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NASA Turns to Mexican Lake for Clues to Alien Life

With cobalt waters harboring eerie, coral-like formations, this archipelago of lakes in Mexico's searing Chihuahuan desert has always had an other-worldly appearance.

Now top researchers at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration say the calcified clumps of primitive bacteria lurking in its pools could provide important clues in their search for extraterrestrial life.

Scientists from NASA's Astrobiology Institute have begun studying the lakes' ancient formations called stromatolites.

"They may be our best example of what to look for on other planets," said Brad Bebout.

NASA's hunch is that planets around nearby stars could be populated by similar colonies of primitive bacteria, which served as the basis from which complex, multicellular plants and animals that inhabit the Earth later evolved.

see also: reuters.com

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