THE Belgian Nobel Prize winning biologist, Dr Christian de Duze, an expert on life in the Universe, said yesterday he had serious reservations about claims by US scientists they had discovered evidence of life on Mars.
A team of scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Stanford University, who had been studying a meteorite said to have landed on earth from Mars 13,000 years ago, said on Wednesday they had found chemicals and minute fossils suggesting evidence of life on the red planet.
"The evidence as presented by the scientists at a news conference is far from conclusive," Dr de Duve said.
Before passing final judgment, he said he would have to see the full paper on the discovery due to be published by the scientists in a fortnight.
"The chemical evidence mentioned... has been found before on other meteorites and never been used to claim that it is evidence of said Dr de Duve, who is author of Vital Dust, a book on origins of life in the Universe.
"Just because organic substances were found on a meteorite that is supposed to have come from Mars does not mean they were formed on Mars by living organisms," he said.
Dr de Duve noted the evidence of micro fossils the remains of bacteria on the meteorite, used by the scientists as the clinching argument, did not seem to convince a micro fossils expert, Dr William Schopf.
Dr Schopf was present at the news conference in the US, but was not part of the team making the discovery.
Dr de Duve said Dr Schopf, from the University of California in Los Angeles, had told the conference the micro fossils found were much smaller than bacteria and much smaller than micro fossils found on earth.
"It is interesting. It is important. It is intriguing. But it is far from conclusive," Dr de Duve said. "The scientists were very cautious in saying that there could be other interpretations."
He noted the announcement of the find at a major news conference was preceded by a statement from President Clinton praising US scientific skill and pledging to press ahead with the search for life in the Universe.
"But they did participate in the show which was obviously stage managed by NASA in a perfectly worthwhile effort to enlist support," he pointed out.
"Would this have happened if this was not an election year?" Dr de Duve asked rhetorically.