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. But she did say that while probably not all of the phosphorus in the organism was replaced by arsenic, there simply was not enough phosphorus in the samples to support life as we know it using phosphorus, so clearly arsenic is taking the place of phosphorus not only in DNA but also in membranes and ribosomes and stuff like that. They were talking about how they need to do more work to find out what the pattern is or the ratios and the mechanism and stuff like that. So many exciting future studies!!
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
- 1473 Views
that is TOTALLY inappropriate
02/12/2010 04:58:47 PM
- 685 Views
Crazy awesome.
02/12/2010 05:07:49 PM
- 771 Views
So the movie Evolution was real!
02/12/2010 05:24:16 PM
- 676 Views
Wow. *NM*
02/12/2010 05:32:08 PM
- 414 Views
Dang. I thought it was naturally occurring. Missed the part where it was grown in a lab.
03/12/2010 02:16:16 AM
- 733 Views
I won't pretend I know enough about biology to understand the impact of this
02/12/2010 06:26:24 PM
- 754 Views
It's like finding a type of rock that eats laughter
02/12/2010 06:51:15 PM
- 603 Views
... without coming down and dealing with the nasty stomach cramps.
02/12/2010 09:49:06 PM
- 813 Views
I think I had an ex once that was made of arsenic. *NM*
02/12/2010 07:10:57 PM
- 371 Views
So, is it an alien?
02/12/2010 07:19:49 PM
- 742 Views
They haven't mentioned anything saying it's not from Earth, I think
02/12/2010 08:03:44 PM
- 748 Views
The bacteria in question is part of a known lineage
02/12/2010 08:07:34 PM
- 961 Views
see my note below
02/12/2010 08:13:35 PM
- 753 Views
Maybe
02/12/2010 08:23:16 PM
- 679 Views
So, apparently, this bacteria doesn't use arsneic for its DNA in its natural state?
02/12/2010 08:06:02 PM
- 634 Views
While awesome, it's a bit of a problem.
02/12/2010 09:04:22 PM
- 652 Views
True, but I'm not "looking for" anything in particular, so I just like it *NM*
02/12/2010 11:09:21 PM
- 406 Views
Less cool a revelation than I was hoping, but certainly not a complete disappointment. *NM*
02/12/2010 10:35:33 PM
- 362 Views
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
- 787 Views
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
- 347 Views
yah. it's one thing to theorize, another thing to find something to hold true.
02/12/2010 11:10:23 PM
- 667 Views
It's much more than an educated guess.
02/12/2010 11:59:18 PM
- 822 Views
You can't "know" from this distance.
03/12/2010 03:13:05 AM
- 619 Views
Why not?
03/12/2010 04:42:15 AM
- 811 Views
obviously you have not learned to look at the back label on the car *NM*
04/12/2010 07:04:42 PM
- 354 Views
Yes, we can.
04/12/2010 06:04:48 PM
- 983 Views
The problem probably is with me.
04/12/2010 08:00:56 PM
- 641 Views
No, they aren't.
04/12/2010 10:01:25 PM
- 661 Views
Are you baiting me to bait you?
05/12/2010 06:41:49 AM
- 813 Views
I'm just carrying on a conversation.
05/12/2010 07:26:39 AM
- 816 Views
Re: I'm just carrying on a conversation.
05/12/2010 07:08:04 PM
- 599 Views
Re: I'm just carrying on a conversation.
05/12/2010 07:56:43 PM
- 806 Views
Re: I'm just carrying on a conversation.
06/12/2010 03:15:37 AM
- 744 Views
I made my students watch the NASA channel for over two hours today
02/12/2010 11:11:40 PM
- 548 Views