A Field Guide to Finding Fossils on Mars

The Martian surface is cold, dry, exposed to biologically harmful radiation and apparently barren today. Nevertheless, there is clear geological evidence for warmer, wetter intervals in the past that could have supported life at or near the surface. This evidence has motivated National Aeronautics and Space Administration and European Space Agency to prioritize the search for any remains or traces of organisms from early Mars in forthcoming missions. Informed by (1) stratigraphic, mineralogical and geochemical data collected by previous and current missions, (2) Earth's fossil record, and (3) experimental studies of organic decay and preservation, we here consider whether, how, and where fossils and isotopic biosignatures could have been preserved in the depositional environments and mineralizing media thought to have been present in habitable settings on early Mars. We conclude that Noachian‐Hesperian Fe‐bearing clay‐rich fluvio‐lacustrine siliciclastic deposits, especially where enriched in silica, currently represent the most promising and best understood astropaleontological targets. Siliceous sinters would also be an excellent target, but their presence on Mars awaits confirmation. More work is needed to improve our understanding of fossil preservation in the context of other environments specific to Mars, particularly within evaporative salts and pore/fracture‐filling subsurface minerals

Patient Safety Vignettes: Preliminary Observations on a Novel Use of an Old Methodology

Problems arise when clinicians or educators encounter situations that are error-prone, complex, or distracting. Trigger films (TF) are 2-4 minute vignettes simulating real-life situations that finish abruptly, stimulating participants to analyze situations in a safe environment. We report on a natural evolution of the TF, the patient safety vignette (PSV), a multimedia tool that advantages the human characteristic of vicariousness by inviting stakeholders into an unfolding patient misadventure. PSVs are produced in our high fidelity simulation lab and are based on actual patient events. We have previously demonstrated the validity and reliability of the approach in the healthcare setting, a multidimensional, dynamic and stressful environment where complex, critical, and risky decision making and interventions occur. PSVs offer a systematic approach to facilitating patient safety activity by engaging clinicians in a range of complex scenarios in what we term the “living laboratory.” Initial outcome measures examining efficacy and clinician acceptance are reported