Structures found on meteorite fragment ALH84001

Nanobacteria are said to be cell walled microorganisms with a diameter well below the generally accepted lower limit (about 200 nanometres) for bacteria. Structures on ALH84001 meteorite Photo credit: NASA File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Structures on ALH84001 meteorite Photo credit: NASA File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Jump to: navigation, search A cell wall is a more or less solid layer surrounding a cell. ... A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is so small that it is microscopic (invisible to the naked eye). ... A nanometre (American spelling: nanometer, symbol: nm) is 1. ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria (singular, bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. ...

Reports of them being living organisms are controversial. If they are living, there is speculation that they may be a newly discovered form of life, rather than bacteria.

Although nanobes are sometimes called nanobacteria, it has not yet been confirmed that they could in fact be considered such. A nanobe Nanobes are tiny filamental structures first found in some rocks and sediments. ...

1996 Martian meteorite claims

Structures in the Martian meteorite ALH84001 have been interpreted by some as fossilized nanobacteria, but the origin of the structures is disputed. A Martian meteorite is a meteorite that has landed on Earth but is believed to have originated from Mars. ... meteorite fragment ALH84001 ALH84001 (representing Allen Hills 1984 #001) is a meteorite found in Allen Hills, Antarctica in December 1984 by a team of US meteorite hunters from the ANSMET project, among 7,000 others. ... Jump to: navigation, search A fossil Ammonite Fossils are the mineralized remains of animals or plants or other traces such as footprints. ...

1998-2000 claims

Nanobacterium sanguineum was proposed in 1998 as an explanation of certain kinds of pathologic calcification (apatite in kidney stones) by Finnish researcher Olavi Kajander and Turkish researcher Neva Ciftcioglu, working at the University of Kuopio in Finland. According to the researchers the particles self-replicated in microbiological culture, and the researchers further reported having identified a DNA sequence. Jump to: navigation, search 1998(MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Dystrophic calcification is the mineralization of soft tissue without a systemic mineral imbalance. ... Apatite is a group of minerals, usually referring to: hydroxylapatite, fluorapatite, and chlorapatite, named for high concentrations of OH-, F-, or Cl- ions, respectively, in the crystal lattice. ... Jump to: navigation, search Ultrasonic instrument and kidney stone Kidney stones, also known as nephrolithiasis, urolithiasis or renal calculi, are solid accretions (crystals) of dissolved minerals in urine found inside the kidneys or ureters. ... Self-replication is the process by which some things make copies of themselves. ... A microbiological culture is a way to determine the cause of infectious disease by letting the agent multiply (reproduce) in predetermined media. ... Jump to: navigation, search Space-filling model of a section of DNA molecule Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life (and most viruses). ...

Later studies by another group reached different results, suggesting peculiar yet inanimate etiology of the disease. A paper published in 2000 by a team led by John Cisar of the US National Institutes of Health proposed that the "self-replication" was, in fact, an unusual form of crystaline growth, and that contamination may have been the source of the DNA. However, the Cisar group did not as part of their study examine nanobacteria samples from the Kajander group, therefore critics observed that without such a control sample the assertion that these were self-replicating crystals or contamination had not been substantiated. Jump to: navigation, search Etiology (alternately aetiology, aitiology) is the study of causation. ... Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the year 2000. ... The National Institutes of Health is an institution of the United States government which focuses on medical research. ... Jump to: navigation, search Rose des Sables (Sand Rose), formed of gypsum crystals In mineralogy and crystallography, a crystal structure is a unique arrangement of atoms in a crystal. ...

The fact that the Finnish group set up a company in Finland "Nanobac Oy" later taken over by a company in Florida, 'Nanobac Life Sciences, Inc.', to sell kits for identifying nanobacteria, and are developing treatments for calcification-associated diseases, raised doubts concerning their impartiality. However such practices are commonplace among researchers throughout the U.S. and are generally accepted if transparently revealed, which in this case they were in filings submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

April 2004 claims

In a press release Nanobac Life Sciences, Inc. claims that a strong correlation has been found between antibodies to nanobacteria and coronary artery calcification (associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease). The results were obtained using a testing kit produced by Nanobac and tests on 198 patients were led by Stephen Epstein, Director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute, Washington Hospital Center, Washington. Jump to: navigation, search Schematic of antibody binding to an antigen An antibody is a protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects like bacteria and viruses. ... The coronary circulation consists of the blood vessels that supply blood to, and remove blood from, the heart. ... Coronary heart disease (CHD), also called coronary artery disease (CAD) and atherosclerotic heart disease, is the end result of the accumulation of atheromatous plaques within the walls of the arteries that supply the myocardium (the muscle of the heart). ... Stephen E. Epstein, M.D, formerly Chief of the Cardiology Branch of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland for over 30 years, became Director of Vascular Biology Research at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington... Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: The Evergreen State Other U.S. States Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Governor Christine Gregoire (D) Senators Patty Murray (D) Maria Cantwell (D) Official languages None Area 184,824 km² (18th)  - Land 172,587 km²  - Water 12,237 km² (6. ...

May 2004 claims

In 2004 a team led by Dr. John Lieske of the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota claimed to have discovered nanobacteria in diseased human arteries. Their results were accepted by the American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology, Virginia M. Miller et al., in May 2004 after extensive revision. Jump to: navigation, search 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search The entrance to the Gonda Building in downtown Rochester. ... Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: North Star State Other U.S. States Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) Senators Mark Dayton (D) Norm Coleman (R) Official language(s) None Area 225,365 km² (12th)  - Land 206,375 km²  - Water 18,990 km² (8. ... Section of an artery An artery or arterial is also a class of highway. ...

Unlike the Finnish researchers, those at the Mayo Clinic apparently have no linked commercial interests. Working with particles less than 0.2 micrometres in size, they found indirect evidence that the particles had self-replicated, and found that they had a cell-like appearance under an electron microscope. They also believe that the particles are producing RNA, since they absorbed one of its building blocks, uridine, in greater quantities than would be expected in the case of pure absorption (by crystals such as apatite). Using an antibody produced by the Finnish researchers, the particles were found to bind to diseased arterial tissue, and to the same sites to which a DNA stain bound. The researchers now hope to isolate RNA and DNA from the particles. Jump to: navigation, search Cells in culture, stained for keratin (red) and DNA (green) The cell is the structural and functional unit of all living organisms, and are sometimes called the building blocks of life. ... Jump to: navigation, search A transmission electron microscope. ... Jump to: navigation, search Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a nucleic acid consisting of a string of covalently-bound nucleotides. ... Uridine is a molecule (known as a nucleoside) that is formed when uracil is attached to a ribose ring (also known as a ribofuranose) via a β-N1-glycosidic bond. ... Apatite is a group of minerals, usually referring to: hydroxylapatite, fluorapatite, and chlorapatite, named for high concentrations of OH-, F-, or Cl- ions, respectively, in the crystal lattice. ... Jump to: navigation, search Schematic of antibody binding to an antigen An antibody is a protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects like bacteria and viruses. ...

February 2005 NASA Results

NASA announced the results of an experiment in which a bioreactor chamber that simulates conditions of space travel was used to culture nanobacteria suspected of rapidly forming kidney stones in astronauts. In this microgravity environment, they were found to multiply five times faster than in normal Earth gravity. NASA also determined that nanobacteria were shown to be a possible infectious risk for crew members living in close quarters. Jump to: navigation, search NASA Logo Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ...

See also

• Mimivirus - largest known virus
• Mycoplasma genitalium, Pelagibacter ubique - some of the smallest known bacteria
• Nanoarchaeum - smallest known archaeum
• Nanobe - nano-organism first observed in 1996
• Parvovirus - smallest known family of viruses
• Prions - also controversial when first proposed in 1982

The mimivirus is a giant virus with mature particles of 400 nm in diameter (icosahedral capsid). ... Binomial name Mycoplasma genitalium Mycoplasma genitalium is a parasitic bacterium which lives in the primate genital and respiratory tracts. ... Binomial name Candidatus Pelagibacter ubique Rappé , 2002 Pelagibacter, with the single species , are possibly the most numerous bacteria in the world. ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria (singular, bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. ... Nanoarchaeum equitans is a species of tiny microbe, discovered in 2002 in a hot vent off the coast of Iceland by Karl Stetter. ... Phyla / Classes Phylum Crenarchaeota Phylum Euryarchaeota     Halobacteria     Methanobacteria     Methanococci     Methanopyri     Archaeoglobi     Thermoplasmata     Thermococci Phylum Korarchaeota Phylum Nanoarchaeota The Archaea are a major group of prokaryotes. ... A nanobe Nanobes are tiny filamental structures first found in some rocks and sediments and also some poo like the poo that comes out your ass hole you know the stuff that smells real bad and sticks to your fingers! Some hypothesize that they are the smallest form of life... Jump to: navigation, search 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Species Canine minute virus Canine parvovirus Chicken parvovirus Feline panleukopenia virus Feline parvovirus HB virus H-1 virus Kilham rat virus Lapine parvovirus LUIII virus Mice minute virus Mink enteritis virus Mouse parvovirus 1 Porcine parvovirus Raccoon parvovirus RT parvovirus Tumor virus X Parvovirus, commonly called parvo, is a genus... Jump to: navigation, search A virus is a microscopic nonliving parasite that infects cells in biological organisms. ... Jump to: navigation, search Prions — short for proteinaceous infectious particle — are infectious protein structures that replicate through conversion of other host proteins. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Abstract: American Journal Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology May 13, 2004
• An alternative interpretation of nanobacteria-induced biomineralization
• Are Nanobacteria Making Us Ill?, Wired News, Mar. 14, 2005
• Claim made for new form of life, BBC News, May 19, 2004
• Evidence of Nanobacterial-like Structures in Human Calcified Arteries and Cardiac Valves
• Infectious Microorganism Linked to Kidney Stones and other Diseases, February 2005
• Nannobacteria Research Page of the Department of Geosciences, Mississippi State University
• Nanobac press release, April 2004
• Nanobacteria Theory Disproven by Elmer M. Cranton, M.D.
• Nanobacteria: An alternative mechanism for pathogenic intra- and extracellular calcification and stone formation
• New Scientist article about nanobacteria
• The Calcium Bomb - The Nanobacteria Link to Heart Disease and Cancer