re: Discussion of Methane on Mars
Fascinating, it will be most interesting to follow this research.
A thought: IF the methane has a biological origin, the extent of these hypothetical organisms might be greater than would be expected from results for similar terrestrial organisms, since anythnig living in extreme conditions tends to be more efficient than those in more equitable conditions - ie, methane release may be less in proportion to overall metabolism for Martian microbes than it is for Earth bugs.