Ari Daniel

Oh, so is he still like letting snakes bite him?

Oh, so is he still like letting snakes bite him?

Oh, so is he still like letting snakes bite him?

Really?

Really?

Really?

Wow. Okay. Well, I'm glad he sees it this way. I could not do this.

Wow. Okay. Well, I'm glad he sees it this way. I could not do this.

Wow. Okay. Well, I'm glad he sees it this way. I could not do this.

Message received. Don't learn from TV. It's fantasy for a reason. Ari, thank you so much for bringing us this story. I had a great time.

Message received. Don't learn from TV. It's fantasy for a reason. Ari, thank you so much for bringing us this story. I had a great time.

Message received. Don't learn from TV. It's fantasy for a reason. Ari, thank you so much for bringing us this story. I had a great time.

This episode was produced by Hannah Chin and edited by our showrunner, Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Jimmy Keeley was the audio engineer. Special thanks to Johannes Dergi. Beth Donovan is our senior director and Colin Campbell is our senior vice president of podcasting strategy. I'm Regina Barber. Thanks for listening to Shortwave from NPR.

This episode was produced by Hannah Chin and edited by our showrunner, Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Jimmy Keeley was the audio engineer. Special thanks to Johannes Dergi. Beth Donovan is our senior director and Colin Campbell is our senior vice president of podcasting strategy. I'm Regina Barber. Thanks for listening to Shortwave from NPR.

This episode was produced by Hannah Chin and edited by our showrunner, Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Jimmy Keeley was the audio engineer. Special thanks to Johannes Dergi. Beth Donovan is our senior director and Colin Campbell is our senior vice president of podcasting strategy. I'm Regina Barber. Thanks for listening to Shortwave from NPR.

The machine is about the size of a water bottle, and it was built to detect different elements, including the chemical signatures of life. Yusuf Salam is a PhD student at the University of Bern.

The machine is about the size of a water bottle, and it was built to detect different elements, including the chemical signatures of life. Yusuf Salam is a PhD student at the University of Bern.

Salam used the instrument on a piece of gypsum he harvested from northern Algeria, gypsum that he knew contained fossilized microbes.

Salam used the instrument on a piece of gypsum he harvested from northern Algeria, gypsum that he knew contained fossilized microbes.

Since gypsum is present on Mars as well, perhaps one day the instrument could be used to look for ancient microbes on the red planet, too. The study highlights the intimate interconnection between minerals and microbes on our planet, and perhaps beyond. For NPR News, I'm Ari Daniel.