Sensor for life

This article discusses a NASA-funded project developing a sensor to go to Mars to grind Martian soil into a fine powder and analyze it for amino acids. The Urey (Mars Organic and Oxidant Detector) is able to distinguish between 'right handed' and 'left handed' amino acids, and if a 50/50 mix between the two is found would probably indicate that Mars had/has no life while uniformity in one or the other could indicate life.