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originally posted by: DpatC
okay so what am I missing
Halite is more commonly known as "rock salt" and can be found all over the planet in the form of salty crystals. These crystals may not seem all that interesting at first glance.
However, inside of them are tiny pockets of water Halite crystals form in liquid as evaporation occurs. The crystals naturally trap small
amounts of liquid during this process. These water pockets and all that they contain can be protected inside halite crystals for extremely long periods of time.
From testing halite Cellulose fibers have been found inside the water. Cellulose is present in many living cells.Cellulose is also produced by single-celled organisms like cyanobacteria
Basicially If cellulose is present, there must have been life.
For those geeks like me and have an interest in cyanobacteria,currently there is a very interesting project Life at the dry limit: Cyanobacteria inside halite pinnacles in the Atacama desert,being conducted by Alfonso Davila of the SETI insitiute on the survival mechanism of cyanobacteria inhabiting the interior of halite pinnacles in the Yungay region of the Atacama desert.
If we can find halite on other planets, the crystals may be an excellent place to search for proof of ancient life.That might sound a bit alien but here is the thing we have found Halite that is extrateresstrial not of this world.Inside the meteorites Zag and Monahans
I wonder if science has conducted tests to see if the h2o inclusions in the Halite crystals found in those meteorites had traces of Cellulose or any organic compounds for that matter. Imagine if they found traces of chitin that would definately get reptilian theorists into a frenzy -
I wish I had something interesting to add, other than it seems like a valid theory. Thanks for a very interesting OP and thread.
meteorites.asu.edu...
okay so what am I missing