Scientists Discover Signs of Life in Inorganic Dust

Scientists have generally assumed that all life is organic, built from carbon-based molecules. Some say that an alternative form of life, based upon silicon molecules, may possibly exist. None have ever considered the possibilities of inorganic dust.

Researchers at Russian Academy of Science in Moscow and at the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany have discovered that, under certain conditions, particles of dust can form into helical structures and reproduce.

The structures behave similarly to DNA and proteins, copying original versions of themselves and evolve in ways that question both how life began here on earth and how seemingly redundant dust particles in space may be the building blocks of life.

Welcome Back - 100,000 Year Old Microbes Revived by Scientists

Microbes recovered from ice samples dating back between 100,000 and 8 million years have returned to a living state and resumed growth, according to a report by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The older samples proved to be less successful than the younger ones and scientists have found that DNA is halved in samples over 1.1 million years old, with the oldest consisting of just 210 units instead of the more usual 3 million.

The research will help in learning how life survives in the extremes of earthly environments as well as how micro-organisms could possibly withstand conditions on other planets such as Mars.