Genetic diseases: How scientists are working to make DNA repair (almost) a piece of cake 
If life exists on Jupiter’s moon Europa, scientists might soon be able to detect it 
Dark energy is one of the biggest puzzles in science and we're now a step closer to understanding it 
The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook 
Why now is the time to address humanity’s impact on the moon 
The brightest object in the universe is a black hole that eats a star a day 
Eggs from men, sperm from women: how stem cell science may change how we reproduce 
Six space missions to look forward to in 2024 
Customizing mRNA is easy, and that's what makes it the next frontier for personalized medicine − a molecular biologist explains 
Tatahouine: 'Star Wars meteorite' sheds light on the early Solar System 
Spacesuits need a major upgrade for the next phase of exploration 
Synthetic human embryos let researchers study early development while sidestepping ethical and logistical hurdles 
How do airplanes fly? An aerospace engineer explains the physics of flight 
Archeoastronomy uses the rare times and places of previous total solar eclipses to help us measure history 
What is minoxidil, the anti-balding hair growth treatment? Here’s what the science says 
Scientists are usually very careful when answering questions on the long-running mystery of whether or not extraterrestrial life exists in space, especially on Mars. But a former scientist of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has recently written a piece detailing why he believes earlier works of the agency can prove there is life on Mars.
NASA’s Mars program in the ‘70s may have found evidence of extraterrestrial life
It has been decades since NASA started missions to Mars. Most of the time, Mars programs’ objective is to collect scientific samples from the Red Planet and determine through biological experiments whether there is any evidence of living creatures existing in other planets.
It was the same objective that NASA’s Viking program in the ‘70s had, and it involved several experiments, including the Labeled Release (LR) led by engineer and principal investigator Gilbert Levin. LR was one of the promising experiments of the Viking program because it reportedly detected metabolism when Mars soil samples were combined with a radioactive carbon compound. In a 2012 paper, Levin concluded that the LR experiment ultimately found evidence that microbial life exists on Mars.
Last Oct. 10, Levin wrote on the Scientific American that such results seemingly answered the “ultimate question” on life on Mars. However, a follow-up Viking Molecular Analysis Experiment was not as successful and failed to detect organic matter leading to NASA’s conclusion, per Levin’s article, “The LR had found a substance mimicking life, but not life.”
NASA’s future Mars mission won’t look for existing alien life
Levin further noted that there had not been substantial follow-up efforts of life detection experiments on Mars. And based on Mars 2020 Mission’s objectives posted on NASA’s website, it does not aim to follow up on the work done on the Viking program. The agency states that instead of looking for existing microbial metabolism like Levin and his colleagues did, next year’s mission will be searching for biosignatures or mere signs of ancient life.
“What is the evidence against the possibility of life on Mars? The astonishing fact is that there is none,” Levin added. The former NASA scientist also argued that lab tests confirmed microorganisms have the potential to survive the Martian environment. He then called on the agency to continue the efforts of life detection in its future missions on Mars.
