Toxin that makes pigs vomit could solve 'alien meteorite mystery' nearly 100 years later
dailyrecord.co.ukThe discovery of a toxin that makes pigs sick has helped to solve a decade-spanning mystery about a meteorite that fell from Mars.
When the Lafayette meteorite was found in a drawer at the biology department of Purdue University in Indiana, USA, researchers couldn't remember where it had originated from.
There had been a number of theories floating around surrounding its origin. Some said it was donated to the university by a Black student who came across it while fishing in a pond, but nothing had been confirmed, the Mirror reports.
To find out more about the student and where the meteorite had came from, researchers began an investigation. Geochemist Dr Aine O'Brien, from the University of Glasgow, launched the project two years ago after her team was handed a tiny piece of the meteorite by the Natural History Museum in London. "Lafayette is a truly beautiful meteorite sample, which has taught us a lot about Mars through previous research," Dr O’Brien said."Part of what has made it so valuable is that it’s remarkably well-preserved, which means it must have been recovered quickly after it landed, as Lafayette’s origin story suggested."Meteorites which are left out in the elements for any significant length of time have their top layers weathered away, reducing their research value as they collect terrestrial contaminants."To determine what the meteorite was made of, Dr O'Brien crushed it up into tiny pieces for examination.
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