[QUOTE=ExplodingGuy;26462500]The only "hypothesis" that I could really come up with this, is that the bacteria were gradually introduced into their arsenic rich environment, the bacteria without the mutation that allowed for increased tolerance to arsenic compounds slowly died of, while the survivors gradually introduced arsenic into their physiology.
[/QUOTE]
Or maybe the life was formed in arsenic or other chemical compounds, from replicator molecules. This would be more likely, because at first sunlight didn't pass the earths atmosphere -> No photosynthesis -> No plants/alga -> no bacteria that would adapt.
At start they probably were simple virus-like systems (viruses are not what we call "living"), biological machines.
So...
Can humans have sex with it?
Soon we'll have bacteria living in heat, and then Pasteur will start rolling in his grave!
[QUOTE=Maucer;26462637]Or maybe the life was formed in arsenic or other chemical compounds, from replicator molecules. This would be more likely, because at first sunlight didn't pass the earths atmosphere -> No photosynthesis -> No plants/alga -> no bacteria that would adapt.
At start they probably were simple virus-like systems (viruses are not what we call "living"), biological machines.[/QUOTE]
I wouldn't think this would have happened during biogenesis, aside from using arsenate in the place of phosphate, GFAJ-1 is almost identical to fellow gammaproteobacteria. Which might suggest that this new strain arose after the first strain of gammaproteobacteria.
[QUOTE=latin_geek;26462772]Soon we'll have bacteria living in heat, and then Pasteur will start rolling in his grave![/QUOTE]
[URL="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/euk-extreme/#Thermophiles"]Too late.[/URL]
[QUOTE=faze;26448120]Could have come from another planet...I doubt it originated here. Scientifically this makes no sense.[/QUOTE]
... Please tell me you're joking.
It almost certainly originated here, it's just a case of divergent evolution way back when, it's simply to do with the conditions of the lake that it arose in.
[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;26454991]It's called speculating the origin of the bacteria.[/QUOTE]
Why this bacteria? Every bacteria "might" be alien, but we have no reason to believe so.
told my mum the title of thread
she said must be because scientologists swim in it
i facepalm
[QUOTE=Hana-San;26479774]told my mum the title of thread
she said must be because scientologists swim in it
i facepalm[/QUOTE]
Sounds like your mum was mocking scientology.
Why the fuck would you facepalm at that you fool?
[editline]4th December 2010[/editline]
[QUOTE=sp00ks;26472918]Why this bacteria? Every bacteria "might" be alien, but we have no reason to believe so.[/QUOTE]
Yeah but this specific bacteria has a bit of weight behind that claim dude, it's made use of an element that is pretty fuckin poisonous and actually assimilated it into the very structure of it's DNA.
:iia:
[editline]4th December 2010[/editline]
I guess this can relate to that moment where I was looking at the sky, then I looked down and found a penny.
[QUOTE=NotSo1337;26481203]:iia:
[editline]4th December 2010[/editline]
I guess this can relate to that moment where I was looking at the sky, then I looked down and found a penny.[/QUOTE]
Alien penny, it'll evolve over night into a rape alien, rubber cement your anus!! save yourself!! :tinfoil:
The DNA will burn down your house!
[QUOTE=bravehat;26481142]Sounds like your mum was mocking scientology.
Why the fuck would you facepalm at that you fool?
[editline]4th December 2010[/editline]
Yeah but this specific bacteria has a bit of weight behind that claim dude, it's made use of an element that is pretty fuckin poisonous and actually assimilated it into the very structure of it's DNA.[/QUOTE]
Isn't iron poisonous too? Like, what our red blood cells are made off?
This discovery is incredible because it shows that there's more than one way to make DNA.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;26447912] It opens the doors to finding life in a myriad of different environments, many of which we already know to exist on planets we know about[/QUOTE]
I remember hearing a theory that life could exist on one of Jupiter's moons, living in the liquid methane like life lives in water here on Earth.
They would breath H2 instead of O2, and exhale methane instead of CO2.
Mightymax may have rated me dumb, but he does not know the dangers of Arsonist DNA!
[QUOTE=GamerKiwi;26485493]...and exhale methane instead of CO2.[/QUOTE]
Holy fuck that would be badass :science:
[QUOTE=GamerKiwi;26485493]I remember hearing a theory that life could exist on one of Jupiter's moons, living in the liquid methane like life lives in water here on Earth.
They would breath H2 instead of O2, and exhale methane instead of CO2.[/QUOTE]
Wasn't that Saturn's moon Titan? Maybe I am remembering incorrectly, but I'm fairly sure it was Titan that we recently probed and found lakes of methane.
[QUOTE=sephrosasia;26486821]Wasn't that Saturn's moon Titan? Maybe I am remembering incorrectly, but I'm fairly sure it was Titan that we recently probed and found lakes of methane.[/QUOTE]
Yes it was.
[QUOTE=GamerKiwi;26485493]I remember hearing a theory that life could exist on one of Jupiter's moons, living in the liquid methane like life lives in water here on Earth.
They would breath H2 instead of O2, and exhale methane instead of CO2.[/QUOTE]
It would be neat to find a lifeform that generates methane and somehow lights it on fire to get thrust and fly around
rocket squirrels
[QUOTE=Turnips5;26485284]Chemistry doesn't work like that.
Sodium is a metal which pretty much fucking blows up if you put it near water and is poisonous.
Chlorine gas is lethal.
Put them together and you have the stuff you put on your chips.
[editline]4th December 2010[/editline]
This discovery is incredible not because arsenic is poisonous, but because it shows that there's more than one way to make DNA.[/QUOTE]
I've done two years of uni level chemistry, I know what salt is, that still doesn't change the fact arsenic is toxic.
[editline]5th December 2010[/editline]
[QUOTE=Zeke129;26500446]It would be neat to find a lifeform that generates methane and somehow lights it on fire to get thrust and fly around
rocket squirrels[/QUOTE]
The skewers of Darwin IV did that :v: they were awesome.
[QUOTE=bravehat;26502262]I've done two years of uni level chemistry, I know what salt is, that still doesn't change the fact arsenic is toxic.[/QUOTE]
I think he's trying to infer through inductive reasoning that somehow arsenic compounds can be made non-toxic. As far as I know, no compound that contains arsenic is "safe".
Either way this discovery is awesome.
[QUOTE=ExplodingGuy;26502311]I think he's trying to [B]infer[/B] through inductive reasoning that somehow arsenic compounds can be made non-toxic. As far as I know, no compound that contains arsenic is "safe".[/QUOTE]
I definitely did infer that non-toxic arsenic compounds exist, I didn't try. Probably wrongly, but I totally inferred it.
Anyway yeah, I'm only going through A-level chemistry and so I don't know a whole lot about arsenic, but you're right, I was just trying to apply that reasoning for sodium chloride (since there are loads of other examples of toxic elements and compounds creating non-toxic compounds when they chemically react) to this discovery.
Sorry for being patronising, bravehat.
[editline]5th December 2010[/editline]
[QUOTE=ExplodingGuy;26502311]I think he's trying to infer through inductive reasoning that somehow arsenic compounds can be made non-toxic. As far as I know, no compound that contains arsenic is "safe".[/QUOTE]
Also, we've already found at least one : the DNA analogue found in this study. It's safe at least for these bacteria.
[QUOTE=Turnips5;26509488]I definitely did infer that non-toxic arsenic compounds exist, I didn't try. Probably wrongly, but I totally inferred it.
Anyway yeah, I'm only going through A-level chemistry and so I don't know a whole lot about arsenic, but you're right, I was just trying to apply that reasoning for sodium chloride (since there are loads of other examples of toxic elements and compounds creating non-toxic compounds when they chemically react) to this discovery.
Sorry for being patronising, bravehat.
[editline]5th December 2010[/editline]
Also, we've already found at least one : the DNA analogue found in this study. It's safe at least for these bacteria.[/QUOTE]
Stick to A level, don't go higher, trust me, nothing you learn in school will be even remotely relevant to uni level chemistry, it stops being chemistry and becomes quantum theory on day one, your head will be constantly fucked by the mind fucking jack hammer that is uni chemistry.
[QUOTE=bravehat;26509779]Stick to A level, don't go higher, trust me, nothing you learn in school will be even remotely relevant to uni level chemistry, it stops being chemistry and becomes quantum theory on day one, your head will be constantly fucked by the mind fucking jack hammer that is uni chemistry.[/QUOTE]
Was never planning to, I'm gonna do physics instead.
...
game over
:v:
Sounds terribly challenging though. A-level chemistry seems to be mostly memorisation and application of simple rules.
Physics would be a lot cooler, chemistry is just hell, always has been for me.
[QUOTE=Turnips5;26509488]Also, we've already found at least one : the DNA analogue found in this study. It's safe at least for these bacteria.[/QUOTE]
It is possible that the Arsenate may still be somewhat detrimental to GFAJ-1, and stabilizes arsenate esters using poly-β-hydroxybutyrate, which has been found in other Halomonas strains. As it is expected that arsenate esters are less stable than organophosphates when undergoing hydrolysis.
[QUOTE=bravehat;26510132]Physics would be a lot cooler, chemistry is just hell, always has been for me.[/QUOTE]
Environmental studies is where it's at.
Forensic science used to be cool, but the only cool part I found out this year was the ability to work out probabilities and the like.
If I really wanted to, now I could dominate at texas hold 'em.
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