NASA: Life in Space? Not Quite, but Life That Thrives on Arsenic

ABCnews,com ^ | Dec. 2, 2010 | NED POTTER

[ColdOne]

Life in space? Not quite. But to scientists in the arcane field of astrobiology, it's still pretty cool.

Scientists at NASA's Astrobiology Institute report they have found bacteria -- in Mono Lake, Calif., not in space -- that could be made to live on arsenic. The organism is called GFAJ-1. The finding is important because it expands the prevailing view of what it takes for living things to survive.

[ColdOne]

ping

[GreenLanternCorps]

Mortimer, do you think that new organism would like some of our Elderberry wine?

[Calvin Locke]

THAT was the freakin' announcement?

I'm off to build another lock for the canal...Charge!

[ccmay]

As usual, Star Trek got there forty years ago.

-ccm

[ColdOne]

One of my favorite movies! LOL

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks ColdOne. Mono Lake?!? My mom and dad warned me about that when I was in junior high.

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[SunkenCiv]

Thanks ColdOne. A two-list topic; panspermia ping.

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[bigheadfred]

Mono Lake?!? My mom and dad warned me about that when I was in junior high.

Yes, but, you just had to go there didn't you?

Why don't they send a team to D.C.?

Those bstrds keep force feeding us crap foreign to our Constitution and while not exactly thriving, we're still here.

[rdl6989]

And here I was expecting some big dramatic announcement that ET had phoned home or something.

[NavyCanDo]

Heck with bacteria, there mission should be to find the planet where those green skin Orion girls live. Now that would be worth my tax dollars.

[SunkenCiv]

There’s an Obama joke in there somewhere. ;’)

[SunkenCiv]

For the same reason they don’t send a team out at night to search for dark. They know it’s there.

[goseminoles]

I couldn’t watch more than 20 seconds of the dolts announcing this. Fox even cut them off...

[AndrewC]

A glorified “lithotroph”. What will they discover next? /sarc

[SunkenCiv]

• NASA Sets News Conference on Astrobiology Discovery; Embargoed Details Until 2 p.m. EST On Dec. 2
• NASA to make MAJOR ALIENS REVELATION this week
• Nasa raises hopes of finding extra-terrestrials, discovery of 'alien' bacteria, survives in arsenic
• NASA's 'Extraterrestrial' Announcement Gets Blown Out of Proportion
• Life as we don't know it ... on Earth?

[SunkenCiv]

• Backing off an arsenic-eating claim (NASA search for life)
• Scientists: NASA's alleged discovery of arsenic-based life is crap