Thermal Stability of (Bio)Carbonates: A Potential Signature for Detecting Life on Mars?

The environmental conditions that prevail on the surface of Mars ( high levels of radiation and oxidants) are not favorable for the long-term preservation of organic compounds on which all strategies for finding life on Mars have been based to date. Since life commonly produces minerals that are considered more resilient, the search for biominerals could constitute a promising alternative approach. Carbonates are major biominerals on Earth, and although they have not been detected in large amounts at the martian surface, recent observations show that they could constitute a significant part of the inorganic component in the martian soil.

Latex and hollow particles of reactive polypyrrole: preparation, properties, and decoration by gold nanospheres.

Polypyrrole-coated polystyrene latex particles bearing reactive N-amino functional groups (PS-PPyNH2) were prepared by the in-situ copolymerization of pyrrole (Py) and the active amino-functionalized pyrrole (PyNH2) in the presence of 1.33 microm-diameter polystyrene (PS) latex particles. These particles were prepared by dispersion polymerization of styrene using poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone), PNVP, as a steric stabilizer.