Lifelike biochemistry continued to unfold in sterilized soil

(quantamagazine.org)

67 points | by speckx 2 hours ago ago

5 comments

  • buildsjets 16 minutes ago

    Reminds me of the Gamma Forest at Brookhaven National Labs. From 1961 thru 1978 they irradiated a section of the pine barrens forest with a cesium-137 source just to see what would happen. It sterilized the soil and hardly anything grows there, almost 50 years later.

    https://maps.app.goo.gl/pJYr6qiZnMdVwLJS6

    https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/brookhaven-gamma-forest

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsuiLxcDuHY&t=925s

    • ErroneousBosh 11 minutes ago

      I'm guessing the distinct lack of Google Streetview on that circular bit of road nearby and the tracks implies a certain amount of resistance to access if you get off that dual carriageway to the west?

  • emsign 7 minutes ago

    This is huge news if true for evaluating soil experiments on Mars. They could give false positives for life if they only look for metabolic products.

  • JackFr 17 minutes ago

    Obligatory Asimov: 'The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not "Eureka!" but 'That's funny...โ€'

  • j16sdiz 26 minutes ago

    It feels next would be trying isolate the component that make CO2. Try to use smaller sample. Put them under microscope, etc.