A Glasgow-based scientist may have solved the mystery of discovering an intact Martian meteorite after discovering it contains a toxin that makes pigs vomit.
The Lafayette meteorite had been stored in the geological collection at Purdue University in Indiana since early 1929, but no one knew how the rock got there.
Some reports suggested that the meteorite was given to the university by an African-American student after it landed in a pond where he was fishing.
Dr Aine O’Brien, an environmental and planetary organic geochemist at the University of Glasgow, began studying a small fragment of the meteorite two years ago.
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“This is a meteorite from Mars and these are really rare,” O’Brien told the BBC.
“That alone makes it really valuable, and not all meteorites from Mars are as pristine as Lafayette.”
“It must have been taken very soon after it fell because otherwise the outer edge would have frayed.”
O’Brien analyzed the chemical compounds from which the meteorite was made and discovered that one of them—a vomitoxin called deoxynivalenol—was found in a fungus that can grow in crops and make humans and pigs sick. Written by the scientist.
Claire H./Wikipedia Commons/Supplied
The Lafayette meteorite was found in storage at Purdue University in Indiana in the 1920s.
Pigs are particularly affected by the toxin, which causes them to vomit.
He then connected with researchers and librarians at Purdue University to study how the fungus was affecting crops in Indiana. According to the University of Glasgow, in 1919 and 1927, when the Lafayette meteorite was said to have been discovered, it was found to cause reduced crop yields.
Dust from the crops may have carried the toxin into waterways, the researchers said. If that were the case, the meteorite would have been contaminated with the toxin when it fell into the pond.
They also searched historical records of fireball observations and found that some occurred in both 1919 and 1927. Meteorites leave a streak of fire in the sky as they enter the earth’s atmosphere due to their extreme temperatures.
University of Glasgow/Chris Jame/Supplied
Glasgow-based scientist Dr Aine O’Brien has unraveled the mystery behind the Lafayette meteorite discovery.
Purdue University archivists then scrutinized records to find black students who attended college in 1919 and 1927, the University of Glasgow reported. Julius Lee Morgan, Clinton Edward Shaw, and Hermanze Edwin Fauntleroy were studying at the university in 1919, and another student, Clyde Silance, was there in 1927.
According to the evidence gathered by O’Brien and his team, any of these students may have discovered the Lafayette meteorite.
“Lafayette is a really nice meteorite specimen that has taught us a lot about Mars through previous research,” O’Brien told the BBC.
“So they deserve praise for that alone, right? Then you add the fact that they are an African-American student at a university with very few universities. We all know the stories of racism in 1920s America.”
While O’Brien can’t determine exactly who found the Martian meteorite, he told the BBC he was happy to shed some light on the story.
“The only reason we were able to narrow it down was because the university had very few black students, and this was Black History Month,” he said.
“And it’s kind of black history, I didn’t want to shy away from the fact that it’s a big part of the story.”
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