NEW evidence released today supports the theory that life on Earth began on Mars and that "we are actually all Martians".

Professor Benner, from The Westheimer Institute for Science and Technology in Florida, will today present evidence at the European Association of Geochemistry's annual conference that a mineral essential to the creation of life was only available on Mars.

"The evidence seems to be building that we are actually all Martians; that life started on Mars and came to Earth on a rock," Professor Benner said in a statement.

Professor Benner's evidence is based on the evidence that the ingredients needed to create life included the oxidised mineral form of the element molybdenum.

"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," he said.

"It's yet another piece of evidence which makes it more likely life came to Earth on a Martian meteorite, rather than starting on this planet.

"These conditions, suitable for the origin of life, may still exist on Mars."

Professor Benner view is just the latest in a long-list of scientific theories that life began on the red planet that is our nearest neighbour before jumping over to Earth thanks to a handy bit of rock flying around space.

Professor Benner's research tackles what he calls the two paradoxes of how life could have started on Earth.

The first is the "tar paradox" that if you add heat or light energy to organic matter you get tar instead of life.

But boron and molybdenum have shown the ability to control the transformation into tar.

"Analysis of a Martian meteorite recently showed that there was boron on Mars; we now believe that the oxidised form of molybdenum was there too," Professor Benner said.

He said Mars, at that time, had pockets of water which addressed the other paradox of how life began on an Earth which was totally covered by water preventing concentrations of boron forming.

Professor Malcolm Walter, director of the Australian Centre for Astrobiology School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences at the University of New South Wales, said the idea that life started on Mars was not new but the theory suffered from a lack of proof.

"It's not a silly idea, it's feasible," Professor Walter said.

"There's just no evidence one way or another. This whole field of origin of life studies is a very speculative field."

"People can have these very creative ideas but it's very difficult to prove or disprove them."

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Originally published as We are all Martians: scientist