The bacteria in question is part of a known lineage
Darth_Katie Send a noteboard - 02/12/2010 08:07:34 PM
Looking at the periodic table, phosphorus and arsenic don't seem that different since they have the same amount of electrons on their outermost shell. So the only difference in this bacteria is that P becomes As in the nucleotide (made of arsenic..)? How is that possible? Is the bacteria something that has been around for ages, or something that just developed, or something alien?
So I would bet - and this is just pure speculation on the part of a lowly undergrad - that it probably started out like normal organisms (using phosphorus) and then it adapted the ability to use arsenic as a survival mechanism in the arsenic rich environment of Mono.
I did get to see the end of the press conference, and they addressed the age question ... mostly by saying they don't really know and further study is necessary.


One interesting thing they mentioned (though two of the scientists kind of argued about it a little ... lol) was that mono-Arsenic nucleotides (the analogue of the nucleotides in DNA) form spontaneously in test-tubes at room temperature while the phosphate version requires an enzyme catalyzed reaction. Interesting!
Insert theme music here.
More Important Than Soccer: Completely new type of DNA discovered
02/12/2010 04:48:51 PM
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Wow. *NM*
02/12/2010 05:32:08 PM
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that is TOTALLY inappropriate
02/12/2010 04:58:47 PM
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Crazy awesome.
02/12/2010 05:07:49 PM
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So the movie Evolution was real!
02/12/2010 05:24:16 PM
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Dang. I thought it was naturally occurring. Missed the part where it was grown in a lab.
03/12/2010 02:16:16 AM
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I won't pretend I know enough about biology to understand the impact of this
02/12/2010 06:26:24 PM
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It's like finding a type of rock that eats laughter
02/12/2010 06:51:15 PM
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... without coming down and dealing with the nasty stomach cramps.
02/12/2010 09:49:06 PM
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I think I had an ex once that was made of arsenic. *NM*
02/12/2010 07:10:57 PM
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So, is it an alien?
02/12/2010 07:19:49 PM
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They haven't mentioned anything saying it's not from Earth, I think
02/12/2010 08:03:44 PM
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The bacteria in question is part of a known lineage
02/12/2010 08:07:34 PM
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see my note below
02/12/2010 08:13:35 PM
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Maybe
02/12/2010 08:23:16 PM
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So, apparently, this bacteria doesn't use arsneic for its DNA in its natural state?
02/12/2010 08:06:02 PM
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While awesome, it's a bit of a problem.
02/12/2010 09:04:22 PM
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True, but I'm not "looking for" anything in particular, so I just like it
*NM*
02/12/2010 11:09:21 PM
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Less cool a revelation than I was hoping, but certainly not a complete disappointment. *NM*
02/12/2010 10:35:33 PM
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I don't understand why this is such a big deal. It always seemed common sense to me that there are
02/12/2010 10:40:22 PM
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I think it just makes them happy that they can widen the parameters for life-sustaining planets. *NM*
02/12/2010 11:00:31 PM
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yah. it's one thing to theorize, another thing to find something to hold true.
02/12/2010 11:10:23 PM
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It's much more than an educated guess.
02/12/2010 11:59:18 PM
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You can't "know" from this distance.
03/12/2010 03:13:05 AM
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Why not?
03/12/2010 04:42:15 AM
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obviously you have not learned to look at the back label on the car
*NM*
04/12/2010 07:04:42 PM
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Yes, we can.
04/12/2010 06:04:48 PM
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The problem probably is with me.
04/12/2010 08:00:56 PM
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No, they aren't.
04/12/2010 10:01:25 PM
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Are you baiting me to bait you?
05/12/2010 06:41:49 AM
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I'm just carrying on a conversation.
05/12/2010 07:26:39 AM
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Re: I'm just carrying on a conversation.
05/12/2010 07:08:04 PM
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Re: I'm just carrying on a conversation.
05/12/2010 07:56:43 PM
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Re: I'm just carrying on a conversation.
06/12/2010 03:15:37 AM
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I made my students watch the NASA channel for over two hours today
02/12/2010 11:11:40 PM
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