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Science In Action: Do Martian Rocks Contain Signs of Life?

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Do Martian Rocks Contain Signs of Life?

08/12/2016 GMT

BBC World Service - Science In Action, Do Martian Rocks Contain Signs of Life?

Are fossilised rock structures on Mars made by microbes?

Do Martian rocks contain signs of life? Also Women on Wikipedia and Synthetic biology.

When the Mars rover Spirit recorded rocks in the Gusev crater back in 2007. It detected small lighter-coloured lumps. Geologists think these could be fossilised stromatolites in the form of opal. Back on Earth, these structures are made by films of blue-green algae and other microbes. Now, a decade later, geologists have found very similar features in the highland deserts of northern Chile, which have bacterial structures in them. Which all go to make compelling reasons to go back to the Martian crater in 2010.

100 Women
As part of BBC 100 Women 2016 we’re asking the question is the internet sexist?
Only 15% of Wikipedia editors are women and less than 15% of notable profiles are of women. Half of the BBC’s 100 women over 3 years still do not have a Wikipedia page. Science in Action reporter, Tracey Logan, has a go at editing Wikipedia pages for notable female scientists – Frances Micklethwait and Rachel McKendry - as part of a Wiki Editathon.

Synthetic Biology Solutions for Diabetes 
Scientists have designed synthetic cells that can sense glucose levels in blood and produce insulin when it’s needed. The cells have been demonstrated in mice. If human trials are successful, it could mean a four-monthly implant stops the symptoms of types 1 and 2 diabetes.


Photo: Surface of Mars @ NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Cornell University

Presenter: Roland Pease
Producer: Fiona Roberts

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