Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa NASA
Astrobiology Institute (UHNAI) have discovered high concentrations of boron in
a Martian meteorite. When present in its oxidized form (borate), boron may have
played a key role in the formation of RNA, one of the building blocks for life.
The work was published on June 6 in PLOS One.
The Antarctic Search for Meteorites team found the Martian
meteorite used in this study in Antarctica during its 2009-2010 field season.
The minerals it contains, as well as its chemical composition, clearly show
that it is of Martian origin.
Using the ion microprobe in the W. M. Keck Cosmochemistry
Laboratory at UH, the team was able to analyze veins of Martian clay in the
meteorite. After ruling out contamination from Earth, they determined boron
abundances in these clays are over ten times higher than in any previously
measured meteorite.