least for a few years. Of course, no one has tested whether they can survive for thousands of years, but there`s no reason to think they can`t, notes Sleep. ``Conditions are not good for microorganisms, but they`re not bad,`` he adds.
So it is possible that life came from another planet - but did it really happen? So far there is no direct evidence of life on other planets or asteroids, although it is becoming clear that conditions exist, at least on Mars and Europa - one of Jupiter`s inner moons - where microbes that live comfortably in Earth`s harsher climates would have felt at home. As Sleep put its, Mars ``is no more uninhabitable than Antarctica`` - uncomfortable for humans, but perfect for some microbes.
Conclusive evidence for or against the theory only will come when scientists can examine samples from other planets and asteroids, something that is still a long way off. But Sleep says he`s not frustrated by the sometimes slow pace of studying early life.
``The origin of life is one of the fundamental problems of science, and it always has been. Living at a time when you can do that, it`s not something I`m going to pass up,`` he says.
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Contact: Mark Shwartz
mshwartz@stanford.edu
650-723-9296
Stanford University
14-Dec-2001
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