somewhere else? Life arising more than once from nonliving materials could occur else= where than Earth, but it could also have occurred on Earth. It is pos= sible that extraterrestrial life exists and that all life nonetheless= has a common ancestor. Scientists now believe that microbes can surv= ive interplanetary journeys ensconced in meteors produced by asteroid= impacts on planetary bodies containing life. In other words, we coul= d all be the descendants of Martians -- or Martians, if they happen t= o exist, could share a common ancestor with us! In short, the mere di= scovery of extraterrestrial life doesn't guarantee that life had more= than one origin. Yisrael Asper yisraelasper@comcast.net Pittsburgh PA