Life on earth may have originated from an element from Mars that was brought to this planet on a meteorite, according to a new theory. A highly oxidized form of molybdenum, a crucial ingredient to the origin of life, was likely available only on Mars' surface, according to the scientist behind the theory, Steven Benner. "This form of molybdenum couldn't have been available on Earth at the time life first began, because three billion years ago the surface of the Earth had very little oxygen, but Mars did," said Benner, who presented his findings at the Goldschmidt Conference in Italy. Without oxidized molybdenum, organic compounds -- which are the building blocks of life -- turn into a tar-like substance, a process Benner calls the "tar paradox."
