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Whether there is life on Mars or not, the public response to last week's findings from meteorite ALH84001 should serve to remind scientists why they do what they do.
Mars might once have supported life. The evidence, announced at a NASA press conference last week, is not conclusive, and perhaps not even compelling. But it will probably hasten research that should settle the matter.
Making a splash this week — halogen heater moisture analysers, a new sequential ICP atomic emission spectrometer and a chemical reaction search system.
