California Lake's Arsenic Hints At a Shadow Biosphere 155
Posted
by
timothy
from the some-more-tea-dear? dept.
from the some-more-tea-dear? dept.
MichaelSmith writes "Scientists think that there might be arsenic-based life in Mono Lake, California. If it's shown to exist, such life could have evolved independently from our own, or it could have forked from ours at a very early stage."
Made Robert Henke lose his hair (Score:3, Informative)
This Monolake? [monolake.de]
Paper by Wolfe-Simon et al. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Hmm.. (Score:5, Informative)
Well for one, a great deal of biochemistry involves ATP in normal life forms that has little to do with energy transport. Proteins can be activated through phosphorylation by ATP. DNA is constructed using ATP and its base analogues. Glucose must be phosphorylated twice before it is done being biochemically broken down to reducing equivalents and CO2. These processes especially phosphorylation of proteins and DNA structure, all work because PO4 is the right size. A system based on AsO4 would have proteins and genetic structure much different than our own structurally speaking. Also, the triarsenate analogues could very well be markedly unstable.
Re:This is sheer speculation so far! (Score:4, Informative)
developing a methodology to search for something is usually considered publishable research in and of itself. (if said methodology is genuinely unique) the results (be they positive or negative) are often presented in a follow-up paper.
Re:Arsenic life forms? (Score:2, Informative)
It's based on the following post:
hey
I accidentally 93MB of
what should I do...is this dangerous ?
Read more about it here: http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/I_accidentally_X [encycloped...matica.com]
Re:The important questions... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Paper by Wolfe-Simon et al. (Score:5, Informative)
Well, the answer is still: No.
I just read TFA. (Yeah, I know, shame on me. ;)
And actually, she is just taking buckets of the water, diluting them so they contain more arsenic and less phosphorus, and adding sugar etc, to see if she finds organisms who then thrive.
But the point is: She still found nothing at all. She’s just taking water and playing with it.
Now of course I’m not saying that the theory isn’t true. Since we simply don’t know it yet.
So her work is good and I’m happy she does it.
Just... saying that there is arsenic life there... is just disingenuous. If you know what I mean.
But I bet she did not intent to be disingenuous. Instead I bet, that the media hype machine is to blame.
Re:The important questions... (Score:1, Informative)
Yes. no.
You only need a very small amount to be able to taste it (and bitter is a taste, almond is an smell).
Re:The important questions... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:The important questions... (Score:5, Informative)
Don't put unleaded in a diesel.
They Are Made Of Meat! (Score:1, Informative)
From Terry Bisson - I think this short story sums it up nicely
http://www.terrybisson.com/page6/page6.html [terrybisson.com]
"I thought you just told me they used radio."
"They do, but what do you think is on the radio? Meat sounds. You know how when you slap or flap meat, it makes a noise? They talk by flapping their meat at each other. They can even sing by squirting air through their meat."
"Omigod. Singing meat. This is altogether too much. So what do you advise?"
----------
You will love the ending.
Re:Hmm.. (Score:4, Informative)
Well for one, a great deal of biochemistry involves ATP in normal life forms that has little to do with energy transport. Proteins can be activated through phosphorylation by ATP. DNA is constructed using ATP and its base analogues. Glucose must be phosphorylated twice before it is done being biochemically broken down to reducing equivalents and CO2. These processes especially phosphorylation of proteins and DNA structure, all work because PO4 is the right size. A system based on AsO4 would have proteins and genetic structure much different than our own structurally speaking. Also, the triarsenate analogues could very well be markedly unstable.
The Times article is dreadful.
Ronald S. Oremland of the USGS has been researching this for years. He is a fascinating speaker on the subject.
He has shown that there are microbes in Mono Lake that have an arsenic based metabolism.He and his team have elucidated a good part of the metabolic pathways involved Similar microbes are found in soil as well.
For a brief over view of the metabolism see http://microbiology.usgs.gov/geomicrobiology_arsenic.html [usgs.gov]