. JOHANNA PALMER: Mr. Cody, thank you very much for accepting our invitation.
. GEORGE CODY : You’re welcome. Thank you for inviting me and for giving me the opportunity to talk about meteorites.
. JOHANNA: I’d like to begin by asking you about Prof. Hoover and his fascinating discovery. His findings seem to give firm evidence that we are not alone in the universe !
.CODY : Indeed, this is an amazing theory. And if this was true, those alien life forms may have a lot more in common with life on Earth than we had previously thought.
.JOHANNA : All right Mr. Cody, but, as someone said once, extraordinary discoveries require extraordinary proof . As far as I understand, in this case the proof seems to be missing. Could you tell us your opinion about Prof. Hoover's discovery?
.CODY: Well, first of all, I have to say that if Prof. Hoover's claim was true, this would be one of the most important scientific discoveries ever made. Unfortunately, I agree with most other scientists who say that there is no proof that this is true.
.JOHANNA : This isn't the first time that NASA sci entist Richard Hoover has claimed to see signs of life in meteorites. Why do you think that this particular article and not others got special attention? CODY: I really have no idea; it is one of those media mysteries!
. JOHANNA : Could you explain, for those of us who are not experts on meteorites, what Prof. Hoover's main claim actually is?
.CODY: The main idea defended by Prof. Hoover is that a microscopic evaluation of these meteorites shows that they contai n filaments that might have been formed by a living organism, such as bacteria. But there are other possible explanations, too. There are all sorts of chemical processes that might have created those filaments.
. JOHANNA : But, does that mean that the bacteria found on meteorites might possibly not come from space?
.CODY: It's hard to be certain that any signs of life you see in meteorites found on Earth came from outer space. In fact, it's more likely that the bacteria infected the meteorite after it arrived on Earth, or even when they were picked up by scientists for examination.
.JOHANNA : So, in other words, you pick this thing up –this fragment of meteorite—from the ground and, almost immediately, if you're not careful, even from the bacteria on your hands, you've contaminated the meteorite!
.CODY: Absolutely. This is a more than probable conclusion. Contamination is almost unavoidable .
.JOHANNA : So, if human contamination is more than likely, why do you think Prof. Hoover is defending the idea that the bacteria came from outer space?
. CODY: Well, you must remember that scientists are obsessed with discoveries. We always want to discover something new, that's why we're in the game! And if you discover something that seems like it might be extraordinary,[ ...] well, there's this in human nature: you tend to think, “wow, I’ve made this great discovery, I have to share it with the world!”
.JOHANNA : But scientists must be very careful and absolutely sure before they publish their findings , don’t you think?
.CODY: Absolutely! Fifteen years ago, another group of scientists claimed they’d found signs of life in a meteorite from Mars recovered in Antarctica. The media also gave it full coverage ; even other scientists supported the theory. But only a few years later, most scientists were convinced the finding was false. So this time, most scientists are skeptical about Prof. Hoover’s claim for evidence of bacterial life in meteorites.
.JOHANNA : So, if a scientific discovery turns out to be wrong, is that necessarily a bad thing?
.CODY: Well, no; not necessarily. It often happens that we learn more from mistakes than we do from successes! These meteorites from Mars probably don't have any evidence of life in them, but they su rely have some fascinating chemistry.
.JOHANNA : So would you say that there is any chance at all that Prof. Hoover’s new finding is correct, this time?
.CODY : Well, there have been some extraordinary claims in the past that turned out to be right. You see, sometimes it takes years for scientific findings to be confirmed right. But this only happens once in a while.
.JOHANNA : But what will happen if the new claim is wrong?
.CODY: Then it will be corrected. There's no question about it. Scientists will come up with the correct explanation for these structures, and we'll move on. And that's the way science progresses.
.JOHANNA: Well, Mr. Cody, thank you so much for your time and for sharing your views with us.
.CODY: Thank you. It's been my pleasure