"Correspondingly, the Viking Gas Exchange (GEx) and Labeled Release (LR) experiments were unable to demonstrate the presence of culturable bacteria, and the pyrolysis-GCMS was unable to detect organic compounds [3]."

Number 1: Earth's atmosphere is 10,000 times more oxidizing than could be the surface of Mars, yet life seems to get along just fine, doesn't it?

Number 2: The Viking Labeled Release experiment (conducted nine Mars soil tests under different conditions) demonstrated that CO2 gas was given off when samples were mositened with a C-14 labeled nutrient solution - just like in some California Death Valley samples. Various heat applications were made to elucidate on whether chemistry or biology was responsible for the reactions and only the biological model fit says Levin. Beagle 2 in Deceber will answer the missing organic molecules question. Once that is done, the oxidant hypothesis falls apart completely.

Number 3: Despite highly sensitive IR and UV searches for oxidants on Mars, none have ever been found.

All about the Viking Mars Labeled Release Experiment can be found here:

http://www.biospherics.com/mars/index.html

Solving the color calibration problem of Martian lander images
Odyssey gives evidence for liquid water on Mars
A Sterile Robotic Mars Soil Analyzer, Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology, SPIE Proceedings, 4859, 78-86, August 2002.
A Sterile Robotic Mars Soil Analyzer, Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology, SPIE Proceedings, 4859, 78-86, August 2002.
Iron(VI) Seems an Unlikely Explanation for Viking Labeled Release Results, Icarus 159, 1, 266-267, September 1, 2002 (and the rebuttal of Tsapin et al.).
NASA-sponsored Washington University at St. Louis website
on Spherix' Viking Labeled Release life detection experiment on Mars.
Life on Mars, Dawn of a New Age,
Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology, SPIE Proceedings, poster presentation, July 2001.
Scientific Logic for Life on Mars,
Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology, SPIE Proceedings, 4495, 81-88, July 2001.
The Oxides of Mars,
Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology, SPIE Proceedings, 4495, 131-135, July 2001.
Periodic Analysis of the Viking Lander Labeled Release Experiment,
Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology, SPIE Proceedings, 4495, 96-107, July 2001.
Approaches to Resolving the Question of Life on Mars,
Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology, SPIE Proceedings, 4137, 48-62,
August 2000.
An Unambiguous Martian Life Detection Experiment,
Poster Presentation at The Future Search for Life on Mars, Lunar And Planetary Institute, Houston,TX,
November 2-4, 1998.
Liquid water and life on Mars,
Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology, SPIE Proceedings, 3441, 30-41, July 1998.
The Viking Labeled Release Experiment and Life on Mars,
Instruments, Methods, and Missions for the Investigation of Extraterrestrial Microorganisms, SPIE Proceedings, 3111, 146-161, July 1997.
Life After Viking: The Evidence Mounts,
287-311 in DiGregorio, B., Mars, the Living Planet, Frog, Ltd.
c/o North Atlantic Books, Berkeley (1997).
The Oxidant on Mars - Chemistry or Biology?, International Tesla Society Mars Forum, Colorado Springs, CO,
November 13, 1993.
Book Review of MARS, Kieffer, H. et al., ,
University of Arizona Press, Tucson and London, 1992, In IEEE Spectrum, November 1993.
Book Review of Mars Beckons, , Wilford, John Noble, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1990, In Spectrum, 27, 11, December, 1990.
A Reappraisal of Life on Mars. , The NASA Mars Conference, Science and Technology Series, 71, 186-210, 1988.
The Life on Mars Dilema and the Sample Return Mission , Proc. Mars Sample Return Science Workshop, Houston, 1987.
Antarctic Soil No. 726 and Implications for the Viking Labeled Release Experiment , Je. Theor. Biol., 91, 41-45 (1981).
A Search for a Nonbiological Explanation of the Viking Labeled Release Life Detection Experiment ,
Icarus 45, 494-516 (1981).
Completion of the Viking Labeled Release Experiment on Mars,
Journal of Molecular Evolution, 14, 167-183, 1979.
Laboratory Simulations of the Viking Labeled Release Experiment:
Kinetics Following Second Nutrient Injection and the Nature of the Gaseous End Product ,
J. Mol. Evol., 14, 185-197 (1979).
Viking Mars Labeled Release Results ,
Nature, 277, 327, (1979).
Color and Feature Changes at Mars Viking Lander Site,
Journal of Theoretical Biology, (1978) 75, 381-390.
The Labeled Release Experiment - New Laboratory and Mars Data ,
(COSPAR), Abstract, XXIst Plenary Meeting, Innsburch, (1978).
Biology or Chemistry? The Viking Labeled Release Experiment on Mars ,
Abstract, XXth Plenary Meeting of COSPAR, Tel Aviv, (1977).
The Viking Labeled Release Experiment: Current Status of Flight Data and Laboratory Simulations ,
Abstracts of the Annual Meeting, American Society for Microbiology, 95, (1977).
Recent Results From the Viking Labeled Release Experiment on Mars,
Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 82, No. 28; September 30, 1977.
Life on Mars? The Viking Labeled Release Experiment,
Biosystems, 9(1977) 165-174.
Labeled Release - An Experiment in Radiorespirometry,
Origins of Life 7(1976) 293-311.
Water on Mars and the Viking Biology Experiment ,
Proc. Colloquium on Water in Planetary Regoliths,
Dartmouth College, October 1976.
Viking Labeled Release Biology Experiment: Interim Results ,
Science, 194, 1322-1329, (1976).
The Viking Biological Investigation: Preliminary Results ,
Science, 194, 4260, 99-105 (1976).
The Viking Mission Search for Life on Mars ,
Nature, 262, 5563, 24-27 (1976).
Mariner 9: Prelude to First Field Test of a General Theory of Biology? ,
Publication No. X-922-74-310, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, Greenbelt, MD, November 1974.
Detection of Metabolically Produced Labeled Gas: The Viking Mars Lander ,
Icarus, 16, 153-166, 1972.
Infrared Spectroscopy Experiment on the Mariner 9 Mission: Preliminary Results ,
Science, 175, 305-308, January 1972.
Investigation of the Martian Environment by Infrared Spectroscopy on Mariner 9 ,
Icarus, 17, 423-442, 1972.
Infrared Spectroscopy Experiment for Mariner Mars 1971 ,
Icarus, 12, 48-62, 1970.
The Detection of Metabolism ,
Proc. International Congress of Microbiology, Mexico City, August 1970.
Automated Microbial Metabolism Laboratory ,
Exobiology, 19, 13-28, Science and Technology Series, Am. Astronautical Soc., Tarzana, CA, 1969.
Experiments and Instrumentation for Extraterrestrial Life Detection ,
Advances in Applied Microbiology, 10, 55-71, Academic Press, New York, 1968.
Life Detection by Means of Metabolic Experiments ,
The Search for Extraterrestrial Life, 22, Advances in the Astronautical Sciences Series, 223-251, Am. Astro. Soc., 1967.
Extraterrestrial Life Detection with Isotopes and Some Aerospace Applications ,
Radioisotopes for Aerospace, Part 2: Systems and Applications, 347-357, Plenum Press, New York, 1966.
Significance and Status of Exobiology ,
BioScience, 15, 1, 17-20, 1965.
Gulliver and Diogenes-Exobiological Antitheses ,
COSPAR, Life Sciences and Space Research III, 105-119, North-Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam, 1965.
Biological Objectives of Unmanned Exploration of the Solar System ,
Advances in the Astronautical Sciences, 19 American Astronautical Society, 1965.
‘Gulliver’-An Experiment for Extraterrestrial Life Detection and Analysis ,
Life Sciences and Space Research II, 6, 124-132, North-Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam, 1964.
Mark IV Gulliver-An In Situ Instrument for Extraterrestrial Life Detection ,
Digest of the 6th International Conference on Medical Electronics and Biological Engineering, Tokyo, 324-325, 1965.
The Interplanetary Olympics Begin ,
(editorial), BioScience, 15, 1, 15, January 1965.
Panel Discussion, Biological Objectives of Unmanned Exploration of the Solar System ,
Proceedings of the American Astronomical Society Symposium on Unmanned Exploration of the Solar System, Denver, Colorado, February 8-10, 1965.
Rapid Microbiological Determinations with Radioisotopes ,
Advances in Applied Microbiology, 5, 95-133, Academic Press, New York 1963.
‘Gulliver’-A Quest for Life on Mars ,
Science, 138, 3537, 114-121, October 12, 1962.
Life on Mars? ,
Nucleonics, 20, 10, 71-72, October 1962.
Detection of Microorganisms on Other Planets ,
American Nuclear Society Transactions, 5, 2, 279, November 1962.
Preliminary Report on a One-Hour Presumptive Test for Coliform Organisms ,
J. Am. Water Works Assoc., 48, 1, 75-80, January 1956.

BD