News of the Week

Life on Mars? Maybe...

ast week scientists at NASA announced they have found evidence that a microscopic life-form may have existed on Mars 4 billion years ago. The evidence comes from Martian meteorite ALH 84001, the oldest of 12 Martian meteorites found on Earth, which was discovered in Antarctica in 1984.

According to NASA, ALH 84001 contains organic compounds that are nearly unmistakable signs of life. Other scientists who have studied the meteorite say it has chemical markers that may indicate biological activity, but the evidence is not conclusive.

The meteorite may also contain the fossilized remains of a life-form similar to bacterial life on Earth. Scientists caution that none of the findings prove that life once existed on the red planet, but the evidence is mounting in that direction and more research needs to be done. Later this year NASA is scheduled to launch Pathfinder, an unmanned mission that will place a rover on Mars, and the Mars Global Surveyor, which will place an observation satellite in orbit around the planet.

Pictured is a cross section of meteorite ALH 84001, courtesy of NASA.

Author Jo Clayton hospitalized

uthor Jo Clayton was admitted to Emanual Hospital in Portland, Ore., on July 29 after an X-ray revealed she has an aggressive cancer of the immune system. She was later moved to Good Samaritan Hospital, Portland's premiere oncology center, where she has since begun an 8-16 month treatment plan which includes chemotherapy.

Mark Bourne, along with his wife Elizabeth, has been posting news of Clayton as well as visiting her in the hospital, and he reports that Jo is in reasonably good spirits and has even begun writing a new story. Clayton has published dozens of novels over the past two decades including the Diadem and Shadith's Quest books. Cards and flowers may be sent to Clayton at:

Room 686
6SW
Good Samaritan Hospital
1015 NW 22nd Ave.
Portland, OR 97210

E-mail can be sent via the Bournes at either bourne@teleport.com or elizbourne@aol.com.

DS9 will pull a Gump, First Contact date set

hrough the magic of "Gump-mation," the crew of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine will go back to the future and pay homage to the popular 1967 Star Trek episode, The Trouble with Tribbles, in a tribute to the 30th anniversary of the original series. Paramount announced the DS9 episode Trials and Tribble-ations -- which is set to air in syndication the week of Nov. 4 -- will utilize Forrest Gump-type special effects to send the crew of DS9 back into the original series episode, which first aired 29 years ago.

In the combined episode, a Klingon thief named Darvin, who was exposed by Captain Kirk as a spy in the original Tribbles episode, transports the crew of the Defiant back in time. Darvin has concocted an elaborate plot to take his revenge on Kirk using the seemingly harmless tribbles, and only the crew of DS9 can stop him.

In other news, Reuters reported that the official opening date for Star Trek: First Contact is Friday, Nov. 22. First Contact, which features the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation and which is being directed by ST:TNG cast member Jonathan Frakes, will be the eighth Star Trek movie and the first in which none of the original cast members appear.

Netcom settles with Scientologists

etcom On-Line Communications Inc. agreed to an out-of-court settlement with the Religious Technology Center in a case that charged Netcom with contributory copyright infringement of works by the late L. Ron Hubbard, a Golden Age science fiction writer and founder of the Church of Scientology. The case stemmed from a claim by the church, which owns the copyright to Hubbard's work, that a former Scientology official used Netcom as a "conduit" to post copyrighted material to the Internet.

As part of the agreement, Netcom said it will temporarily remove or deny access to material on its system pending an investigation of claims into copyright infringement. With more than 500,000 subscribers, Netcom is one of the largest independent Internet access providers in the United States.

Galoob offers hard-to-find Micro Machines

aloob Toys is now offering limited direct sales of its popular Star Wars, Star Trek and Babylon 5 Micro Machines, which have proven difficult to find during the slow summer months of toy sales. Galoob said the toys are limited in selection and quantity and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

"We are trying this experiment of making some limited quantities available directly to the public out of our appreciation for the dedicated Star Wars, Star Trek, Babylon 5 and other fans who have taken the time to contact us with their thoughts, suggestions and ideas," Galoob wrote in a letter to consumers.

Galoob will sell the toys at a price "significantly higher" than can be found in stores due to shipping costs and the company's obligation not to compete with retail outlets. Orders can be placed by calling 1-800-4-GALOOB Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. PST.

Triffids remake in the works

lliance Communications Corp. announced it will be remaking the classic science fiction movie Day of the Triffids as part of its ongoing development deal with the Sci-Fi Channel. Nancy Isaak will write and produce the new movie, which is based on the premise that a meteor shower not only blinds Earth's population but also seeds the planet with giant, killer, mobile plants.

Alliance is also at work on an original science fiction movie for the Sci-Fi Channel with the working title In Hazard. In Hazard is a thriller set in a post-apocalyptic world where a young man must save the survivors of a small town.

Last month Alliance completed production on yet another science fiction movie called The Cold Equations, which will air on the Sci-Fi Channel in November.

New Gamera movie opens in Japan

amera 2: Gamera vs. Legion is now playing in Japanese theaters, marking the second in a new series of Gamera movies that feature an updated look for the giant, saber-toothed turtle, and modern-day special effects. In the new movie, Gamera takes on an insectoid life-form brought to Earth by a meteorite. Millions of these small insects join together to create one large monster known as Legion.

The first of the new Gamera movies, Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, saw a limited theatrical release in the United States earlier this year and will return to U.S. theaters later this year in another limited showing. Rumor has it that a third Gamera movie will be released in Japan in 1998.

Great Scot: Doohan's back...sort of

n August 19-21 James Doohan, best known as Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott on the original Star Trek, will reprise his recurring role as Damon Warwick on the highly-rated CBS soap opera The Bold and The Beautiful.

Doohan will portray a Scottish father who abused his psychiatrist son as a child, blaming him for his wife's death in childbirth. The Bold and The Beautiful airs Monday through Friday 1:30 p.m. EDT.

Weaver earns reported $11 million for Alien4

ariety reported that Sigourney Weaver will receive $11 million to star in the fourth Alien film, scheduled for release in summer 1997. 20th Century Fox denied Weaver would be receiving that much money up front, but news sources speculate that Fox is being cagey about Weaver's salary due to ongoing negotiations with Weaver's co-star, Winona Rider.

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