Life on a Young Planet (52 page)

Authors: Andrew H. Knoll

Kotuikan River and Cliffs, Siberia,
6
–
11
,
13
,
14
,
16
,
31
,
55
,
108
–
109
,
116
,
120
,
171
,
177
–
178
,
179
,
189
,
219

Krogh, August,
217

Lake, James,
28

Lakhanda Formation,
150

landscape, adaptive,
115

last common ancestor (of extant life),
26
,
30

Lenski, Richard,
115

Leptothrix
,
92
,
plate 3

lichens,
131

life: extraterrestrial,
235
–
242
; intelligent,
241
,
242
; origin of,
72
–
88
; size limits to,
231
; as a suite of planetary processes,
5
,
225

limestone,
7
,
36
,
91
,
99
,
105
,
140
,
142
,
163
,
173
,
229

Linnaeus, Carolus,
17

lipid(s): preservation as biomarkers,
46
; vesicles of,
82
–
83

Lophotrochozoa,
186

Lovelock, James,
241

Lowe, Don,
57
,
59

Lyngbya
,
plate 2

Lyons, Tim,
158

macroevolution,
223

macrofossils, mid-Proterozoic,
154

magnetite, in ALH-84001,
229
,
233
–
235
; evidence against biological origin of,
234
–
235
; evidence for biological origin of,
234

magnetofossils,
233
–
234

Malin, Michael,
238

manganese,
20
,
92

Margulis, Lynn,
123
–
126
,
131
,
135
,
137

Mars,
225
,
236
; claims for life on,
226
–
234
; exploration of,
235
–
236
; meteorites from,
226
–
234
; origin of terrestrial life,
73
,
236
; possibility of life on,
236
–
238
,
240
,
242
; rover mission to,
236
; sulfur isotopes on,
102
; water on,
237
–
239

Mars Global Surveyor,
238

Martin, William,
135
–
137

mats: cyanobacterial,
37
,
41
,
44
,
60
,
99
; microbial,
36
,
44
,
60

Mawsonites
,
166
,
plate 7

McGinnis, William,
197

McKay, Christopher,
104

McKay, David,
226
–
231
,
233

McMennamin, Mark,
170

McSween, Hap,
228
,
241
,
243

Medusinites
,
166

membrane(s),
26
,
72
,
75
–
76
,
81
–
83
,
85
,
87
,
124
,
129
–
130
,
132
–
133
,
136

Merezhkovsky, Konstantin Sergeevich,
122
–
124
,
126
,
132

mesoderm,
184

metabolism,
19
–
23
,
32
,
64
,
75
–
76
,
82
–
83
,
87
,
92
,
132
,
135
,
151
,
228
; aerobic,
31
; anaerobic,
20
,
22
,
31

methane,
21
,
29
,
74
–
75
,
99
–
100
,
104
,
210
,
213
,
220
,
241

Methanococcus janaschii
,
24
,
25

methanogens.
See
Archaea: methanogenic

2–methylbacteriohopanepolyol,
94

2–methylhopane,
94

Miaohe, China,
144
–
145
,
plate 5

Miaohepyton
,
144

microevolution,
223

microfossils: in
3
.2-billion-year-old rocks,
66
,
69
; absence from AHL-84001,
235
; in Bil’yakh rocks,
108
–
111
,
114
,
117
–
120
,
plate 4
; in Gunflint rocks,
91
–
92
; putative early Archean,
50
,
60
–
63
; in Spitsbergen rocks,
33
,
35
–
40
,
44
,
plate 2
; vase-shaped,
43
,
150
–
151
,
156
,
160
,
plate 2