This story made me laugh. When I read the first section, the first thought that came to my mind is that just as easily as coming from Mars, this bug could have been created by....the process described in the second section!! And I was thinking that the ideal place for this to be done was a Russian lab during the heyday of the Cold War. Interesting that the people suggesting this may have come from Mars are Russian Scientists.

Charles and Voyager have commented on this topic as well.