NASA Finds New Life (Updated with Pictures)

[ArmoHayk]

Source: GIZMODO (http://gizmodo.com/5704158/nasa-finds-new-life)

This is breaking news. NASA claims they have found " bacteria whose DNA is completely alien to what we know today". NASA is scheduled to give a press conference scheduled in 10 minutes explaining the new findings.


Hours before their special news conference today, the cat is out of the bag: NASA has discovered a completely new life form that doesn't share the biological building blocks of anything currently living in planet Earth. This changes everything. Updated.

Moderator please move to correct forum.

[Zert]

That is interesting, in what way shall it benefit us though?

[ArmoHayk]

You can view the press conference right now on NASA TV. Just don't tell your boss :)

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

[Grasshoppa]

I always wondered why people were always so sure that all life would need the same requirements to be or form. I guess that was just based on life as we know it here on earth, so suggesting that life could exist elsewhere with different "building blocks" would've probably been considered an overly open-minded point of view with no evidence, until now. I guess this means life doesn't need the highly specific requirements we thought it needed, and so many new possibilities, eh?

[Day Tripper]

Very exciting discovery.

If I've got it right though, the bacterium isn't completely alien to other life on earth. Rather, the remarkable thing is that they can use arsenic in place of phosphorus, but are better off with phosphorus if it is available.

The arsenic bacteria still share a common ancestor with the rest of us...Their lineage isn't parallel to ours.

[Humanist]

Mono Lake research area:

[Wojewoda]

Well, Miss Felisa just poisoned an innocent bacterium with arsenic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GFAJ-1_(bacterium)

Big deal!

[EliasAlucard]

It must have evolved independently from a different amoeba cell than the original amöba cell mutation that evolved into life as we know it.

[elone]

is anyone really suprised though? the thought of us as a planet being the ONLY one in this huge expansive universe is unlikely.im not suprised that there is life.but im still excited


how long do you think it will be before we meet hot green alien chicks? i want my first born son to have tentacles..