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To: Wonder Warthog; metmom
However, there are MANY types of bacteria that can survive in highly saline environments, and thrive and grow quite nicely, so your argument is fallacious--a case of comparing apples and oranges..

No it isn't. I asked for the location of these evolved Martian organisms. I then provided a tongue in cheek answer for their absence. The fact is, there are no Martian halophilic(or otherwise) organisms. I was pointing out your fairytale as such, a fairytale. The fact that earth organisms exist is no, repeat, no evidence of life of any type on Mars. That evidence has to be developed from purely Martian data. The writers pointed out that high concentrations of salt are inimical to the genesis of life and that high concentrations of salts are evident on Mars for billions of years in the past.

The researchers themselves placed this statement in the abstract for their article.

Our calculations indicate that the salinity of well-documented surface waters often exceeded levels tolerated by known terrestrial organisms.

36 posted on 08/29/2008 6:32:50 PM PDT by AndrewC
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To: AndrewC
"No it isn't. I asked for the location of these evolved Martian organisms. I then provided a tongue in cheek answer for their absence. The fact is, there are no Martian halophilic(or otherwise) organisms. I was pointing out your fairytale as such, a fairytale. The fact that earth organisms exist is no, repeat, no evidence of life of any type on Mars.

If you reread CAREFULLY what I said, you will see that I never said anything about the existence of "Martian" halophile bacteria. What I said was that a strongly saline environment is no barrier to life. That being proven by the existence of such life in saline solutions as strong as any that might exist on Mars (i.e. saturated salt solutions). A saturated salt solution is the same on Mars as on earth. So your nutcase theory about "purely Martian data" is so much bullshit.

"Our calculations indicate that the salinity of well-documented surface waters often exceeded levels tolerated by known terrestrial organisms."

And I'm telling you that these "researchers" don't know their asses from holes in the ground. I've done work with research groups that worked with exactly such halophilic organisms.

For all we know, the original source of life on earth might well have been halophilic bacteria, living in hot springs deep inside the earth, well before conditions on the surface were such as to allow life.

37 posted on 08/29/2008 7:19:16 PM PDT by Wonder Warthog
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To: AndrewC; Wonder Warthog
The fact is, there are no Martian halophilic(or otherwise) organisms.

That is a very unscientific statement. I would rephrase that to "So far, we have not found any Martian halophilic (or otherwise) organisms."

Lack of evidence for a thing is not evidence of lack of that thing. If I toss a needle into a haystack in a field of heystacks, and you spend two years sifting through the hay looking for the needle, the fact that you do not find it, is not proof that it isn't there. It's merely proof you haven't found a needle. Also, finding a needle in one haystack is not proof that there are needles in the other haystacks... only that it may be possible there are needles in the other haystacks.

40 posted on 08/29/2008 9:15:32 PM PDT by Swordmaker (Remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
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