Life's Building Blocks Found in Mars Rocks

This study indicates that the building blocks for life (compounds of carbon and hydrogen) should feasibly be able to form on ANY cold, rocky world. Early Mars is therefore pinned as a planet upon which life may have originated. The two main items that were researched in this study were: 1) the meteorite Alan Hills 84001 that may hold signs of Martian life, and 2) 1 million year old volcanic rocks erupted in a freezing arctic climate (like ancient Mars) in Svalbard, Norway. The study states that both the Earth and Mars rocks may have been able to form organic material from chemical reactions within magnetite bearing rocks. Therefore, as study co-author Hans E.F. Amundsen states, "Volcanic activity in a freezing climate can produce organic compounds."

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/071211-mars-meteorite.html