Snottites from Mars?

[Jonathan Lighter]

Some are already here:

  2006 _NASA Exploring the Universe_ http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/cave_slime.html (Feb. 25): some cave bacteria create crystals, actually producing new rock, much like dripping water deposits limestone stalactites. If the colony is growing on the underside of a ledge or on a roof, they build a slimy projection the team calls a snottite. The mineral portion of a snottite carries a bacterial signature in its crystal formation, so a snottite sample from Mars, say, could be distinguished from a small stalactite.

  Wiki elaborates:

  "Snottites or snotties are colonies of single-celled extremophilic bacteria that hang from the walls and ceilings of caves (similar to small stalactites, but with the consistency of "snot", or mucous). These organisms derive their energy through chemosynthesis of volcanic sulfur compounds and warm water solution dripping down from above. Because of this, they are highly acidic, some with the corrosive properties of battery acid.
  Snottites were recently brought to attention by a researcher, Penny Boston, studying them (and other organisms) in a toxic sulfur cave called Cueva de Villa Luz (Cave of the Lighted House), in Tabasco, Mexico.

  JL


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