Martian gases pose life question

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Vittorio Formisano told a Dutch space conference methane and formaldehyde could signify biological activity. But the cautious professor, from the Institute of Interplanetary Space Physics in Rome, said only soil analysis on the planet could prove it. Confirmation came through hard data, not "fantasy", he told BBC News. "[My observations] should not be taken as a statement that there is life on Mars today, because we need to go there, to drill the soil, take samples, and analyse them before possibly concluding that life is there," Professor Formisano said.