Claus et al.: "Organized Elements" in Chondrites 



Table 2 — Continued 



601 



On occasion fungi are known to grow on mineral specimens in museums. 

 In the growth process the hyphae get attached to or penetrate into the samples. 

 Microscopical examination of the thin section of such samples reveals the spores 

 and hyphae. No hyphae or remnants of hyphae were yet seen in carbonaceous 

 meteorites. This renders unlikely the possibiUty that the organized elements 

 are spore contaminants from fungi that grew on the samples in the museums. 

 Such a fungal growth would be rather unusual and could occur only in the 

 presence of adequate moisture. Some of the mineral components of the Orgueil 

 meteorite point out that the samples were kept in dry museum storage. 



Terrestrial contaminations should have been able to enter the pores if the 

 interiors of the meteorite are contaminated. Organized elements are embedded 

 in minerals and in the mineral aggregates in meteorites, as was reported pre- 

 viously. A petrographical study of the thin sections (Nagy and Claus, 1963) 

 led to the estimation of the average pore sizes as less than 1 n in diameter. 

 The size of the organized elements varies between 3 to 60 m- Although there 

 may be a few wider fractures going through the samples it is thought to be 

 impossible for organisms to penetrate the dense and unfractured areas of the 

 mineral matrix. 



Microscopical preparations of the carbonaceous meteorites have now been 

 prepared from time to time, over a period of 1 year (before, during, and after 

 the pollination time of ragweed and other flowering plants). No correlation 

 has yet been found between the types and numbers of the organized elements 

 and the time of preparation of the slides. This suggests that the organized 

 elements were not introduced into the sample when the microscopical prepara- 

 tions were made. Identical organized elements, such as the particle that is 



