Gilbert Levin was involved in the design of the LR experiment and the analysis of the results. For 25 years he has labored to show that the best explanation for the results is that they were produced by Martian organisms. He has collected microbes from Alaska and Antarctica and subjected them to the LR experiments with results that match some of the Viking results. He has experimented with a range of non-biological chemicals see if they can produce the same results. He has questioned assumptions about the absence of liquid water on Mars and the chemical effects of bombardment of the soil by ultraviolet radiation. Levin has made a tremendous contribution to the study of extra-terrestrial life and he has designed new experiments for future Mars missions that could resolve the ambiguous Viking results. Unfortunately his enthusiasm for the issue has put off some scientists who regard his claims about the Viking experiments extravagant and unfounded. Levin has pushed the pendulum towards a biological explanation for the Viking results but, as Klein pointed out, this as a long way from unambiguous evidence of life on Mars.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/space/20010906/sc/viking_data_still_cause_stir_about_mars_life_1.html
Sunday, September 9, 2001
Popular Posts
-
...These measures, based on the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) give far too much power to publishers, at the expense of individu...
-
The concept of dragons was probably brought to Japan around 2,000 years ago, along with the technology for paddy agriculture. Their images h...
-
Finally went out and picked up a Nintendo Wii. My god the thing is fun. Ridiculously, ludicrously fun. Hiyat and I had to tear ourselves...
-
Here's my (edited) journal entry for this event dated 12/01/98: Wow. I just sessioned and started reading "The Tao of Physics...
-
His system, he said, starts with a laser that sends part of its beam into photo detectors which produce electrical signal that feed back to ...
-
The challenge of having the United States as a neighbour was one of the topics discussed Tuesday during a meeting with Mexican President Vic...
-
Someone that gets it. Service-oriented software, when done correctly in a platform-agnostic way can be flexible, cheap, and can motivate m...
-
...why was this given the file name of skyfall?... Certain information, while not specific as to target, gives the government reason to beli...
-
When it comes to buying equipment, think g, not b. New 802.11g hardware is nearly five times faster than 802.11b gear, and it will interoper...
-
This edition provides a prose rendering of The Epic of Gilgamesh, the cycle of poems preserved on clay tablets surviving from ancient Mesopo...