Mark Eby wrote:
How about some comments on the examples of possible relevance I raised?

Alex writes:
I presume you are referring to your examples of (1) the "biotechnology problem of modified gene loss to the potential hazardous nature of Martian organisms" and (2) "whether or not [I] think D. radiodurans supports the idea that Martian organisms would be some kind of dangerous superbug capable of causing global disaster"?

As for (1), could you be a little more specific?

As for (2), Deinococcus radiodurans is simply a terrestrial extromophile bacterium that can lay dormant for lengthy periods in high-radiation environments, the relevancy of which depends on the characterization of the Mars (surface and orbital) radiation environment, something that will become clearer with the 2001 Mars Surveyor MARIE results. At any rate, whether or not one can extrapolate DIRECTLY to a possible Martian superbug is unclear, but certainly is NOT neglible at this point.

Alex R. Blackwell
University of Hawaii