Perseverance Finds Potential Chemical Signatures of Ancient Microbial Life on Mars

Introduction

The quest to discover past life on Mars has long captivated scientists and the public alike. With NASA’s Perseverance rover exploring the Jezero Crater, a site believed to have once hosted a lake, researchers are uncovering intriguing evidence that may point to ancient microbial life. A recent publication in Nature details the extensive geological, petrographic, and geochemical investigations conducted by the rover’s suite of instruments, revealing potential biosignatures in rocks of the Bright Angel formation. This article delves into these findings, their significance, and the broader implications for understanding Mars’ ancient habitability.

This artist’s impression shows how Mars may have looked about 4 billion years ago.

Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

The Geological Context of Jezero Crater

• Jezero Crater as a Window into Mars’ Past

Jezero Crater, approximately 45 kilometers in diameter, was once a lake-rich environment that preserved a diverse array of sedimentary deposits. Its geological makeup offers a unique record of Mars' early climate and potential habitability. The crater’s deposits include mudstones and conglomerates indicative of flowing water and standing lakes, making it an ideal site to search for biosignatures. These sediments have the potential to contain organic molecules and microfossils, providing crucial clues about past life possibilities on Mars. The stratigraphy within Jezero reveals multiple episodes of water activity, including lake formation and sedimentation, which are essential for understanding the planet's climatic evolution. Moreover, the mineralogical composition of these deposits, such as clay minerals and carbonates, further supports the evidence of a once warmer and wetter environment. Studying these geological features helps scientists reconstruct Mars’ climatic history and assess its habitability during the Noachian period, approximately 3.8 to 4.1 billion years ago

Image showing the area of Jezero Crater explored by the Perseverance rover.

Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin

• Bright Angel Formation: A Sedimentary Archive

Within Jezero, the Bright Angel formation comprises sedimentary rocks deposited by aqueous processes. These include fine-grained mudstones, layered beds, and conglomerates. Such rocks form in environments where water interacts with sediments over extended periods, often creating conditions conducive to the preservation of organic molecules and mineralogical signs of biological activity. The layered nature of the Bright Angel formation suggests repeated cycles of sedimentation, possibly related to lake level changes or seasonal variations. The presence of clay minerals within these sediments indicates neutral to slightly alkaline conditions, favorable for preserving organic compounds. Additionally, the conglomerates contain rounded pebbles and cobbles that reveal information about water flow velocities and sediment transport mechanisms. The detailed analysis of these rocks by Perseverance provides insights into the environmental conditions that prevailed during sediment deposition, including water chemistry, temperature, and duration of aqueous episodes. These findings are vital in understanding the habitability potential of Jezero’s past environments and guiding future exploration efforts.

• Exploration of Neretva Vallis

Perseverance’s entry into Neretva Vallis, on the western edge of Jezero, allowed the rover to investigate distinctive outcrops of the Bright Angel formation. The rover’s detailed analyses of these rocks have yielded key insights into their composition and formation history. By examining the mineralogy and texture of the outcrops, scientists have identified signatures of aqueous alteration, such as clay minerals and sulfates, which indicate past interactions with water. The morphology of the outcrops reveals layered structures that suggest episodic sedimentation, possibly during different lake stages or flood events. These observations help reconstruct the paleoenvironmental conditions, including water chemistry, pH, and redox states. Furthermore, the geochemical data obtained from Neretva Vallis outcrops have provided evidence for mineral stabilization processes that may have contributed to the preservation of potential biosignatures. The exploration of this area continues to refine our understanding of Mars’ aqueous history and enhances the search for signs of ancient life in Jezero Crater.

This artist’s concept depicts NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance on the surface of the Red Planet.

Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Instrumentation and Methodology

• Perseverance’s Suite of Scientific Instruments

The rover is equipped with a comprehensive array of scientific tools designed for detailed analysis of the Martian surface. In addition to SHERLOC and PIXL, it features the SuperCam, which combines laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), Raman spectroscopy, and visible/near-infrared (VNIR) spectroscopy, enabling remote mineral identification and organic detection from a distance. The Mastcam-Z camera system provides high-resolution panoramic and stereoscopic imaging for geological context and terrain mapping. The Sample Caching System allows for the collection, sealing, and storage of promising samples for future retrieval and return missions. The MEDA (Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer) monitors atmospheric conditions, temperature, humidity, and dust levels, providing essential environmental data to support the interpretation of geological findings.

• Analytical Techniques
  • Spectroscopy: SHERLOC and PIXL provide mineralogical and molecular signatures, including Raman spectra indicative of organic carbon.The suite employs multiple spectroscopic methods, including Raman, LIBS, and X-ray fluorescence, to determine mineral compositions and detect organic compounds. These techniques identify chemical signatures indicative of past habitability and potential biosignatures.
  • Imaging: The high-resolution cameras capture detailed images of rock textures, layering, and mineral veins, revealing geological history and processes. Imaging also helps select optimal sample sites for drilling and analysis.
  • Sample Collection: Perseverance drilled into rocks to collect core samples, such as from Sapphire Canyon, which are stored securely in sealed tubes. These samples are preserved for detailed laboratory analysis upon return to Earth, enabling future detailed studies of Martian geology and potential biosignatures. A core sample named Sapphire Canyon was obtained from the Bright Angel formation and stored in a sealed tube for potential future return to Earth.

Composite image showing some of the sample tubes deposited by the Perseverance rover at 'Three Forks,” a location within Mars’s Jezero Crater.

Credit: NASA JPL-Caltech

Some of the features of Chevaya Falls.

(NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

Key Geological and Geochemical Findings

• Detection of Organic Molecules and Redox-Active Minerals

The analytical instruments identified diverse organic molecules—carbon-based compounds—embedded within the rock matrices. These organics include complex hydrocarbons and functionalized carbon compounds that suggest the past presence of biological activity or prebiotic chemistry. Alongside these, minerals such as vivianite (ferrous iron phosphate) and greigite (iron sulfide) were detected. These minerals are indicative of low-temperature, aqueous environments, often forming in conditions that support microbial life. Their presence implies that water-rock interactions played a crucial role in the mineralization process and potentially served as habitats for microbial ecosystems. The redox-active nature of these minerals suggests a dynamic environment where oxidation-reduction reactions could facilitate energy transfer, possibly supporting microbial metabolisms similar to those on early Earth. These findings point toward a past environment conducive to life, characterized by the availability of liquid water, chemical energy sources, and organic building blocks. The coexistence of organics and redox minerals strengthens the hypothesis that these rocks experienced biogeochemical processes, offering valuable insights into the planet’s potential habitability during its geological history.

• Structural Features: ‘Poppy Seeds’ and ‘Leopard Spots’

Microscopic imaging revealed distinctive textures within the rocks, notably tiny nodules called 'poppy seeds' and reaction fronts known as 'leopard spots.' The 'poppy seeds' are small, spherical inclusions enriched in ferrous iron phosphate, which suggest localized mineralization possibly driven by biological or chemical processes. The 'leopard spots' display mottled patterns of mineral alteration, often associated with zones of redox change. These features are significant because they are typically formed through redox reactions involving electron transfer, processes often mediated by microbial activity. Their spatial distribution and mineralogy imply that microbial communities might have influenced mineral deposition and alteration, leaving biosignatures embedded within the rock fabric. Such features serve as microscopic indicators of past biological processes and environments. Their study provides clues about the extent and nature of microbial life in ancient aqueous systems, contributing to our understanding of extraterrestrial habitability.

• Organic Signatures and the G-Band

The SHERLOC instrument detected a prominent Raman spectral feature known as the G-band within multiple Bright Angel rocks. The G-band, centered around 1580 cm^-1, is a diagnostic marker of graphitic or amorphous organic carbon. Its presence indicates that organic molecules are not only present but have undergone some degree of carbonization or graphitization, processes associated with biological activity or diagenetic alteration. The strongest G-band signals were observed at Apollo Temple, correlating with a mineral assemblage rich in carbonaceous material and redox-sensitive minerals. The detection of the G-band provides compelling evidence for the past existence of organic matter, which could have originated from biological sources or abiotic synthesis pathways. The spatial distribution of the G-band, alongside mineralogy, helps reconstruct potential environments where organics were preserved—such as low-temperature, water-rich settings that favor organic stability. These findings bolster the case for ancient habitable environments and highlight the importance of organic preservation in the geological record, both on Mars and in astrobiological research.

Interpreting the Geological and Chemical Evidence

• Redox Reactions and Microbial Metabolisms

The spatial association of organic molecules with redox-sensitive minerals suggests that chemical processes similar to microbial metabolisms on Earth could have occurred on Mars. On Earth, microbes metabolize organic matter by "breathing" iron and sulfate, leading to mineral formation. The presence of these features on Mars raises the tantalizing possibility that similar processes took place.

• Abiotic versus Biotic Origins

The findings prompt two main hypotheses:

1. Abiotic (Geochemical) Processes: The mineral structures and organic signatures could result from purely chemical reactions driven by environmental conditions, such as water chemistry, temperature, and mineral interactions, without biological intervention.

2. Biological Influence: Alternatively, microbial activity could have influenced mineral formation, with microbes metabolizing organic molecules and mediating redox reactions, leaving behind biosignatures.

• Constraints on Temperature and Formation Conditions

One critical aspect is the temperature history of these rocks. Many mineral features associated with microbial processes on Earth only form at relatively low temperatures. The analysis suggests that the rocks were never subjected to high-temperature heating, which would have obliterated delicate biosignatures. This supports the hypothesis that if life existed, it could have thrived in the aqueous environments represented by these rocks.

Perseverance’s path through Neretva Vallis and views of the Bright Angel formation.

Image credit: Hurowitz et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09413-0.

Implications for Past Life on Mars

• Potential Biosignatures and Their Significance

While the evidence remains inconclusive as definitive proof of past life, the observed features align with NASA’s criteria for potential biosignatures—molecular or mineralogical indicators that suggest biological activity in the planet's history. The co-occurrence of organic molecules with minerals formed in water-rich, redox-active environments is particularly noteworthy, as it points to conditions that could have supported microbial life. These signatures, especially when found in specific mineral matrices, increase the likelihood that biological processes may have contributed to their formation. Understanding these biosignatures enhances our knowledge of Mars’ ancient habitability and guides future exploratory missions. Further laboratory analysis will be crucial to determine whether these features originated biologically or through abiotic processes, helping to refine our criteria for detecting life beyond Earth.

• Comparison with Terrestrial Analogues

 On Earth, similar mineral-organic associations are prevalent in ancient sedimentary deposits where microbial communities thrived under comparable environmental conditions. For example, iron-rich banded iron formations and sulfur-rich sediments often host microfossils and biogenic mineral structures. These terrestrial analogues demonstrate how microbial metabolisms can influence mineral precipitation and organic preservation over geological timescales. The parallels suggest that if life ever existed on Mars, it might have employed similar metabolic pathways, particularly involving iron and sulfur cycling, which are abundant in the planet's ancient crust. Studying Earth's early ecosystems provides valuable insights into the potential biological processes that could have operated on Mars, informing the search for life and interpreting potential biosignatures.

• Sample Return and Future Research

 The core sample from Sapphire Canyon is carefully stored for eventual return to Earth, marking a significant milestone in planetary exploration. Once retrieved, comprehensive analyses in terrestrial laboratories will enable high-precision isotopic studies to determine biogenic versus abiotic origins of the detected features. Advanced techniques such as microfossil identification, mineralogical characterization, and molecular analysis will be employed, surpassing the capabilities of rover-based instruments. These investigations aim to confirm whether the observed features are indeed the result of past biological activity or are products of non-biological processes. Such definitive evidence would profoundly impact our understanding of Mars’ history and its potential to have harbored life. Moreover, the findings will guide future missions, refining biosignature detection strategies and expanding our search for extraterrestrial life elsewhere in the universe. 

Broader Scientific and Astrobiological Context

• Understanding Mars’ Habitability

The findings reinforce the idea that early Mars had environments suitable for life: persistent liquid water, chemically rich sediments, and energy sources. The presence of organic molecules and microbial-like mineral signatures suggests that habitable conditions may have persisted long enough for microbial communities to develop. These conditions provide a compelling case for Mars being a potentially life-supporting environment in its past. The detection of water-related minerals, such as clays and sulfates, indicates that Mars experienced prolonged aqueous activity, which is essential for the emergence and sustenance of life. Moreover, the chemical richness of sediments points to the availability of nutrients necessary for microbial metabolism. The energy sources, possibly derived from volcanic activity or chemical gradients, could have powered biological processes. Understanding these factors helps scientists reconstruct the planet’s ancient climate and assess its capacity to harbor life, guiding future exploration efforts to identify specific sites with the highest potential for biosignatures. Such insights are crucial in establishing Mars’ role in the broader narrative of life's origins in the universe and assessing the planet’s potential as a future habitat for human exploration. 

NASA's Perseverance rover captured this selfie on 23 July 2024, near a rock known as Cheyava Falls, which shows evidence that it may have once been home to microbial life.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

• Astrobiological Significance

Discovering potential biosignatures on Mars has profound implications for understanding the universality of life. If microbial processes can form mineral-Organic associations in Martian environments, it broadens the scope of where life could exist or have existed elsewhere in the universe. These findings suggest that life may not be confined to Earth-like conditions but could potentially thrive in a variety of extraterrestrial settings. The detection of organic molecules, combined with mineral signatures indicative of biological activity, supports the hypothesis that life’s building blocks are widespread and that similar processes might occur on other planetary bodies, such as Europa or Enceladus. This expands the astrobiological search beyond traditional habitable zones, encouraging scientists to explore diverse environments that may harbor life. Additionally, understanding how biosignatures form and are preserved on Mars provides critical insights into the longevity and detectability of extraterrestrial life signals. These discoveries fuel the scientific quest to answer whether life exists beyond Earth, shaping future missions aimed at detecting definitive signs of past or present life on other planets and moons.

• Challenges and Limitations

Despite the excitement, scientists emphasize caution. The features observed could result from non-biological processes, such as mineralization, chemical reactions, or abiotic mineral formation. Differentiating between biological and abiotic origins of potential biosignatures remains a significant challenge, requiring rigorous analysis and multiple lines of evidence. Definitive proof of past life necessitates unambiguous biosignatures, such as microfossils—tiny, cell-like structures—or isotopic ratios characteristic of biological activity, which are difficult to confirm remotely. Contamination, preservation biases, and the complexity of planetary geology complicate interpretations. Future sample analyses, potentially conducted on return missions, are expected to provide more conclusive evidence. They aim to identify complex organic molecules, specific microscopic structures, and isotopic signatures that can only be attributed to biological processes. Until then, findings remain promising but provisional, emphasizing the importance of cautious scientific interpretation. These limitations highlight the need for advanced instrumentation, meticulous data collection, and comprehensive analysis to confidently establish whether life once existed—or still exists—on Mars.

Concluding Remarks

The Perseverance rover’s exploration of the Bright Angel formation has provided compelling evidence that ancient Martian environments could have supported microbial life. The detection of complex organic molecules is particularly significant, as these are fundamental building blocks of life. Additionally, the identification of minerals such as clay and sulfates—known to form in the presence of water—indicates that Mars once had a habitable environment with the necessary conditions for microbial life to thrive. Structural features observed within the rock formations resemble biosignatures, further strengthening the case for past life, although they are not definitive proof on their own.

These findings are crucial because they suggest that Mars's ancient environment was more hospitable than previously thought, potentially allowing microbial organisms to exist or have existed. The significance of these discoveries extends beyond Mars; they contribute to the broader search for life beyond Earth and inform future exploration strategies. The upcoming analysis of samples returned to Earth will be critical in verifying these initial findings.

Advanced laboratory techniques can detect subtle biosignatures that in-situ instruments cannot, offering the possibility of conclusive evidence of past life. Ultimately, these discoveries challenge our understanding of life's distribution in the universe, opening new avenues for scientific inquiry and existential reflection. Continued research is essential to fully unravel Mars’s ancient habitability and to answer one of humanity’s most profound questions: Are we alone?

{ PETER2011 }

Leaked Video Shows US Military Shooting UFO With Hellfire Missile

"What the hell is that?"

{ https://futurism.com/ }

UAP witnesses criticize Pentagon UFO office in Congressional hearing for 'using science and coming up with answers'

Secrecy, stigma, dismissal

For too long, UAPs have been "shrouded in secrecy, stigma, and in some cases outright dismissal," Luna said in her opening statement.

"Today, I want to state clearly: this is not science fiction or creating speculation. This is about national security, government accountability, and the American people's right to the truth," said Luna. "Future generations will look back on this moment and ask what we did when presented with the unknown. Did we look away, embarrassed or afraid? Or did we pursue the truth with courage? I intend to be on the side of truth, transparency, and accountability," the lawmaker stated.

A transcript of the hearing and witnesses' prepared testimonies can be read on the U.S. House of Representatives' website.

Space.com asked several experts from leading research groups on UAPs/UFOs concerning the hearing and their take-away thoughts.

Wanted: nitty-gritty details

"The military witness reports were very good," said Robert Powell, executive board member of the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies in Austin, Texas.

While it may not be apparent to the public or congress, Powell said that anyone who has studied the history of the subject knows that there have been hundreds of such reports by military witnesses that are equally as good.

So how do we move forward?

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"Unless Congress is willing to push for the nitty-gritty details" by obtaining full videos, interviewing pilots involved in UAP incidents, and other reported events, "we will not progress," said Powell.

Powell said, in his view, the military will never release the necessary information to establish the presence of a non-human intelligence.

"That's because of their concerns for national security and whether one of our adversaries might learn something from UAP that they could use militarily against us," Powell said. "The resulting tendency to silo all information on UAP prevents moving forward with learning more. Only if Congress allocates funding to the scientific community and academia to study UAP will we make any progress," he concluded.

Science above all

"I find it frustrating that they, rightly, reiterate the importance of the role science can take in figuring out what is behind UAP, but do not apply it in these hearings."

That's the outlook from Alejandro Rojas, a long-time UFO journalist and a consultant to Enigma, a UAP/UFO sightings alert network.

"We have years of anecdotal sighting reports and claims of hidden government knowledge about alien visitation. What we need is evidence," Rojas said.

Rojas added that he found it also trying that the one organization that has been using science, the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), was pummeled in the hearing, without being represented.

"Having worked in the UFO field for so long, I am sympathetic to their [AARO's] effort. They have shown each step of their work analyzing previous videos, and although it is unpopular to demystify some of these reports, their scientific analyses have been sound," he said.

Preconceived notions

At the recent hearing, "the gripes of committee members came across as being frustrated with the organization that is using science and coming up with answers," sensed Rojas. "However, because they dislike the answers, they blame AARO, when in fact they genuinely do not want scientific analysis to dismantle their preconceived notions."

In the end, Rojas found the hearing disheartening.

"Instead of focusing on real issues and truly championing scientific investigation, the hearing comes across as a very political back-and-forth between the Oversight Committee and the Pentagon," said Rojas. "What gets lost is what we actually need, and that is data gathering and scientific evaluation of that data."

As a consultant with Enigma, Rojas said the group is collecting hundreds of reports, many with videos.

"What we need is a robust, transparent effort to analyze what we are collecting, and to build better sensor systems to gather more and better data on UAP," said Rojas. "If extraterrestrials are visiting us, it is not just the military that would be seeing them."

Credible and intriguing

Avi Loeb, head of the Galileo Project at Harvard, and director of the Institute for Theory & Computation, said he found the first-hand testimonies at the hearing "to be credible and intriguing."

Loeb's Galileo Project is an endeavor to bring the search for extraterrestrial technological signatures of other star folk from "accidental or anecdotal observations and legends" to the mainstream of crystal-clear, confirmed and systematic scientific research.

"I salute congresswoman Luna for chairing this important discussion within the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets in the U.S. Congress," Loeb said.

But does such a congressional hearing restore public interest in UAP?

"This discussion is not a matter of public relations in a popularity contest, but instead a topic of great relevance for national security and science," responded Loeb. "Once we all see credible evidence about the nature of UAP, we will be able to get to the bottom of it and everyone would agree on what it means."

Best path to new knowledge

Data collection is the goal of the Galileo Project under Loeb's leadership.

Does the astrophysicist believe that the U.S. government is hiding information? He replied that "as a scientist I respond to evidence and not to what people tell me. Scientific evidence is our best path to new knowledge."

The simplest way to tell the difference between a dogmatist and a genuine scientist, Loeb said, is to flood both of them with scientific-quality data.

"Whereas the dogmatist will shove anomalous data under the carpet of traditional thinking, an open-minded scientist will be thrilled to learn something new with an underlying sense of humility," advised Loeb. "Not only is nature more imaginative than we are, but it also does not care whether we figure it out. The insistence that everything in the sky is either icy rocks or human-made technologies will not rid us of cosmic neighbors, if they exist out there," he concluded.

Tone and testimony

"Overall, I was pleased with the tone and testimony in the hearing from the witnesses, and the often excellent questions from the Representatives," said Mark Rodeghier, president and scientific director of the Center for UFO Studies in Chicago, Illinois.

"The hearing hopefully provided more impetus to pass the crucial legislation necessary to answer questions we have about possible US government/contractor involvement with UAP that has been hidden all these years," said Rodeghier.

Rodeghier said the witnesses added additional experiences on the record of both UAP sightings and how the aftermath of those has been handled by the military, including treatment of those wishing to speak publicly.

Crucial legislation

Beyond moving Congress to pass the bills, Rodeghier advised getting witnesses into a SCIF, short for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. Located several levels beneath the U.S. Capitol, a SCIF is where lawmakers and witnesses hold closed interviews, far from the prying eyes of the public.

"I'm not sure what can be done with it [those interviews], but having it available is important," said Rodeghier.

Another Rodeghier recommendation is to have the head of AARO in a hearing this fall now that he has been on the job for a year. Lastly, there's need to work on getting the appropriate government agencies to provide modest funding for UAP research, which continues to be unavailable, he said.

Deep difficulties

Michael Cifone is the founding executive director of the Society for UAP Studies, based in Los Angeles, California. The group's mission is not to promote a single narrative but to advance careful scholarship, develop educational frameworks, and advocate for standards of evidence and data transparency.

The recent Congressional hearing on UAPs underscored, once again, "both the importance of the issue and the deep difficulties that have hampered its treatment for decades," said Cifone.

That handling of the topic within the government — whose aim since at least after World War II has been increasingly obsessed with national security and maintaining US military and strategic dominance, feels Cifone, "are guiding principles that are ultimately at odds with the inner operating directives of the sciences themselves: free, open, and therefore democratic exploration of self and world."

Mixed pool

"The UAP problem is not a mystery with one answer, but rather a somewhat unstable and chaotic amalgam of many overlapping realities, complicated by the unfortunate facts of the modern bureaucratic national security state," is a view that Cifone basically endorses.

"UAP reports are not a monolith," Cifone advised.

Instead, they are a mixed pool consisting of: (1) misidentified U.S. black projects, where cutting-edge aerospace programs are understandably shrouded in secrecy; (2) adversarial drones and surveillance platforms, which represent a genuine national security challenge; (3) a large number of ordinary misperceptions of balloons, satellites, or atmospheric phenomena; and (4) a small but stubborn residue of anomalous cases that resist explanation.

"This mixture makes the phenomenon difficult to study, not because of some grand cover-up, but because of the dysfunctional way information is handled inside the government," Cifone said.

Are we up to the task?

The UAP hearing, for all its frustrations, said Cifone, "at least signaled that Congress is beginning to take seriously the structural problems that have long clouded this issue."

From a safety standpoint, the "mixture hypothesis" is particularly important, said Cifone. If even a fraction of UAP reports involve advanced adversarial drones or unsafe incursions into U.S. airspace, then society is faced with an aviation and national security challenge that demands systematic response, he said.

"Let's see what data and frameworks we can establish that can handle UAP and associated phenomena/claims, and what philosophical/conceptual challenges remain, and if we're up to the task," Cifone said.

And for the other claims — crashes, bodies, and so on, Cifone concludes, "sure, but where's the beef?"

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Breakthrough as scientists create a new form life

• READ MORE: Breakthrough new treatment could REVERSE Down syndrome

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

Scientists have engineered a strain of bacteria with a genetic code unlike anything found in nature, marking a groundbreaking advance in synthetic biology.

The microbe, called Syn57, is a lab-made version of Escherichia coli, a bacterium that normally causes infections in the gut, urinary tract and other parts of the body.

Unlike all known life, which relies on 64 codons, or three-letter DNA sequences that tell cells how to build proteins, Syn57 uses just 57 codons. 

Think of DNA as a cookbook where each codon is a three-letter word telling the cell which amino acids, or ingredients, to use. 

Life normally has some duplicate instructions, but Syn57 strips out the extras while still functioning perfectly. 

These freed-up codons open the door to entirely new possibilities, allowing scientists to create proteins and synthetic compounds that nature has never produced.

Syn57's unusual genetic code also makes it resistant to viruses, which rely on the standard DNA language to hijack cells. And because its code is so different, it is less likely to mix with natural organisms, easing safety concerns. 

This breakthrough could also pave the way for new medicines, advanced materials and synthetic lifeforms beyond anything seen in nature.

The microbe, named Syn57, is a lab-engineered version of Escherichia coli, a bacterium that can naturally cause infections in the gut, urinary tract and other areas of the body

To tackle this huge project, scientists divided the genome into 38 pieces, each about 100,000 DNA letters long. 

They built each piece in yeast and then inserted it into E coli using a method called uREXER, which combines CRISPR-Cas9 and other tools to swap in synthetic DNA in one step. 

Some genome regions slowed growth or resisted changes, but the team solved these issues by adjusting gene sequences, untangling overlapping genes, and carefully choosing which codons to swap. 

Step by step, the fragments were stitched together into the final, fully synthetic bacterium.

The result, Syn57, is the most heavily redesigned organism ever made, demonstrating that life can survive with a much smaller, simpler genetic code. 

Wesley Robertson, a synthetic biologist at the Medical Research Council Laboratory in the UK, told the New York Times: 'We definitely went through these periods where we were like, 'Well, will this be a dead end, or can we see this through?'

Syn57 is alive, but barely. While normal E. coli can double in an hour, Syn57 takes four, making it 'extremely feeble,' Yonatan Chemla, a synthetic biologist at MIT who was not involved in the study. 

The bacteria grew on a jelly-like surface and in a nutritious liquid, but at four times slower than their natural counterparts. 

Dr Robertson and his team are now experimenting to see if they can make it grow faster. 

If successful, scientists could eventually program it to do tasks that ordinary bacteria cannot.

In addition to the 20 standard amino acids that all life uses to make proteins, chemists can create hundreds of others. 

Syn57's seven missing codons could potentially be reassigned to these unnatural amino acids, allowing the bacterium to produce new drugs or other useful molecules.

Syn57 could also make engineered microbes safer for the environment. 

Microbes swap genes easily, which can be risky if engineered DNA spreads. 

But a gene from Syn57 would be gibberish to natural bacteria because of its unique genetic code, preventing it from being used outside the lab.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html}

Camera trap in Chile detects strange lights blazing through the wilderness. Researchers are scrambling to explain them.

Kusch is one of the leaders of the Public Baseline project, which uses 65 camera traps distributed between continental Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, on the southern tip of Chile, to record terrestrial animals, particularly felines. Since the project began in November 2023, at least 365,000 images and videos have been collected; however, only these three photographs show this phenomenon.

UMAG shared the images with a variety of organizations, from Chile's General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (SEFAA)to the La Serena UFO Museum, and to several people who analyze anomalous aerial phenomena.

Potential explanations ranged from an arachnid coming very close to the camera lens to that of a "plasmoid," a short-lived form of plasma rarely observed in nature that may be behind phenomena such as ball lightning. However, all specialists agreed: for now, there is no conclusive explanation.

This sighting is unique because it was recorded within the framework of a scientific project, said Rodrigo Bravo, a researcher with the Environmental Studies Group (GEA) at UMAG and a member of the Public Baseline project. That means there is no possibility of fraud or manipulation, as the camera traps operate under rigorous protocols and are equipped with an infrared system, motion sensor, and other features that would preclude people tampering with them, he argued.

"This is not the first time these phenomena have been described in the area, but it is the first time they have been recorded in this way," Bravo told Live Science.

Related: 

• No aliens in NASA's debut UFO report — but big questions remain

(Image credit: Courtesy of Rodrigo Bravo Garrido) A series of images captured by UMAG’s camera trap. The entire sequence took 2 seconds to record.

(Image credit: Courtesy of Rodrigo Bravo Garrido) The sequence of the recording captured by UMAG’s camera trap.

(Image credit: Courtesy of Rodrigo Bravo Garrido) The sequence of the recording captured by UMAG’s camera trap.

Bad lights

The local Mapuche people traditionally speak of "bad lights," which they believe are spirits that appear in the fields. This raises the possibility that the camera traps are finally capturing a phenomenon that has long been recognized in the region.

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But even if these strange flashes are the "bad lights" the Mapuche speak of, what are they?

One possibility is that the lights are unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), possibly from a mysterious flying object. Some declassified Pentagon files on UAP show similar characteristics, Bravo added. Generally poor-quality data means that most UAP sightings cannot be confirmed or explained, but common explanations include foreign spy drones and "airborne clutter" such as birds and weather balloons.

To address that possibility, UMAG sent photos and video to Freddy Alexis, who discusses UFOs and other unknown phenomena on his TV programs on UCVTV, the station of the Catholic University of Valparaíso.

Alexis wrote two reports on his findings, which included trajectory, spectrographic, and relief analyses of the photographs and videos. In the second report, he wrote that only a single "luminous stimulus" is visible, not two, and that the other "lights" are internal lens reflections.

According to Alexis, the primary light may be a plasmoid, or a bubble of incandescent ionized gas that is confined by Earth's local magnetic field, and that can remain stable for a few seconds. The most familiar atmospheric example is ball lightning, usually associated with storms. But that is where his explanation hits a wall. "It was summer, with 48  degrees Fahrenheit [8 degrees Celsius], and there were no electrical storms," Alexis told Live Science. "There were no atmospheric conditions for a storm, so it is very unlikely that ball lightning could have formed."

But more exotic plasmoids have been proposed under special conditions, such as transient, localized changes in Earth's magnetic field.

Still, Alexis noted that there may be other, poorly understood atmospheric plasmoids, similar to the "mysterious lights" of Hessdalen, Norway. Like the Magallanes phenomenon, these lights defy conventional explanations and could involve plasma structures that are still poorly understood.

In one of his reports, Alexis also calculated that, assuming this was a distant, flying object, it would have been moving at a speed of 590 mph (947 km/h), or roughly 0.7 times the speed of sound. Alexis suggested that the lights might not be a flying object, but some plasmoids can move at high speeds, he added.

A strange creature

In a separate report, technicians from La Serena UFO Museum suggested that a spider or moth may have inadvertently tripped the camera's sensor. That's because in the first photo, what appears to be an insect or arachnid can be seen along one edge of the image. However, the insect does not appear in the subsequent photos.

While one possibility is that the insect triggered the camera, this would only explain why the photo was taken, not why a bright, blob-like light appears, said

Cristian Riffo, director of the La Serena UFO Museum, who was also consulted for the UMAG report.

Riffo noted that the camera traps are designed to minimize false positives caused by insects, lasers or other stimuli. He thinks the rapid sequence of photos, in which the light appears to move toward the camera, is baffling and hard to explain.

"It could be two different phenomena: one natural, which triggered the camera, and the other, a light phenomenon, which remains unexplained," Riffo told Live Science.