What was NASA's news about possibility life in outer space?

[northoftheborder]

I missed the announcement, and can't find anything about it online.

[spanone]

1. i missed it too, did they trot out e.t. ?

[XemaSab]

2. There are bacteria in Mono Lake

That have arsenic instead of phosphorus in their DNA.

Therefore, they are thought to be extraterrestrial in origin.

[brooklynite]

3. ...not life in Outer Space...

...life discovered on earth based on a completely different set of molecules (Arsenic instead of Potassium), which theoretically expands the definition of what is a "habitable" planet.

[Duer 157099]

6. Phosphorus, not potassium n/t

[backscatter712]

4. They found a type of bacteria that has uses arsenic instead of phosphorus.

It even has arsenic in its DNA instead of phosphorous.

Goes to show how adaptable life can be.

[blondeatlast]

5. Here on earth; from the WaPo:

NASA held a press conference Thursday afternoon in which they revealed the discovery of arsenic-based life forms on Earth. As Marc Kaufman explained:


All life on Earth - from microbes to elephants and us - is based on a single genetic model that requires the element phosphorus as one of its six essential components.


But now researchers have uncovered a bacterium that has five of those essential elements but has, in effect, replaced phosphorus with its look-alike but toxic cousin arsenic.


News of the discovery caused a scientific commotion, including calls to NASA from the White House and Congress asking whether a second line of earthly life has been found. more at link

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/02/AR2010120204183.html

[jobycom]

7. They fed arsonic to a bacteria and said "Look! Mork!"

Actually it's interesting but not as great as it sounded. They developed a bacteria that could live off arsenic instead of phosphorus, which proves that other planets don't have to be as much like ours as previously thought to sustain life. All life here consumes phosphorus, and arsenic is poisonous because the body confuses it for phosphorus and it gums up the works. NASA showed that life could evolve to consume arsenic instead, meaning that some of our requirements for life on other planets are too limited. It's the stuff sci-fi writers have long written about, but now there's proof.

The early reports that they had found arsenic based life with different DNA in a California lake were misleading. They adopted the bacteria they retrieved from the lake. Cool, and significant, but not as headline-grabbing as the rumors. :) So weak, in fact, that I can't find the original story I read.

Edited to add link and further explanation: Apparently the bacteria had already adapted to feed on arsenic, but she did experiments that increased the arsenic consumption. http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/technology&id=7821435

[Swamp Rat]

15. LOL!!!

nanu nanu! :hi:

[Duer 157099]

8. So what is NASA doing looking for alien life on Earth anyway?

Is this the result of budget cuts?

[Posteritatis]

10. NASA's always done a great deal of planetside science. (nt)

[jobycom]

11. You don't watch much TV, do you?

[Duer 157099]

12. Heehee, actually I just watched that the other day!

Hadn't seen it since seeing it the first time when it came out. It was much better this time. The first time, I kept comparing it to the first one which was much better imho.

:thumbsup:

[arcane1]

9. Previously unknown, yet terrestrial, microbe

that uses arsenic instead of phosphorus. It was quite fascinating!

[Crunchy Frog]

13. Just that the parameters under which life can operate have been expanded,

or at least our knowledge of them has been expanded. They found a microbe that can utilize arsenic instead of phosphorus in its basic biochemistry (in nucleic acids and in molecules that supply energy).

At the very least it suggests that life can live under a wider range of conditions and that there are more varied ways of making biologically active molecules than was previously thought.

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/astrobiology_toxic_chemical.html

[bluetrain]

14. There have been 30,000 threads on this subject. Try searching the forum before posting new threads.