Martian life: stuck somewhere between inevitable biochemistry and quirky biology

Abstract

If traces of life are found on Mars, the question that needs to be asked is: How independent is this life from life on Earth? A paradigm shift is needed from ?Was there a second genesis?? to ?How much of one was there?? This abandonment of a picture in black and white to a more nuanced grey is based on the idea that the boundary between life and non-life was not sharp and that the origin of life was an extended process of molecular tinkering.