03/12/1910 For Clarin
opens new horizons in the search for ET life. It draws from a poison and is evidence that other forms of life are possible.
From giraffes to the fungus that can affect the human foot. Since the condor to the bacteria that cause diarrhea. All life forms on Earth depend on 6 elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur. But yesterday NASA scientists announced to the world that they had found a single terrestrial bacteria that can use arsenic as one of its nutrients, instead of phosphorus. The result would increase the chances of that are life forms on Mars or Titan, a moon of Saturn, places that have concentrations of arsenic, the researchers said. Although not all agree.
The finding, published today in the journal Science , was unveiled yesterday at a world press conference, televised live and attended Clarín by telephone. Simultaneously, many people online through social networks expressed his skepticism and even allowed to doubt or joke about the news.
The team leader is Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a researcher who a year ago with two colleagues discussed the possibility that the arsenic had been replaced to match old life systems.
Arsenic is an element that is toxic to most living things.
But the researchers suspect that some microbes could adapt and use it to survive. To test their hypothesis, gathered mud of Mono Lake, California, where he knew that arsenic concentrations were high, and brought the material to his lab. Cultivated microorganisms that were in the mud. Identified the bacteria GFAJ-1 and exposed to increasing concentrations of arsenic. The result was that the organism can adapt and grow with arsenic in their DNA. Although, of course, you can do better with phosphorus.
What is the result? There are different nuances that were reported by Argentine scientists to Clarín. According to Guillermo Lemarchand, which is the subject of astrobiology at UNESCO and was a collaborator of Carl Sagan, "The discovery opens paths that may lead to evidence that life is a phenomenon of universal features. Opens the range of possibilities for other biologics and facilitates the design of new experiments to find life on other worlds. It also opens the door to technological developments here on Earth. For example, the extremophile bacteria could eliminate the contamination of arsenic in water, which affects areas of Argentina. "
Meanwhile, Alejandro Gangui, astrophysicist, and a researcher at CONICET, said "it is surprising that this bacterium changed some of its internal constitution bioelements in , probably influenced by an adverse environment."
For Alberto Kornblihtt, molecular biology researcher at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, UBA and CONICET: "This finding is important from the point of view of the life forms on Earth, but does not break any of the laws of chemistry. Because arsenic is an element that has properties very similar to phosphorus . Therefore, it is conceivable that arsenic is one of the DNA of the bacteria. " The researcher emphasized in his position: "This finding does not mean or provide evidence of extraterrestrial life."
The finding, published today in the journal Science , was unveiled yesterday at a world press conference, televised live and attended Clarín by telephone. Simultaneously, many people online through social networks expressed his skepticism and even allowed to doubt or joke about the news.
The team leader is Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a researcher who a year ago with two colleagues discussed the possibility that the arsenic had been replaced to match old life systems.
Arsenic is an element that is toxic to most living things.
But the researchers suspect that some microbes could adapt and use it to survive. To test their hypothesis, gathered mud of Mono Lake, California, where he knew that arsenic concentrations were high, and brought the material to his lab. Cultivated microorganisms that were in the mud. Identified the bacteria GFAJ-1 and exposed to increasing concentrations of arsenic. The result was that the organism can adapt and grow with arsenic in their DNA. Although, of course, you can do better with phosphorus.
What is the result? There are different nuances that were reported by Argentine scientists to Clarín. According to Guillermo Lemarchand, which is the subject of astrobiology at UNESCO and was a collaborator of Carl Sagan, "The discovery opens paths that may lead to evidence that life is a phenomenon of universal features. Opens the range of possibilities for other biologics and facilitates the design of new experiments to find life on other worlds. It also opens the door to technological developments here on Earth. For example, the extremophile bacteria could eliminate the contamination of arsenic in water, which affects areas of Argentina. "
Meanwhile, Alejandro Gangui, astrophysicist, and a researcher at CONICET, said "it is surprising that this bacterium changed some of its internal constitution bioelements in , probably influenced by an adverse environment."
For Alberto Kornblihtt, molecular biology researcher at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, UBA and CONICET: "This finding is important from the point of view of the life forms on Earth, but does not break any of the laws of chemistry. Because arsenic is an element that has properties very similar to phosphorus . Therefore, it is conceivable that arsenic is one of the DNA of the bacteria. " The researcher emphasized in his position: "This finding does not mean or provide evidence of extraterrestrial life."
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