Men could be from Mars - Women, even farther away!

A long time staple of science fiction is life on Earth being "salted" from extra-terrestrial sources. Finding what appeared to be ancient microbes in Mar's meteorites only served to foster the idea further. However according to recent research panspermia may be more than the fodder of the science fiction writer. Research on the Murchison meteor, which landed in Australia in 1969, found molecules in those meteorite fragments that confirmed some of the raw material for DNA and RNA did not contaminate the rock after it landed on Earth, but actually originated in space. Scientists figure that since the Murchison meteor fell to Earth bringing the molecules uracial and xanthine — precursors to DNA — there must have been a lot of this stuff pelting the planet billions of years ago. There are about 70 different amino acids in the Murchison meteorite. About six or so are the same kinds of amino acids associated with life on Earth. Though not conclusive, since these chemicals can also be synthesized on Earth, it does however show that the building blocks could very well have originated somewhere else entirely!

Nova Science Now story IO9 Article

Life on Earth might actually be Martian — or Europan, or Titanese!

Even IO9 does it straight every now and again. Here is an interesting article that has possible science fiction written all over it.

New research suggests microbes can survive an asteroid impact big enough so send them into space, making panspermia a real possibility. Previous experiments have shown that microbes can survive in the punishing cold of space.

But Could microbes survive the crushing force and extreme heat of an asteroid impact?

Astrobiologists at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Germany developed a series of tests designed to simulate these pressures on the selected organisms. By smashing the life-containing rocks between metal plates, the researchers were able to determine which organisms are capable of surviving different pressures caused by asteroid impacts and ejection into space. Ultimately, they discovered that a wide range of organisms would be capable of surviving impacts on Mars or Earth.

Astrobiology magazine article