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You are so confused I'm not sure where to start. :P It's not a case of arsenic being poisonous on its own but not in DNA. It's a matter of a bacterium not only tolerating arsenic but integrating it into its biochemistry.
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NASA-Funded Research Discovers Life Built With Toxic Chemical
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You are so confused I'm not sure where to start. :P It's not a case of arsenic being poisonous on its own but not in DNA. It's a matter of a bacterium not only tolerating arsenic but integrating it into its biochemistry.
Lucas₇₅₅
Screw the rules, I have green hair!
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Well, I get that, but in all of the things I've read or heard (I didn't read this linked article), it sounded like they were making a big deal about something poisonous being in DNA, not about something new being in DNA, which is the real point of the story. Unless I'm missing something, which I definitely am.
Teh Ebil Snorlax
izombie, uzombie, weallzombie
The point is that normally, when arsenic interacts with living things, it kills the fuck out of them and even those that survive on it have their quality of life greatly decreased but these organisms actually use it to replace phosphorus, which totally averts the usual problems of interaction between arsenic and organisms.
That's why people are amazed that there are organisms making arsenic a part of their biochemistry; because usually it's toxic to organisms. That is amazing.
And I don't know what you're reading but not reading anything linked on the last page might be your problem; the fact that there are living organisms that have a different chemical in their DNA is certainly the most amazing things, it's just made more amazing that the chemical in question is an almost-uniformly toxic chemical.
That's why people are amazed that there are organisms making arsenic a part of their biochemistry; because usually it's toxic to organisms. That is amazing.
And I don't know what you're reading but not reading anything linked on the last page might be your problem; the fact that there are living organisms that have a different chemical in their DNA is certainly the most amazing things, it's just made more amazing that the chemical in question is an almost-uniformly toxic chemical.
Kali the Flygon
Devourer of Sandshrews
This isn't the first time life has found a way to thrive by using a previously-toxic chemical, so I'm not surprised. A long time ago, bacteria discovered the Aerobic cycle, utilizing oxygen for energy rather than expelling it as waste.
To be honest, methane and carbon dioxide seem to make up the atmosphere of most planets too small to retain pure hydrogen. One sign of possible life that scientists could look for is the presence of free oxygen as a significant portion of the planet's atmosphere.
To be honest, methane and carbon dioxide seem to make up the atmosphere of most planets too small to retain pure hydrogen. One sign of possible life that scientists could look for is the presence of free oxygen as a significant portion of the planet's atmosphere.
