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The scientific community has been very busy debating over a controversial issue surrounding a bacterium from California.
It all started when NASA astrobiology fellow Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon and her team published a research article in Science in December 2010. Wolfe-Simon and colleagues have isolated a strain of bacterium called GFAJ-1 from arsenic-rich Mono Lake, California. In the paper, the authors reported that this GFAJ-1 can grow in arsenic cultures without phosphorus. Furthermore, they announced that the bacterium can incorporate arsenic into essential biomolecues, including DNA and proteins. Continue reading –>
Something About Science 
[…] arsenic into its essential biomolecules, including DNA and proteins. (For more recap, check out my older post.) Arsenic is very similar to phosphorus. However, unlike phosphorus which is essential to living […]