The authors analyzed for chlorine, bromine, and iodine in ALH84001 as potential tracers of biologic activity. This is significantly more than in common terrestrial carbonates, and could be consistent with an evaporitic origin for the globules. Bromine and iodine were only detected in chromite grains, which is difficult to explain. The four lines of evidence for ancient martian life in ALH84001 are still valid and have not been refuted. Some magnetites from the globules are characteristic of bacterial products on Earth.
Organic compounds occur in the globules, and structures resembling fossil bacteria are present.
Similar structures and materials in other martian meteorites reinforce the validity of the original evidence.