Magnetite morphology and life on Mars
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.241387898

Peter R. Buseck, Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski, Bertrand Devouard, Richard B. Frankel, Martha R. McCartney, Paul A. Midgley, Mihaly Posfai, and Matthew Weyland, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America


This National Academy of Sciences scholarly paper discusses the strongest line of evidence for past life on Mars based on NASA's David McKay's original claims of finding nanofossils on the ALH84001 meteorite. This study concentrates on magnetite morphology, comparing morphologies of bacterial and abiotically produced magnetite. The findings are inconclusive, but do not strongly support evidence for biotically produced magnetite. The article features color images of the crystallography. While the abstract is free, this article may require a subscription to access the full text.

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Subject: Biology:Microbiology, Astrobiology, Biogeochemistry, Microbiology:Methods of Microbiology :Microscopy, Geoscience:Lunar and Planetary Science:Mars:Life on Mars, Geoscience:Geology:Mineralogy:Biomineralogy, Crystallography, Mineral Analysis, Geoscience:Geology:Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology:Geochemistry
Resource Type: Scientific Resources:Research Results, Audio/Visual:Images/Illustrations
Grade Level: College Upper (15-16), Graduate/Professional, College Lower (13-14)
Theme: Teach the Earth:Course Topics:Mineralogy, Petrology, Planetary Science, BiogeoscienceKeywords: nanobe, nanobacteria, nannobacteria, TEM, STEM