Just when the world is abuzz about the possibility that the Mars Phoenix Lander will find evidence of liquid water and life-enabling conditions in the prehistoric Martian past, a new report throws a bucket of salty water on that enthusiasm. Researchers studied geochemical findings from the Mars rover Opportunity, and now say that even if liquid water did exist on Mars in a warmer era in the planet’s history, it was probably too salty to support life -- or at least, life as we know it. Martian waters were 10 to 100 times saltier than the Earth's typical seawater, according to the report in Science [subscription required], a salinity level which would kill all organisms that humans know of.
Here on Earth, life seems to have permeated every nook and cranny, from temperate oceans to million-year-old permafrost. But not every environment is hospitable. Curiously enough, it is the food industry ...
