Martian visitor?
They could be the first visitors from Mars. Astronomers have reported the discovery of a tough but peaceful pair of bacteria that might have been able to survive the ardous trip from Mars. "They don't cause any disease, they are very peaceful,' says scientist Curt Mileikowsky of the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. The bacteria are resistant to high speeds, extreme heat and radiation, properties which would be necessary to survive a voyage by meteriods from Mars to Earth, says Mileikowsky. The findings suggest that tiny living creatures, such as these two bacteria, may have travelled between planets when the planetary system was young ( Reuter , January 14, 2000).