valhalla

For my sins...so am I... I rather conclude that life was not expected in any form either fossil or alive by the majority of the scientific establishment back then, the Viking results threw them a curved ball and they looked for anything to discount the anomaly! Makes you think they put the experiment package on Viking to actually discount not confirm the idea! Blaming 'cleaning fluid' was, I think a way out of an embarrassment. Can you imagine the reaction in the media not to mention the overwhelmingly theist attitude in the USA back then, they would have been slaughtered, and probably hung out to dry as well as a probable panic stations in the society. Phoenix was a breath of fresh air and coupled with the Methane blooms tracked over a decade...it kindda points to some activity, I go for Microbiological, but even if it was geologic that is still a fantastic discovery. Anyway I rather gather a Carbon mass spec to categorize the isotopic ratio has been accomplished on the rover...they were hinting at it obliquely about a week ago, I think they got a result and are releasing the data tomorrow...we shall see! If C-12 predominates methinks we will not see Kansas again in our lifetime but at least the Exo-biologists come of age and get an ET to practise with...if indeed it is extraterrestrial that is Jens thanx.. That was more or less what I was clumsily trying to articulate in this debate I am involved in...you nailed it and I thank you for that!

Thanx Moonanman, Yes those were some of the few articles I found. There are tantalising mentions that 'Some Methanogens' indeed are involved in Ethane production, but yield and specifics beyond those statements are very vague. Mainly it is a managed production and a recounting of various pathways observed from other hydrocarbon reactions. And any mention of Ethane being a signature for life besides Methane measurements is suspiciously absent in any link. My adversary's quote was along the lines that 'Methane is one thing but where is the ethane signature...there has been none found and ALL Methamogens produce it' ...he then went on to declare that if life is found it would be nothing like the Methanogens we are familiar with, he basically accused me of making the concept up...weird! I think I will have to demand citation from my adversary because it is the first time I have ever come across such a claim. I was hoping to be a little better armed with some facts because as I mentioned Bio-chemistry is not my area at all. But this claim did ring rather odd all the same. Again thanx for your time...appreciated. As it happens I think that this will be a mute point on Friday anyway when NASA issue a update on Curiosity's research into the Martian atmosphere. Methane levels and a possible isotopic result on the carbon found should be in the detail...of course I am hoping for a C-12 predominance...cos then it really looks like we haz uz some bugs

I am involved in a discussion concerning Methane on Mars...I suppose it being a hot topic on Mars at the moment. The contention is my adversary insists that the lack of detected Ethane is indicative of a non-biological source in the detected Methane signature from orbital as well as Earth based observations. He claims that ALL Methanogens produce Ethane as a by-product of metabolism, that it is more reliable then just a methane C-12 signature, that Ethane is easily detectable with the tools at our disposal, and the absence of the Ethane signature is the smoking gun in a denial of no bacteriological life on Mars. I am no Bio-Chemist, just a lowly HNC on Inorganic Chemistry. Is the 'ALL Methanogens produce Ethane' contention correct. The internet admits that SOME strains of Methanogens do...but I cannot find any that specifically do not, and not the expected C2H6 yield when they do! Furthermore I think the lack of detected Ethane in planetary atmosphere where there is little to no extended obvious hydrocarbon activity detected is not quite the death knell to biological life my adversary claims. I am prepared to be in error, is there a definitive view on this in the bio-chemical world?...Is Ethane an essential signature in possible life? Any replies appreciated!