lies in their springs, which are usually hot and hold in solution large quantities of mineral organic and gaseous matters, to which for centuries their healing power has been ascribed. The modern view, however, tends to attribute the beneficial effects of these places to change of environment, rest, disciplined exercise, diet and habits of life, rather than to any special therapeutic power of t...

In late 1907, Charles Fraser, the Victorian government entomologist, travelled to North Queensland. His observations of the flora and fauna in this part of Australia were later published in the Victorian Naturalist. However, this journey was not motivated entirely by his desire to study natural history. As a sufferer of ‘rhematic [sic] troubles’, he spent a few days soaking in the mineral-impre...

Introduction: Potential relict hot springs have been identified on Mars and, using the Earth as an analog, Martian hot springs are postulated to be an optimal locality for recognizing preserved evidence of extraterrestrial life [1]. Distinctive organic and inorganic biomarkers are necessary to recognize preserved evidence of life in terrestrial and extraterrestrial hot spring accumulations. Hot...