InfoAnda - US space agency finds new form of life... on Earth

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

US backs Japan on NKorea, invites PM to White House | 17 February 2009
Hollande urges turnout as poll shows French left winning | | 8 June 2012
Manhattan's new top prosecutor promises humility | 5 January 2010

Fauna play key role in circulating seas, says study | 30 July 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : US space agency finds new form of life... on Earth

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Weekend Edition Top Stories Most Popular Photos Full Coverage Sitemap US space agency finds new form of life... on Earth AFP - 1 hour 30 minutes ago Send IM Story Print WASHINGTON (AFP) - – Bacteria that thrive on arsenic have been scooped from the depths of a California lake, a discovery that redefines the building blocks of life and offers new hope in the search for extraterrestrial beings. Not only do the bacteria survive on arsenic, they also grow by incorporating the element into their DNA and cell membranes, said the study funded by the US space agency NASA and published Thursday in the journal Science. The findings add a new dimension to what biologists consider the necessary elements for life, currently viewed as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur. "What is new here is arsenic is being used as a building block for the organism," explained Ariel Anbar, co-author of the study. "We have had this idea that life requires these six elements with no exceptions and here it turns out, well maybe there is an exception." Focus: NASA discovery changes how science views 'life' The discovery was made by Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a former postdoctoral scientist in Anbar's research group at Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration. "If something here on Earth can do something so unexpected, what else can life do that we haven't seen yet? Now is the time to find out," she said. NASA's vague announcement earlier this week of a press conference on "an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life" set the Internet abuzz with speculation. Astrobiology relates to the study of life in the universe, including its origin and evolution, where it is located and how it might survive in the future. NASA has conducted numerous probes at eastern California's Mono Lake, an unusually salty body of water with high arsenic and mineral levels, as it likely to reflect conditions under which early life evolved on Earth, or perhaps Mars. But, Anbar acknowledged, while the discovery is exciting in that it shifts the notion of what is needed for life to exist, it would be quite a leap to presume the next step is discovering alien life on other planets. "It is more the principle of the thing," he said. "We are very influenced by life as we know it and it gets very difficult to know, how far can we push that? How different can life be and still work?" A few years ago, Wolfe-Simon, Anbar and colleague Paul Davies began discussing the idea that different life forms could exist on Earth but by biological rules unlike ours, a notion known informally by scientists as "weird life." The trio published their 2009 hypothesis that arsenic, which is directly below phosphorus on the periodic table, could substitute for phosphorus in Earth life forms. "We not only hypothesized that biochemical systems analogous to those known today could utilize arsenate in the equivalent biological role as phosphate," said Wolfe-Simon. "But also that such organisms could have evolved on the ancient Earth and might persist in unusual environments today." Wolfe-Simon then went out into the field to test the theory, collaborating with Ronald Oremland, known as a world expert in arsenic microbiology, of the US Geological Survey. She scooped sediment from Mono Lake and brought the material back to the lab. "She takes this sediment, puts it in a bottle essentially where there is lots of arsenic and very little phosphorus, and she does it over and over so only organisms that are going to be happy in that environment survive," said Anbar. Wolfe-Simon was able to get a bacteria known as strain GFAJ-1 of the Halomonadaceae family of Gamoproteobacteria to grow in the lab. "The organism came from nature," said Anbar. "It is a known bacteria. It is not a brand new bug but nobody realized it could do this." The discovery could open new avenues in disease research, and possibly new chapters in biology books, researchers said. Previous scientific discoveries have found examples of life forms existing on Earth in extreme heat, cold, acidic environments and airless underground pockets. "Sometimes you think something is not going to work, but then you go looking for it and sometimes you may find it," said Anbar. "And then you realize, oh, I didn't understand things quite as well as I thought I did before. And that happens all the time in science. That's part of what makes it fun." Recommend Send IM Story Print News Search Top Stories US space agency finds new form of life... on Earth Forest fire inferno kills 40 in northern Israel Ouattara named winner of I.Coast election ECB extends bank loans, holds fire on bond buying US jobless claims tick up More Top Stories » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended Finger length predicts prostate cancer risk: study 'Critical safety issue' with Rolls A380 engine FA condemn pitch invasion on eve of 2018 vote Obama reverses oil drill expansion after BP spill ECB extends bank loans, holds fire on bond buying More Most Viewed » 'Naked' airport scanners may be 'dangerous' Pilgrims stone 'devil' as Muslims celebrate Eid World leaders scramble for funds to save the tiger US, S.Korea plan war games after N.Korean attack Obama gets 12 stitches after 'elbow in the lip' More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! Financial news on Yahoo! Finance Stars and latest movies Best travel destinations More on Yahoo! News Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Weekend Edition Subscribe to our news feeds Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS » More news feeds | What are news feeds? Also on Yahoo! Answers Groups Mail Messenger Mobile Travel Finance Movies Sports Games » All Yahoo! Services Site Highlights Singapore Full Coverage Most Popular Entertainment Photos Yahoo! News Network Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Community | Intellectual Property Rights Policy | Help

Other News on Friday, 3 December 2010
Snow batters Europe and Britain grinds to halt
Karzai says coalition killed former local official
Gowalla app syncs with Foursquare and Facebook
Lawyer for WikiLeaks' Assange denies warrant valid |
Forest fire inferno kills 40 in northern Israel
Swedish police to issue new warrant for WikiLeaks head
US space agency finds new form of life... on Earth
Acer sees shortages as smartphone demand surprises
Ouattara named winner of I.Coast election
Time Warner's Bewkes skeptical of Netflix plan
Protest in Haiti capital demands rerun of elections |
ECB extends bank loans, holds fire on bond buying
US jobless claims tick up
Egypt says may seek atomic arms if Iran does: WikiLeaks cables |
ECB to continue buying government bonds: Trichet
Motorola mobile division expects first quarter loss
Huge Israel forest fire kills dozens: rescue services |
South Sudan army says northern ambush kills 12 |
China says hard to keep 'friendly' Norway ties after Nobel
Boos, jeers as Australia misses out on 2022
Tokyo pledges future bid for World Cup
Kyoto feud casts shadow on climate talks
Thai police link forgery arrests to huge terror cell
Taiwan to retire one in four generals
US cables reveal bribe fears in Thai Bout arms case
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei blocked from leaving China
UN atomic watchdog has 'great concern' over N.Korea
Ebay buys local shopping website Milo |
Google: satellite platform to aid forest efforts |
RIM buys Swedish firm to improve screen design |
Clearwire plans to sell over $1.1 billion in debt |
DirecTV to add more than 200,000 U.S. subs in Q4 |
Aretha Franklin to undergo surgery, reason undisclosed |
Ellen DeGeneres would be best holiday party guest: poll |
US-TECH Summary
RIM buys Swedish firm to improve screen design
DirecTV to add more than 200,000 U.S. subs in Q4
Google alters algorithm to combat abusive sellers
Diller out as IAC CEO, Liberty sells stake
Chinese army must deal with cyberwarfare: state media
Motorola mobile division expects first quarter loss
Google: satellite platform to aid forest efforts
UK forces in Helmand 'made mess of things': WikiLeaks
South Korea will bomb North if attacked again |
Ebay buys local shopping site Milo
US alarmed at 'corrupt, paranoid' Afghans: leaks
Ivory Coast poll winner named, army seals borders |
Lawyer for WikiLeaks's Assange denies warrant valid |
US congressman plans 'Do Not Track' bill for children
Israel struggles to contain deadly wildfires
Israel struggles to contain deadly wildfires |
Egypt opposition party to abandon seats won in vote
Suspect in Hollywood PR shooting commits suicide
Zynga buys rising mobile game star Newtoy
India expects to break logjam in climate talks |
Fears grow over length of US jobs crisis
Iran says arrests people behind scientist murder
Google to pay couple one dollar for trespassing
Qantas pilots saved crippled Airbus, investigator says |
Leave "path of confrontation," West tells Iran
Clearwire plans to sell over $1.1 billion in debt
Top Guinea court confirms Conde as president |
In Afghan cauldron, realism can trump the rulebook
China's U.N. influence rising, West should be careful: institute |
Afghan president: NATO killed ex-local official
Execs in India bribery probe ordered to judicial custody
OSCE fails to gain powers as old conflicts smolder |
Samsung promotes chairman's son, daughter
Christie's sets Hong Kong auction record
Ryan Gosling fired from film after ice cream binge
Triple despair in Asia as World Cup goes to Qatar
"Social Network" named best film by National Board of Review
Malaysia to deport Indonesian terror suspect
Global Weather-Celsius
Biggest US-Japan naval drill starts amid N.Korea crisis
Hussey leads Aussie Ashes fightback after early wickets
Germans strip to protest sky-high rents
Wine buffs take 'Golden Spitter' test
U.S., Japan stage joint drill amid regional tensions
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Bangladeshi pioneer of microfinancing faces charges of 'aid anomalies'
Disney's hairy princess could take box office crown
Future of TV? Snapping, swiping and surfing |
Seoul shares gain as Samsung Elec rallies
Ousted CBS weatherman: "It's a cruel business"
Japanese whaler leaves for Antarctic waters: Greenpeace
China to tighten monetary policy in 2011: Xinhua
Republicans cool to do not track Web plan |
Ryan Gosling fired from film after ice cream binge
Amazon blocks out WikiLeaks, but denies U.S. pressure |
Drummer says Jim Morrison never exposed himself
Amazon, eBay, Google going local |
China will pump 40 billion into Venezuela energy
Aretha Franklin says surgery "highly successful"
"Social Network" named best film by key group
S.Korea won extends gains to one-wk high on stocks
New wine case possible for US Supreme Court
Taiwan 2011 government bond issuance seen below 2010
Seoul shares end higher, Samsung Elec rallies
US, South Korea continue hunt for trade deal
S.Korea 3-yr treasury bonds firmer; curve steeper
Chairman's son becomes Samsung Electronics president
Korea Hot Stocks
Bristol Palin defends herself against Olbermann |
Disney's hairy princess could take box office crown |
'Dexter' stalks Season 6 renewal |
Ryan Gosling fired from film after ice cream binge |
Ricky Gervais and Emily Blunt join Muppets movie |
Drummer says Jim Morrison never exposed himself |
Another US company pulls plug on WikiLeaks
Ousted CBS weatherman: It's a cruel business |
Angelina Jolie defends Bosnian directorial debut |
WikiLeaks 'tweets' Kennedy speech on secrecy
Republicans cool to "do not track" Web plan
Clinton says Iran and North Korea could spark arms races
WikiLeaks' site back with Swiss name after cyber attacks
Mobile firms seeing ads coming to handsets
Saudi king to go undergo more surgery on Friday
Karzai seen as weak by U.S., own cabinet: WikiLeaks |
Euro is "credible," not in crisis: Trichet
Google ramps up fight against online piracy
Civilians displaced as Nigeria raids oil delta camps |
Amazon blocks out WikiLeaks, but denies U.S. pressure
WikiLeaks: Bribery, graft rampant in Afghanistan
International crews help Israel fight forest fire |
Amazon, eBay, Google going local
Future of TV? Snapping, swiping and surfing
Egypt pressed for delay in Sudan referendum
Executives in India bribery probe granted bail |
Formidable Israel lacks fire-fighting planes |
Northern Europe freeze kills 12 in Poland, disrupts transport |
Thai AirAsia launches Bangkok-Delhi, Bangkok-Kolkata routes
Berlusconi in Russia amid revelations of US concern
Philippines, communists to resume peace talks
Susan Boyle to regain chart crown as Peas flop
Oil leak possible cause of A380 blast: investigators
Bristol Palin defends herself against Olbermann
'Dexter' stalks Season 6 renewal
US missionary smashes portrait of N.Korea leader Kim
Ricky Gervais and Emily Blunt join Muppets movie
Japan confirms 1st high-risk bird flu on farm since '07
Mobile firms seeing ads coming to handsets |
British bank RBS to sell Uzbekistan unit to KDB
China vows to tighten monetary policy in 2011
Samsung promotes heir apparent, shares hit record |
Four Taiwan firms confirm AIG Taiwan unit bids
SAP open to expanding cooperation with HP: paper |
Taiwan's Cathay Fin confirms AIG Taiwan unit bid
France seeks to bar hosting WikiLeaks website |
Pakistan
WikiLeaks moves site to Switzerland amid U.S. fury |
Sands China loses bid for lucrative Macau land
France to auction 4G wireless frequencies by summer |
Nissan sets December 20 launch date for electric Leaf
Four global retailers seek stake in Indonesian retailer
Interview: One flash of her neck and Johnny Depp was done for |
Susan Boyle to regain chart crown as Peas flop |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01