CARDIFF, Wales, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Viable microorganisms have been discovered floating in Earth's upper atmosphere, providing evidence for the controversial theory that life on the planet was started by bacteria and other microbes arriving here from outer space, scientists said Tuesday.
"We were able to conclude there were viable microorganisms present at different heights in the air," Chandra Wickramasinghe, of Cardiff University's Center for Astrobiology, told United Press International.
Wickramasinghe's team reported last year they had discovered microorganisms high above the Earth, but they had been unable to grow them in the lab. So they turned to microbiologist Milton Wainwright of the University of Sheffield, England.
He was able to isolate and grow a fungus and two species of bacteria that were collected 25 miles above the planet's surface. The new findings are reported in the December...
Dr. Terry Mortenson | 1/15/2009
