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Published on: May 11, 2017
Boron enrichment in martian clay
James D Stephenson1, Lydia J Hallis, Kazuhide Nagashima
1NASA Astrobiology Institute, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States of America. jds@ifa.hawaii.edu
Abstract:
We have detected a concentration of boron in martian clay far in excess of that in any previously reported extra-terrestrial object. This enrichment indicates that the chemistry necessary for the formation of ribose, a key component of RNA, could have existed on Mars since the formation of early clay deposits, contemporary to the emergence of life on Earth. Given the greater similarity of Earth and Mars early in their geological history, and the extensive disruption of Earth's earliest mineralogy by plate tectonics, we suggest that the conditions for prebiotic ribose synthesis may be better understood by further Mars exploration.
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