Scientist: 'Alien' life forms on meteorites

WASHINGTON - A NASA scientist reported detecting tiny fossilized bacteria on three meteorites and maintains these microscopic life forms are not native to Earth.

If confirmed, this research would suggest life in the universe is widespread and life on Earth may have come from elsewhere in the solar system, riding to our planet on space rocks like comets, moons and other astral bodies.

The study, published in The Journal of Cosmology, is considered so controversial that it is accompanied by a statement from the journal's editor seeking other scientific comment.