Martian Wood Tissue Mistaken for Rock Minerals

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Figure 2. Earthly wood tissue for comparison; description at 

Pipe Vesicles: An Inadequate Analogy

Pipe vesicles are gas escape channels formed during lava degassing. Their morphologies are:
– Randomly distributed, not regularly parallel.
– Variable in diameter, spanning millimeters to centimeters.
– Devoid of partitioning or consistent cellular architecture.

In contrast, the meteorite structures show:
– Uniform tubular diameters (~tens of microns, within the range of terrestrial xylem).
– Parallel alignment across fields of view.
– Cross-wall features suggesting biological compartmentalization.

Thus, pipe vesicles cannot plausibly account for the observed regularity and scale.

Mineral Fibers: A Morphological Mismatch

Fibrous minerals such as asbestos, amphiboles, or clay fibrils grow as:
– Needle-like crystals, often radiating or bundled.
– Lacking hollow lumens or cell-wall equivalents.
– Without cross-linking architecture.

By comparison, the EETA79001 structures display:
– Tubes with central lumens, comparable to sieve tubes or vessel elements.
- Consistent modularity, not random mats or cleavage planes.

No known mineral group naturally organizes into such a wood-like tissue.

Biomineral Templating: A Stronger Hypothesis

On Earth, biological scaffolds guide mineralization:
– Wood cells are preserved in silica to form petrified wood (Mustoe 2017).
- Biopolymers (e.g., polysaccharides, proteins) provide templates for oriented crystal growth, as demonstrated in both laboratory biomineralization studies and fossil preservation (Mann 2001; Perry et al. 2007).

Applying this model extraterrestrially:
– Alien biopolymers, structurally distinct from terrestrial cellulose, could serve the same role as scaffolds.
– Mineral-rich fluids (silica, carbonates, clays) would infiltrate and preserve the cellular architecture before decay.
– The result: fossilized tissues with wood-like microanatomy, preserved in meteorites or planetary crusts.

Comparative Table: Abiotic vs. Biotic Interpretations

Conclusion

Neither pipe vesicles nor mineral fibers reproduce the ordered structures seen in the meteorite. The best-supported explanation is that these features represent the product of extraterrestrial biomineralization, where organic templates directed mineral growth, leaving a preserved record of cell-like architecture. If correct, these findings extend the concept of petrified wood to non-terrestrial settings and suggest past biological activity beyond Earth.

References

Grotzinger, J. P., & Knoll, A. H. (1999). Stromatolites in Precambrian carbonates: Evolutionary mileposts or environmental dipsticks? Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 27, 313–358. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.earth.27.1.313

Mann, S. (2001). Biomineralization: Principles and Concepts in Bioinorganic Materials Chemistry. Oxford University Press.

Mustoe, G. E. (2017). Mineralogy and geochemistry of petrified wood: Geological and environmental applications. Minerals, 7(11), 225. DOI: 10.3390/min7110225

Perry, C. C., & Keeling-Tucker, T. (2007). Biosilicification: The role of organic matrix in structure control. Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, 8, 505–513. DOI: 10.1007/s00775-002-0350-z

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