[meteorite-list] CI1 meteorites and cyanobacteria

From: Becky and Kirk <bandk_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 5 Mar 2011 18:06:41 -0600
Message-ID: <1A8336E9EE0F4AEE954FB46FB02F1F77_at_owner55652f88b>

Hi All,
But---on the other hand---what Marc is saying could also be used for his own
"negative" analysis or his own "Lowell Effect" of this possible new E.T.
discovery. Indeed, Marc is in fact, "letting your own doubts make a fool of
your reason".

Since everyone will always have their own "predisposed opinion"---one could
say this about both sides of the coin----yes? We need to wait and see what
future analysis may find before pronouncing something as "110 % bullshit".

Just my two cents.
Kirk.....:-)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Marc Fries" <fries at psi.edu>
To: "Meteorite-list List" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2011 5:19 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] CI1 meteorites and cyanobacteria


> Howdy all
>
> Here's my two cents, pure and simple - this paper is 110% bullshit. The
> filaments the paper addresses are nothing new. They are apparently
> amorphous sulfates formed from aqueous alteration of fine sulfides in the
> CI's. You can see that in the EDS spectra published in the paper - the
> predominant elements are sulfur, oxygen and magnesium. I.e., they are
> sulfates (e.g. Mg2SO4 + hydration water). Some silicon "leaks" into the
> measurement from materials behind one of the filaments.
> I happen to have two CIs on loan to me right now - Orgueil and Tonk. I
> have Raman spectra of the filaments found in both meteorites. They are
> sulfates. My personal Surprise Meter registers a whopping Zero.
> The argument is made that the lack of nitrogen in these "fossils" implies
> that they pre-date their residence on Earth. This argument starts with
> the assumption that the filaments are fossils, and then uses the
> non-detection of nitrogen to "prove" that they are fossils. This is a
> circular argument. Here's a more supportable hypothesis: no nitrogen was
> detected because they are not fossils, but rather exactly what has been
> known for decades - they are amorphous sulfate filaments caused by
> hydration of fine sulfides in the rock.
>
> This paper is a result of something I like to call the Lowell Effect.
> Basically, it is what happens when someone stares into an instrument
> expecting (or hoping) to see proof of life in the target. Percival Lowell
> did it through a telescope with Mars, drawing elaborate "canals" in his
> mind which indicated (to him) an advanced martian civilization. Certain
> other scientists do it with the Apex chert while peering through
> microscopes, and with hydrothermal graphite found in rocks from Isua,
> Greenland through all manner of instruments. The author of this paper
> pulled a Lowell Effect result out of his posterior after looking at CIs
> with an electron microscope. Where I come from, we also call that
> "letting your hopes make a fool of your reason".
>
> Cheers,
> Marc Fries
>
>
> On Mar 5, 2011, at 6:56 AM, drtanuki wrote:
>
>> Dear List,
>> There is a very interesting newly published paper about cyanobacteria
>> found inside CI1 meteorites:
>>
>> Journal of Cosmology, 2011, Vol 13, xxx.
>> JournalofCosmology.com, March, 2011
>> Fossils of Cyanobacteria in CI1 Carbonaceous Meteorites:
>> Implications to Life on Comets, Europa, and Enceladus
>> Richard B. Hoover, Ph.D.
>> NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
>>
>> The abstract can be read here:
>>
>> http://lunarmeteoritehunters.blogspot.com/2011/03/fossils-of-cyanobacteria-in-ci1.html
>>
>> Best Always, Dirk Ross...Tokyo
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Received on Sat 05 Mar 2011 07:06:41 PM PST