Bacterium Utilizes Arsenic in place of Phosphorus (display, email, systems)
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Not only do the bacteria survive on arsenic, they also grow by incorporating the element into their DNA and cell membranes, said the study funded by the US space agency NASA and published Thursday in the journal Science.
The findings add a new dimension to what biologists consider the necessary elements for life, currently viewed as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur.
"We have had this idea that life requires these six elements with no exceptions and here it turns out, well maybe there is an exception."
I can't believe how little interest this has generated here.
This is the biggest fundamental biochemical discovery in our time since si and shRNA. I'd argue this is much much bigger. The implications not only for permutations of life, but for medicine might have just entirely changed. I have a feeling that we are just scraping the tip of the iceberg on these new chemical cocktails that can be used in live replicating systems.
This is easily the most interesting thing that will be reported in science this year.
I can't believe how little interest this has generated here.
This is the biggest fundamental biochemical discovery in our time since si and shRNA. I'd argue this is much much bigger. The implications not only for permutations of life, but for medicine might have just entirely changed. I have a feeling that we are just scraping the tip of the iceberg on these new chemical cocktails that can be used in live replicating systems.
This is easily the most interesting thing that will be reported in science this year.
i know, i'm a little surprised myself.
maybe people don't realize how big a deal it is?
i remember an old sci-fi story, i think it was written by poul anderson, that was about a planet where life have evolved as a silicon-based form, rather than carbon-based. i thought immediately of that story on reading this new research.
Quote:
Abstract
Life is mostly composed of the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus. Although these six elements make up nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids and thus the bulk of living matter, it is theoretically possible that some other elements in the periodic table could serve the same functions. Here, we describe a bacterium, strain GFAJ-1 of the Halomonadaceae, isolated from Mono Lake, California, which substitutes arsenic for phosphorus to sustain its growth. Our data show evidence for arsenate in macromolecules that normally contain phosphate, most notably nucleic acids and proteins. Exchange of one of the major bioelements may have profound evolutionary and geochemical significance.
Redfield accused the Wolfe-Simon team of sloppy lab work and -- perhaps worse -- work you would only really do if you were trying to prove your findings, not test them to make sure they're right.
Life ...
All depends what we, as people, consider *Life* (as we know it).
If I look at a crystal, and almost can watch it *grow*,
am I then looking at *Life* ??
I look at vegetation, and call it Life.
Well at least scientifically life is definable.
1. Maintain homeostasis (which your crystal doesnt do)
2. Reproduce
3. Respond to stimuli in some way
4. Grow/Adapt/Evolve
More than a dozen researchers voice their concerns about a 2010 paper that claims bacteria can use arsenic in place of phosphorus in its DNA and other biomolecules
They are still looking for life forms that will thrive on arsenic.
"What is quite interesting is that this has very few arsenic resistance genes, i.e., it does not have the typical suite of genes that would make the cell resistant to arsenic in the environment," he told me in an email. Further study of the genome may at last point to an explanation for GFAJ-1's affinity for arsenic — but as of today, one year after the bacteria came onto the world scene, Gilbert can't predict what that explanation might be.
We will prod and poke at this thing for another year, and see if there's anything more interesting," he said.
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