A bacterium found in the arsenic-filled waters of a Californian lake is poised to overturn scientists' understanding of the biochemistry of living organisms. The microbe seems to be able to replace phosphorus with arsenic in some of its basic cellular processes — suggesting the possibility of a biochemistry very different from the one we know, which could be used by organisms in past or present extreme environments on Earth, or even on other planets.
Source/Attribution
'Arsenic-eating microbe may redefine chemistry of life'; Alla Katsnelson, Nature News, December 2, 2010, www.nature.com.
Added Thu, Dec 2 2010 at 9:08PM UTC by