New lifeforms change the current view of the world

[Hayz]

NASA is announcing today, though it has been leaked early, that they have found a lifeform that is arsenic based, completely changing views on how life works and the possibilities of finding extra-terrestrial life.
http://gizmodo.com/5704158/nasa-finds-new-life

[Lightbeard]

One small step for man, and one giant leap for Predator kind.

[faithlessnub]

http://xkcd.com/829/

great comic about the topic

This is a great discovery, wonder how this is gonna change, how we look for extraterrestrial life.

[Snake-Aes]

Well, now I know where aboleths come from.

[Brekkie]

I think it says something about scientific budget cuts in recent decades that NASA is searching for new forms of life in California, instead of in space.
Not to mention that the only nation to reach the moon is now dependent on the Russians to even reach the atmosphere.

[majiben]

I think it says something about scientific budget cuts in recent decades that NASA is searching for new forms of life in California, instead of in space.
Not to mention that the only nation to reach the moon is now dependent on the Russians to even reach the atmosphere

Looking for new forms of life terrestrially makes a lot of sense. The more we learn about the plasticity of our tree of life, the more we can extrapolate and know how other potential trees of life developed. For instance we now know a new sign of potential life , As, that we before would not have guessed and in fact might have taken negatively.

[Arnock]

It makes plenty of sense to look for new life on Earth, but I think the point brekkie was trying to make, was that it's NASA doing the terrestrial research, rather than spaceflight.

[Candiru]

Sorry to spoil things but I have to link you to this insightful review of their article. http://rrresearch.blogspot.com/2010/12/ ... nasas.html

Basically, it doesn't present ANY convincing evidence that arsenic has been incorporated into DNA (or any other biological molecule).

They are pretty amazing for living in strong concentrations of arsenate, though.