COSMOZOE 55 



Nowadays, since the comprehensive investigations of D. 

 Mendeleev-^ and other chemists, we know that hydrocarbons 

 and their derivatives can easily develop inorganically under 

 natural conditions, particularly from cohenites, which are 

 minerals commonly found in meteorites and composed of 

 carbides of iron, nickel and cobalt — (Fe, ni, €0)30. 



J. L. Smith^^ showed that the organic substances found in 

 the Orgeuil and other meteorites could have been formed 

 as the result of reactions between iron carbide and iron 

 sulphide. From the Orgueil meteorite Smith even prepared 

 compounds of carbon, hydrogen and sulphur such as C4H6S5. 

 He showed that there is no foundation for the belief that 

 these organic compounds have been formed by organisms. 



Berthelot and Schutzenberger independently reached simi- 

 lar conclusions. They demonstrated in meteorites the pres- 

 ence of hydrocarbons completely analogous to those formed 

 during the smelting of iron at temperatures which are 

 certainly incompatible with life. Thus the discovery of 

 compounds of carbon in meteorites cannot now serve as an 

 argument that there are traces of life on these bodies. 



Neither have numerous attempts to discover directly the 

 germs of microbes on meteorites given definite positive 

 results. S. Meunier-* stated that Pasteur, whom he supplied 

 with specimens of carbon-containing meteorites, also tried 

 to isolate viable bacteria from them. He even constructed 

 a special boring apparatus for the purpose, which enabled 

 him to take specimens from the inner parts of the meteorites. 

 However, Pasteur always got negative results and therefore 

 did not publish them. Later scientists have had no more 

 success in finding living things in meteorites. 



The only exception is to be found in a publication by 

 C. B. Lipman^^ in 1932. Here the author describes his 

 investigations made on many specimens of stony meteorite. 

 He sterilised the outside of the meteorites and took measures 

 to exclude contamination by adventitious bacteria. Never- 

 theless he was often successful in obtaining living bacteria 

 in the form of rods or cocci by sowing broken-up pieces of 

 the meteorite on a nutrient medium. 



This communication attracted much attention in scientific 

 circles and even found its way into some textbooks (e.g."), 



