Since time immemorial scientists, philosophers and even us mere mortals have asked the question: are we alone in the universe? https://youtu.be/KBqZ76qlbnYIt’s surprising then to think that by just following the water, this age old question might finally be coming to light.
Mars has always been an appealing candidate for extraterrestrial life, but in recent years, scientists have begun to look at moons — specifically, Europa, a moon around Jupiter, and Enceladus, a moon around Saturn for signs of life.
[caption id="attachment_8148" align="alignleft" width="264"] Dr. Sherwood Loller studies ancient water. Source: CBC news (Martin Lipman/NSERC)[/caption]

Now, Sherwood Lollar, an earth sciences professor at the University of Toronto, has won the prestigious Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering for her work on ancient Earth water and for advancing the search for life on other worlds. The award is handed out each year by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).


Lollar’s research groundbreaking; it shows that if you follow your nose, sometimes miraculous things can happen. It was a telltale smell that led Barbara Sherwood Lollar to the discovery of a lifetime.“Not skunky, but musty,” said the University of Toronto geochemist, describing the sulphur-tinged aroma she perceived wafting through a section of the Kidd Creek Mine near Timmins, Ont., in 2009.


[caption id="attachment_8146" align="alignleft" width="267"] Digging deep in Kidd Creek Mines near Timmins, Ontario provides access to ancient water hidden underneath the earth's surface.][/caption]
This question led to further inquiry and research. Sherwood Lollar has been studying ancient water below the earth's surface in mines on the Canadian Shield and around the world. Determining the chemistry of that water could be used to study moons like Europa and Enceladus.
Looking at all the evidence it was determined that the water hosts a microbial community that is eking out its existence by drawing energy from chemical reaction. The find has informed Dr. Sherwood Lollar’s work with researchers at the U.S. space agency, NASA, to help advance the search for life on Mars and other potential environments around the solar system
Her work could help astrobiologists and astrophysicists search for life in cooler places in the solar system, including Mars. A team of Italian scientists just last year published a paper that suggested there was a lake below the planet's southern polar ice cap.
"One way of looking at Mars is that it looks like the Canadian Shield … in the sense that it is all ancient, billion-year-old rock on the surface," Sherwood Lollar said. So her work here on Earth will likely be used in the search for life on Mars.
But why did the scientist change in direction from looking at life on Mars? The key is – they were following the water. While not identical, both Europa and Enceladus are similar, in that they both have icy crusts under which astronomers believe are large bodies of water. It is also believed Enceladus may have hydrothermal vents, which are areas of heated, mineral-rich water. The moon is even spewing water vapour into space.
"One of the major themes of planetary science is that we use the Earth to understand processes that might be going on on other planets," Sherwood Lollar said. "And so the work we do … has direct relevance for what we do when we go out to search for processes on other planets."
The University Professor in the department of Earth sciences was recognized for decades-long research into the geochemistry of deep crustal fluids, drinking water remediation and astrobiology – which seeks to understand the potential nature of life beyond Earth.
Her enthusiasm was fuelled during her undergraduate years at Harvard University where she was inspired by professors such as paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, among other well-known figures in Earth science. She went on to pursue a PhD at the University of Waterloo with a focus on groundwater. But when speaking with someone outside her field, Sherwood Lollar often says, simply, that she “works on water.”
Sherwood Lollar credits her parents, both history professors, for instilling a sense of curiosity in her as a child. They encouraged her to read a vast range of topics, she said, but “had a bent for exploration stuff,” including fiction from Jules Verne. “When I look back now, I realize that feeling I get now when I look at data, and see something for the first time, is really akin to that feeling of when I was reading these books – the idea that the world was still unknown and that there were codes to be broken… When we go to the icy planets, the ocean worlds, those places are very, very cold. But we would be wrong to think about them as geologically inactive," she said.
Anywhere where you've got gradients, between hot and cold — even if it's between cold and colder — you still have the potential for chemistry to be taking place. And this causes us to open our thinking a bit, to think outside the box about the nature of what can sustain habitability."
Meanwhile back here on planet earth there have been other groundbreaking discoveries that have made us look at water in a brand new and scientific way. Hydrogen rich water has become known as the new health sensation and many people are enjoying the benefits of dissolved H2 in their own homes. Although it’s big news now, scientists in Japan have studied H2 water since about 2007. There are now over 500 published scientific papers and peer reviewed studies finding hydrogen enriched drinking water to be highly beneficial for over 150 diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, stroke and trauma, inflammation, injury recovery, hearing loss, eye damage and more.
Briefly, the benefits of Molecular Hydrogen or  H2 water are:But the benefits of H2 water may have a longer history than we might first have thought. According to Dr. Sanetaka Shirahata (Graduate School of Genetic Resources Technology, Kyushu University), the so called sacred healing waters around the world all contain high concentrations of molecular hydrogen and the healing effect is simply the result of the health benefits of that hydrogen.
Lourdes France Miracle Healing Water
People come from all over the world to benefit from the healing water in Lourdes France. In 2002, USO a Japanese TV program televised a story about this healing water and how 5 million visitors a year come to get some of this healing water and about the more than 3,670 cases of healing confirmed by doctors. The TV show discussed how the Lourdes miracle water was brought to Japan Kyushu University where it was analyzed by Dr. Shirahata and found to be rich in active hydrogen.
Pakistan’s Hunza
One of the longest-lived races of people in the world are called the Hunza. These people, located in the northern Pakistan, are found in several high-altitude mountain valleys. Many Hunza claim to be 150 years old; many others are documented centenarians (over age one hundred). Scientists and researchers have pondered the mystery of the Hunza and their longevity and are beginning to believe that the Hunza miracle derives from the water that they drink. The mountain water that flows into the Hunza villages comes from the surrounding glaciers that tests show to have the highest amount of dissolved active hydrogen yet discovered.
Mexico’s Tlacote Miracle Healing Water
More than eight million visitors a year go to get some of this healing water 200 miles away from Mexico City, with numerous medical confirmations of the beneficial results, including Magic Johnson. https://youtu.be/P1hxAzyEsKs Analysis showed that it was also rich in active hydrogen.
Germany – Norudenau Miracle water
Less well known, but with more than 500 confirmed medical reports of healing, this water was analyzed and found to be rich in active hydrogen.
But you don’t have to travel halfway around the world or climb up any mountains to enjoy the benefits of H2 in your drinking water. At Best Water we have many ways of making H2 water available for your individual needs. We sell a variety of electric, non-electric and portable ionizers that infuse H2 into your water. We also sell H2 tablets that infuse additional hydrogen into your filtered water for increased benefits. Call us at 877-770-5247 and speak to one of our knowledgeable water experts and find out which system would work best for you.
For more information on these H2 products please visit our website: www.waterionizer.org
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