Poison-Based Bacteria Redefines Life As We...
TheDR 02 Dec 2010
Kotaku Link
Arsenic is an element that is deadly to most living creatures, but bacteria living in California's Lake Mono thrive on it. Today NASA explains how those poison-eating organisms are changing the way we search for extraterrestrial life.
News of an arsenic-eating bacteria residing in alkaline Lake Mono first came two years ago. As reported by the BBC, researchers discovered a bacterium that utilizes arsenic in photosynthesis instead of water to transform carbon dioxide into food.
So what is different about NASA's new finding?
Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon of the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park says that the microbe, known as GFAJ-1, isn't simply substituting arsenic for water. It's substituting arsenic for phosphorus, one of the fundamental building blocks of life.
"We know that some microbes can breathe arsenic, but what we've found is a microbe doing something new — building parts of itself out of arsenic," said Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a NASA Astrobiology Research Fellow in residence at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif., and the research team's lead scientist. "If something here on Earth can do something so unexpected, what else can life do that we haven't seen yet?"
During the press conference, Wolfe-Simon explained that the reason arsenic is so toxic to normal life, is that it's so close to phosphorus our bodies can't tell them apart.
"Nothing should have grown," she said of the environment of Lake Mono. Yet it did. "It has solved the challenge of being alive in a very different way than we knew of."
The arsenic is associated specifically with a band of genomic DNA. It's inside the cell. It's part of the microbe, taking the place of phosphorus.
Arizona State University's Dr. James Elser explained that the existence of an organism that does without phosphorus has far-reaching possibilities. "It's very exciting to think about the possibilities of a clever organism that's evolved beyond using phosphorus," said Elser after explaining how vital the element is to life on Earth. He marveled over the possible uses for such an organism, including water treatment, bio-energy production, and even recovering phosphorus used in other processes.
Dr. Steven Benner of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution put things in layman's terms. Using a steel chain to represent a phosphorus bio-polymer, he likened arsenic to a tinfoil link. When a link is broken it searches for a replacement, and the chain could be confused by the similar structure of arsenic. He called the element a demon wolf, tricking organisms into taking it it.
"Remember, the weakness of the link is a weakness measured at room temperature...in water," Benner said. There are places in our own solar system where the conditions are very different that could support another sort of life entirely, as is the case with Lake Mono and GFAJ-1.
NASA astrobiologist Dr. Pamela Conrad spoke next. She develops habitability metrics for alien worlds, and she's delighted by the discovery, as it will make her change the way she defines those metrics. "The implication is that we still don't know everything there is to know about what might make a habitable environment on another planet. We have to increasingly broaden our perspective." Conrad said that while arsenic might not be a essential element life, it is a tolerable one, and that opens up the potential for other tolerable elements.
Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon closed the conference by saying this wasn't about arsenic and wasn't about Mono Lake. "It's about thinking about life in a planetary concept and asking questions - simple questions, with a simple experimental design."
Very interesting stuff
It redefines lots of thoughts on alien life, it will be cool to see what develops from this.
Quote
Arsenic is an element that is deadly to most living creatures, but bacteria living in California's Lake Mono thrive on it. Today NASA explains how those poison-eating organisms are changing the way we search for extraterrestrial life.
News of an arsenic-eating bacteria residing in alkaline Lake Mono first came two years ago. As reported by the BBC, researchers discovered a bacterium that utilizes arsenic in photosynthesis instead of water to transform carbon dioxide into food.
So what is different about NASA's new finding?
Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon of the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park says that the microbe, known as GFAJ-1, isn't simply substituting arsenic for water. It's substituting arsenic for phosphorus, one of the fundamental building blocks of life.
"We know that some microbes can breathe arsenic, but what we've found is a microbe doing something new — building parts of itself out of arsenic," said Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a NASA Astrobiology Research Fellow in residence at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif., and the research team's lead scientist. "If something here on Earth can do something so unexpected, what else can life do that we haven't seen yet?"
During the press conference, Wolfe-Simon explained that the reason arsenic is so toxic to normal life, is that it's so close to phosphorus our bodies can't tell them apart.
"Nothing should have grown," she said of the environment of Lake Mono. Yet it did. "It has solved the challenge of being alive in a very different way than we knew of."
The arsenic is associated specifically with a band of genomic DNA. It's inside the cell. It's part of the microbe, taking the place of phosphorus.
Arizona State University's Dr. James Elser explained that the existence of an organism that does without phosphorus has far-reaching possibilities. "It's very exciting to think about the possibilities of a clever organism that's evolved beyond using phosphorus," said Elser after explaining how vital the element is to life on Earth. He marveled over the possible uses for such an organism, including water treatment, bio-energy production, and even recovering phosphorus used in other processes.
Dr. Steven Benner of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution put things in layman's terms. Using a steel chain to represent a phosphorus bio-polymer, he likened arsenic to a tinfoil link. When a link is broken it searches for a replacement, and the chain could be confused by the similar structure of arsenic. He called the element a demon wolf, tricking organisms into taking it it.
"Remember, the weakness of the link is a weakness measured at room temperature...in water," Benner said. There are places in our own solar system where the conditions are very different that could support another sort of life entirely, as is the case with Lake Mono and GFAJ-1.
NASA astrobiologist Dr. Pamela Conrad spoke next. She develops habitability metrics for alien worlds, and she's delighted by the discovery, as it will make her change the way she defines those metrics. "The implication is that we still don't know everything there is to know about what might make a habitable environment on another planet. We have to increasingly broaden our perspective." Conrad said that while arsenic might not be a essential element life, it is a tolerable one, and that opens up the potential for other tolerable elements.
Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon closed the conference by saying this wasn't about arsenic and wasn't about Mono Lake. "It's about thinking about life in a planetary concept and asking questions - simple questions, with a simple experimental design."
Very interesting stuff
It redefines lots of thoughts on alien life, it will be cool to see what develops from this.
Soul 02 Dec 2010
Oh my, how fascinating . I too can't wait to see what develops from this discovery.
Wizard 02 Dec 2010
Ion Cannon! 03 Dec 2010
It's very interesting, I always wondered why some scientists seemed to think the principles of life on earth MUST therefore be the same on other planets. It's always made alot more sense to me that different organisms in different environments/planets - wouldn't neccessarily have the same principles to form life.
Destiny 03 Dec 2010
If there's arsenic-based lifeforms, silicon-based lifeforms won't be that much of science fiction !
Raven 03 Dec 2010
Very interesting.
Well, this might mean that the next gen unmanned space explorers would be equipped to find non-carbon based life forms.
Well, this might mean that the next gen unmanned space explorers would be equipped to find non-carbon based life forms.
TheDR 03 Dec 2010
Ion Cannon!, on 3 Dec 2010, 1:01, said:
It's very interesting, I always wondered why some scientists seemed to think the principles of life on earth MUST therefore be the same on other planets. It's always made alot more sense to me that different organisms in different environments/planets - wouldn't neccessarily have the same principles to form life.
Well they have thought about it but just haven't got any evidence so it was just a theory. It was essentially science fiction until they discovered this bacteria. I don't think they were being stubborn, i think they really just believed it to be truly fictional.
Chyros 03 Dec 2010
To be honest, from a chemical-biological point of view, it's less peculiar than most bacteria.
Areze 04 Dec 2010
Chyros, on 3 Dec 2010, 17:45, said:
To be honest, from a chemical-biological point of view, it's less peculiar than most bacteria.
True. When there are lifeforms here on Earth that consider Oxygen, a fundament for us and most complex life to be a deadly poison, I'll have a hard time raising an eyebrow at the foibles of bacteria and their literal ubiquitousness on this planet and most like many, many others.
Chyros 04 Dec 2010
Areze, on 4 Dec 2010, 2:56, said:
Chyros, on 3 Dec 2010, 17:45, said:
To be honest, from a chemical-biological point of view, it's less peculiar than most bacteria.
True. When there are lifeforms here on Earth that consider Oxygen, a fundament for us and most complex life to be a deadly poison, I'll have a hard time raising an eyebrow at the foibles of bacteria and their literal ubiquitousness on this planet and most like many, many others.
Edited by Chyros, 04 December 2010 - 02:25.
Hobbesy 04 Dec 2010
Areze, on 3 Dec 2010, 19:56, said:
True. When there are lifeforms here on Earth that consider Oxygen, a fundament for us and most complex life to be a deadly poison, I'll have a hard time raising an eyebrow at the foibles of bacteria and their literal ubiquitousness on this planet and most like many, many others.
Quote
Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon of the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park says that the microbe, known as GFAJ-1, isn't simply substituting arsenic for water. It's substituting arsenic for phosphorus, one of the fundamental building blocks of life.
It's not just using arsenic to live, it IS MADE OF arsenic. I'd personally like to think the very fact that this bacteria redefines everything known about how life can form is pretty damn important.
That said, NASA has still failed to deliver.
Edited by Hobbesy, 04 December 2010 - 05:39.
NergiZed 04 Dec 2010
Ja, saw this, pretty fukken incredible, but I'm sure there's plenty of weird forms of life on earth that we haven't discovered yet and in all honesty.
Edited by NergiZed, 04 December 2010 - 05:41.
Edited by NergiZed, 04 December 2010 - 05:41.
Chyros 04 Dec 2010
Hobbesy, on 4 Dec 2010, 7:29, said:
Areze, on 3 Dec 2010, 19:56, said:
True. When there are lifeforms here on Earth that consider Oxygen, a fundament for us and most complex life to be a deadly poison, I'll have a hard time raising an eyebrow at the foibles of bacteria and their literal ubiquitousness on this planet and most like many, many others.
Quote
Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon of the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park says that the microbe, known as GFAJ-1, isn't simply substituting arsenic for water. It's substituting arsenic for phosphorus, one of the fundamental building blocks of life.
It's not just using arsenic to live, it IS MADE OF arsenic. I'd personally like to think the very fact that this bacteria redefines everything known about how life can form is pretty damn important.
Ghostrider 04 Dec 2010
Quote
As reported by the BBC, researchers discovered a bacterium that utilizes arsenic in photosynthesis instead of water to transform carbon dioxide into food.
^^ This is pretty significant. It means if you breed these bacteria to a large extent they'll take CO2 out of the atmosphere using arsenic instead of water.
The atmospheres of other planets is almost entirely CO2 (in a much more stable state), but there is very little water. If there is arsenic, however, you could introduce these bacteria in large quantities, and they'll begin taking CO2 out of the atmosphere.