For those who have not heard.... NASA today announced that research done through their exobiology program discovered a that a bacterium living in Mono Lake, California can use Arsenic in place of phosphorus. This is being pretty hyped in the news as a new form of life. I think the aspect regarding its impact on extraterestrial life is over-hyped and frankly a stretch. We are not looking at an organism THAT USES Arsenic instead of phosporus. We are looking at an organism that CAN OPPORTUNISTICALLY USE Arsenic in place of phosphorus. This is pretty cool, and a huge scientific finding. however, I guess our anti-intellectual society would find it very difficult to appreciate that this is a big deal, so we have to promote the least interesting component of the study, the most speculative, and frankly the part that is hardly related to these findings,...that extraterrestrial life could use Arsenic. In fact, this DOES NOT REDEFINE our understanding of life, it REAFFIRMS our understanding!!! This is another adaptation that evolved from species with normal phosphorus-based physiology that resides in a high-arsenic environment. We long believed that organisms should be able to do this, and now they found one that could. Also, they have not established whether these organisms do this in the environment, only that they can do it in the lab.
Understand, I am not taking away from the extreme importance of their findings, I just wish we would actually revel in their findings instead of speculation that has not been established. Here is a link to the NASA announcement: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/astrobiology_toxic_chemical.html -- Malcolm L. McCallum Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan Nation 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
