Cyanobacteria/Protests/Monerans

[SteveC71703]

Here’s an interesting topic & specimen.

Perhaps you will remember that back in 1984, NASA’s Antarctic crew recovered AHL 84001. It was not until 1996, when NASA microbiologists re-reviewed this specimen and published their work in Science & Nature Magazines. What they had discovered were fossilized cyanobacteria deep within the rock from the frozen desert of Antarctica that had arrived some 13,000 years earlier. Their research & findings remain controversial even today, as some “protestors” argued the stone had been “infested” with terrestrial microbes whilst lying on the ice, and that Martian microbes weren’t smart enough to have hailed a ride to Earth via meteorites. TAXI! TAXI!! (I’ve been to New York City, and not all are experts in hailing a cab. It takes a special voice & hand signal to get this done!).

What we find in this specimen are single-celled amebic organisms, known as Flagellates and multi-cellular organisms known as Cyanobacteria; all recognized as the earliest forms of life on Planet Earth. This specimen is pervasive with both life forms.

The wedge shape of this specimen is in perfect alignment to its oriented atmospheric entry, The texture & color of one side is smooth and a darker shade, while the opposite side is lighter in color, rough and highly grained, which shows it is not a terrestrial sedimentary rock. It has spent very little time in water, and it has very little terrestrial weathering. Its general color is also a giveaway, as we know the Martian surface to be a reddish-orange. The surface of Mars is composed of FeO’s (Iron Oxides). All FeO’s are the result of that wonderful element/mineral known as H2O (Water).

As for its magnetism, it does draw a neodium (rare-earth) magnet. This attraction is due to magnetite & hematite; both of which are phases of Fe (Iron) during the decomposition of organic and/or biological life. (Check out NASA’s discovery of “Martian Blueberries,” which turned out to be hematite. Hematite forms as a result of the evaporation of acidic waters, as in Sulfur waters).

Everyone is certainly welcome to comment on this specimen, and to wish us well on our ongoing research of this peculiar specimen. Should our research bear fruit, or nuts, we will welcome all commentary.

If you should know someone involved in microbiology, be sure to share this post with them, have them contact us for a slice for their examination. We will be more than happy to oblige.

In closing; With 200 billion galaxies that exist beyond our local Milky Way Galaxy, the chances for Life is 100% possible, as we have discovered life on Earth. The difficulty will be in locating & finding Intelligent Life among these many galaxies. In order to find Intelligent Life “out there,” we must first find Intelligent Life here on Planet Earth! The Cosmic Grand Jury is still in deliberations on this point. Perhaps “They” will find us, before we find them!! One can only hope!

Be safe “out there,” and know that you are NOT alone!

Cheers & Finest Regards to ALL!

[PL01]

Isn’t that rock also known as Miriam Stone (Calligraphy Stone)?

[SteveC71703]

How cool is that sculpture?! Well done! I looked up Miriam Stone and there are striking similarities. In reading the discussion on Mindat, the presence of hematite, and/or magnetite, in both specimens is intriguing. I was also taken by the photos of the rough, full stone from which the sculpture was created.

I would add, that the sculpture & rough, full stone shows an elongated shape with a rather smooth exterior, and both the Cyanobacteria & Flagellates I spoke of earlier. The Miriam Stone could well be a pairing of the stone I had presented. It would be interesting to compare them side by side, and under an SEM. An XRF exam could prove helpful, as well.

I thank you, PL01, for sharing your insights and the link.
Cheers!

[PL01]

There’s a fair bit on sale on ebay, mainly polished, but there are some selling rough. I might dig out my pieces and pop them under the microscope, not that i’ll see anything as small as cyanobacteria, but it can’t hurt.

I just did a quick test on one of my pieces, it showed no magnetic attraction to my N52 Neodymium magnet.

[SteveC71703]

As we can see in both the Miriam Stone and the specimen I presented, the Cyanobacteria & Flagellates are large enough to see without a microscope. A jeweler’s loupe works well in zeroing in on their replicating structures.

BTW: The AMScope metallurgical/polarized microscope I’ve used for years finally went south. I am in need of a new circuit board, but I’ve not been able to locate one due to the instrument’s old age. It’s just like me, I suppose. I’m just getting worn out!!

What might be helpful, as well, is that I just finishing Kathy Sawyer’s “The Rock from Mars,” where she has documented the story of NASA’s AHL 84001. As I previously mentioned, the debate still continues on the actual presence of Martian microbes in their find, and this keeps the door open for specimens similar to yours & mine. As you may remember, their specimen sat on a shelf for over ten years before NASA was moved to investigate the stone further. Since then, there have been multiple meteorite specimens have undergone new research, such as “Murchison,” “Orguile,” and others. These examples can be reviewed if you were to enter “Cyanobacteria Meteorites” into your web browser. There are several really good papers written on the subject.

I will leave you with yet another cool specimen for your review. It resembles a Trapiche Emerald, which have been found in Columbia. It, too, draws a rare-earth magnet with ease. I like the ‘organic’ structure of this piece.

NASA’s “Saganet,” and NASA’s Astrobiology Department, have a number of good discussions on YouTube. It’s pretty fascinating material.

Have an awesome day!

[PL01]

Now that one is a strange looking thing, I guess I spend tomorrow watching youtube’s, thanks for the info on that, be interesting to see what they have to say.

I have 4 cabochons of Miriam Stone, average around 13g a piece, it seems one is attracted to the N52 magnet after all, I never took that much notice of them before, but you’ve now sparked an odd interest in them.

I’d thank you for that, but I need another hobby like I need a new hole in my head but its worth looking at.

[SteveC71703]

No worries, PL. I have enough holes in mind for both of us!!

As to the magnet testing, we do know that iron, nickel, hematite and magnetite are usually concentrations within the rock, and they are necessary uniform throughout.

The idea here is, that most meteorites are composed as polymict assemblages , as in multiple mineralogies. Metallics tend to segregate themselves, while silicates tend to do the same thing. Given the impact velocities & thermo dynamics & alterations, we find a mix of both bodies.

Celestial, or Cosmic impacts, are rather common, though not well explained, or analyzed yet we know the Moon to have both Earthy-basalts & high concentrations of Titanium, which comprised the impacter, known as Thea.

I happen to have several Cosmic impact specimens that demonstrate this idea very well. One specimen, in particular, shows the impact of a FeNi-rich asteroid with a silica-rich asteroid comprised of Gabbro. Gabbro is known to exist on Mars and the Moon. I will have to post a couple of photos of this unique find.

Back to the subject of biology & extremophiles, you might enjoy the attached photos, where I had extracted the fossilized image of crab pincers from a meteorite. The image was recovered at 1200X’s magnification from a thin section of the accompanying black, fusion-crusted specimen. Adjacent to the Crab in the same slide, I also found an articulated mammalian bone fragment, complete with tendons, capillaries, and red blood cells, as in fossilized hemoglobin remnants! These are what we would call “extreme” Extremophiles!"

Out of focus, and just above the pincers, is a full crab, with its appendages (legs)!

Our Spectrace XRF analysis, completed by CMU, shows a very intriguing & exotic chemical structure. We typically do not see this mix of elements in terrestrial rocks, with Rh (Rhenium) being one of the rarest elements on Earth!

Now that I have bored a new hole in your head, let me know what your opinion might be.

Cheers, PL;
Steve

[Dion]

BEWARE… this is pseudoscience at its best (or worst). Lots of use of science terminology (often incorrectly stated) and very glib, very emotional, and very, very unscientific. There is nothing in these posts that would indicate this person has Martian materials and it is apparent that it is at best someone with a poor understanding of the real science (or at worst an outright hoax that shouldn’t be on our forum). Our forum has been a great place to teach and learn about minerals, rocks, and Earth materials… and we have all participated and shared our knowledge to further this end. We should try to avoid giving any credit to such levels of misinformation and outright wrong information as has been shown in this latest posting.

[SteveC71703]

As most folks who actually study Planetary Geology, Astrobiology and/or Astrochemistry will readily agree that nearly all the natural elements that make up our gems & minerals, and our own physical bodies, originate in what’s known as a Supernova event, as in an exploding star.

Carbon (C) is the ash left from the fusion of Hydrogen (H) & Helium (He). Iron (Fe) is also the byproduct of this cataclysmic Cosmic event. Carbon, as in a solid, can be as fragile as Graphite, or it can be as dense and as hard as a diamond. It’s a pretty cool element across the board, as it is the most common of all solid elements throughout the Cosmos, along with Calcium (Ca) & Aluminum (Al).

We have found, too, that Gold (Au), Platinum (Pt), Palladium (Pd), Silver (Ag), Cobalt (Co), Tungsten (W), Iridium (Ir), and all the other elements we depend on for our industrial complexes, and our social & economic well being, originate in the microseconds following a (R) Supernova event, or an (S) class Supernova event. (R) means (“Rapid,” while (S) means “Slow”).

What this all means, is that all of our mining concerns around the globe surround & involve an asteroidal, or meteoritic impact. (Check out the Sudbury Complex in Ontario, Canada, the Bushfeld Complex in South Africa, or even Platinum City, AK). These impact events have been occurring for 4.567 Billion years, with the Late Heavy Bombardment Period occurring between 3.8 & 4.2 billion years ago, while the Earth was still in somewhat of molten stage.

Elements & minerals such as Nickel (Ni), Iron (Fe), and other heavier elements sunk to the core forming the nucleus of our planet, while lighter elements ended up in the Earth’s lower & upper mantle. Even lighter elements came to make up the Earth’s crust. The combination of these core/mantle/and crustal minerals are what we would call Metamorphic. These processes of metamorhism of minerals is seen throughout the studies & research of volcanism & plate tectonics. (Planetary Geology #101).

As to the issue of LIFE, the Cosmos is full of Life, whether that life is an Arthropod, a Cat, or a Human Being. All Life needs to exist are the basic elements of Life! The basics of Life are H20, Carbon, Amino Acids, Proteins, aka "PAH’s (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons), and the ENERGY to transform them into whatever life forms they may become. It is would be very egocentric to say LIFE does not exist beyond Planet Earth, as we have found LIFE here on the Planet. As I will reassert, we are still looking for Intelligent Life on Earth. Once we find this (IL), we will be more capable in identifying “IT” elsewhere!

(Even if we were all to take the religious & political viewpoint & bent that God created man as a “free-standing” and autonomous being, we could draw from the book of Genesis, where “God created both the heavens and the Earth*!” Should we choose to ignore this passage, we would, in essence, be denying God his unlimited & infinite powers to create LIFE in whatever forms he might choose!)

As we know, everyone is entitled to his, or her opinion, which is why I chose to insert my opinion above. As I mentioned, I am open to all commentaries. These commentaries, according to the Forum’s guidelines, should be of benefit to all, and supported by actual & factual science as we currently know & understand it. Commentaries that simply criticize & demean another without substantial reasoning or evidence, should not be accepted. This Forum, after all, is about genuine scientific inquiry & debate. It is NOT a platform for “Political Science,” denouncements, degrading, disruption, name-calling, or a “Calling-out!”

I would remind Mr. “Dion” of a very basic, and long-accepted practice that states, “Treat all others as you would want to be treated!” And, “For every action, there is an equal & opposite reaction!” The latter being a very important & critical scientific principle!

Having said this, I will ask Mr. “D” to read Kathy Sawyer’s fine work, “The Rock From Mars.” Perhaps then, Mr. “D” will have a change of heart. I would also suggest Mr. “D” check out “SagaNet,” and numerous YouTube conferences generated from NASA’s own Astrobiologists. It’s pretty cool stuff!

My Best & Finest Regards to Mr. “Dion.” May he find Peace in his LIFE!

Steve

[mdsandifer]

The GIA classifies this as an “F” in origin.

[PL01]

@Dion

BEWARE… this is pseudoscience at its best (or worst).

Well, I never saw that one coming, proof would be nice

Going back to the original post, I believe there’s an error, or several.
Firstly, I see nothing in either picture that would suggest that rock is of extraterrestrial origin. I still believe its a lump of Miriam stone, all I see are a lot shells from various forms of aquatic bivalve creatures, I’ll add a picture of mine, its 37x23mm in size, weighs 65.7cts, get a better idea of the size.

Also, researching the Allan Hills 84001, it shows a completely different stone, I could of delved a lot deeper, but I don’t think it’d help, but I think we have a case of mistaken identity, either wrong information, or better, wrong rock.

The other pictures etc added to this post, I’ll not comment on, or this’ll just get to complicated, but Extremophile Life Forms didn’t get earth on the stone in the original pics, sorry.

[SteveC71703]

Good Evening, Dion;

Thank you for the Miriam Stone photo. I’ve examined the Miriam Stone. It’s very interesting, as it could be related to what to I was attempting to present. The matrix of the Miriam Stone is substantially different from the specimen I had offered up, and the ‘worm-shaped’ structures are not segmented, as in cellular replication, as how Archaebacteria are typically identified. In the Miriam Stone, I am not seeing the single-celled Flagellates, or Cilates, as are clearly evident in the specimen I offered. Even still, there are some similarities.

But before we get too far down any particular rabbit hole, perhaps you might find the following link of interest. The video is just about six minutes in length.

The Panspermia Hypothesis, Explained

Let me know your thoughts.
Cheers;
Steve

[SteveC71703]

Perhaps you would like to clarify & elaborate on what an ““F” in origin”" by GIA standards. This may be helpful.

I work with a few GIA graduates. A “Few” of them may interested in learning something they’ve never known.

I can take a guess as to what you might mean, but ‘mind-reading’ was never my strength in college, and nor was it an elective.

Cheers!

[PL01]

The Murchison, Orguile, ALH84001 or any other meteorite found look nothing at all like yours. Those that might contain cyanobacteria etc only measure a few hundred nanometers in diameter, yours are huge, I’d like too see a close up picture or two, but I’m still leaning towards Miriam stone.
As this is a gemstone forum and not a paleontology one, it might be worth you find one, and posting it on there, get their views.
Videos, other documentation on anything, will not change what the stone is in your original posting.
I’ll help identify a stone, but not any possible fossilized life forms that may, or may not be present, I don’t have that sort of technology.

[SteveC71703]

Greetings, PL. Thank you again for your opinions.

Just a couple of questions, if you. don’t mind.

1. Do Hematite & Magnetite qualify as gem stones? (See “Rock & Gem Magazine”)

2. What do Hematite & Magnetite have to do with suspect Martian microbiology? We have, according to NASA, found both Hematite & Magnetite on the surface of Mars. Correct?

3. Where else in our Solar System, as in our rocky planets & moons, might we expect, or anticipate, finding Hematite & Magnetite? (As I previously noted, Hematite & Magnetite are, according to modern science, phases of Iron (FeO’s) involving the decomposition of organic & biological material. Correct?) For starters, I would personally suggest looking at the Europa, Enceladus, and Io, where we are likely to find Igneous, Metamorphic, and Sedimentary Rocks & Gems.

4. Do all microbes look the same? If they did, this would mean everyone would look alike and dress alike, given our origins. Correct? (By the same token, you & I would look identical, and we would dress alike, and we would think exactly the same. If this were the case, we would not be having this lovely conversation). (See attached “Tree of Life”).

5. For the longest time, many “experts” in meteoritics banded together to say, “If your suspect specimen has Quartz (SiO), then it is NOT a meteorite!” Today, however, nearly every meteorite from the Moon & Mars has been found to have Quartz. Martian meteorites have been found to contain upwards of 90% Quartz (SiO), and the Martian Rovers have confirmed these high percentages of SiO on the surface of Mars. So, what has changed in the minds &.opinions of our esteemed & dedicated scientists? Could it have something to do with the advancement & dissemination of knowledge & scientific facts, as we currently know them?

Lastly; Why would I be posting on this wonderful IGS platform, if I didn’t think there was a connection between the exploration of Life and Gems & Minerals? Microbes don’t appear to wear faceted jewelry, but maybe they do! We just can’t see their nose rings because they are so small!

Cheers, My Friend;
Steve

[beargems]

Bacteria, even multi-cellular creatures can exist in hostile environments like outer space.
Impacts on any life bearing planet can facilitate the transport process to other planets. I find this rock a possibility, but can also understand the skepticism.
It’s good to have an open mind and accept that the universe still has plenty of good surprises ahead.

[SteveC71703]

Thank You, Bear, for your open mind.

Imagine any number of IGS member jewelers lining up to fashion a bit of space debris into Cosmic works of Art. This has been done before with Peridot, but this would be awesome!..Just thinking!

[PL01]

A little misunderstanding somewhere, I don’t need a questionnaire, I never denied the possibly, I never said it wouldn’t look good in jewelry.
What I’m am saying is, I don’t believe the origin of the stone pictured below as being extraterrestrial.

A close up picture would help in changing my mind, no more questions, no more links, just a close up picture, of this rock.

[SteveC71703]

As I may have mentioned, earlier, the AmScope Metallurgical/Polarized microscope I’ve been using for several years finally went South. I’ve been unable to find a new circuit board for this older unit. It’s believe we call this “Obsolescence,” as things just wear out after a time.

So, for the moment, I am relegated to using my cell phone camera. The images aren’t that great, but they’re not too bad for “field work.”

This being said, I just recently cut & polished this stone. I also have several slices being prepared to send out for further testing. I will be posting a couple of photos for your review.

In the field of meteoritics, I’ve always heard the “experts” say, “You can’t tell a meteorite by a photograph!” At the same time, nearly everyone in the field sells their wares with photos on EBAY, Etsy, Pinterest and elsewhere. Often times, there is little, if any, description to support the photo. This applies to the gem & mineral world, as well, but most folks in this field are kind enough to add a little narrative in describing their treasures.

As we all would agree, every stone has a story to tell. The better the story, the more value it may have. Without a story, it tends to be of lesser value. And granted, “a picture says a thousand words!” This is why I love microbiology & astrobiology, as there are over 200 Billion stories to tell!

Thanks for hanging in there, PL.

Cheers!
Steve

[PL01]

Doesn’t need a microscope pic, close enough with a cellphone will do, I took mine with a cellphone.