NASA Confirms Discovery of Arsenic-based Life Form

[teknomedic]

[citation][nom]teknomedic[/nom]Very cool find... very cool. On just ONE planet we have found TWO basic forms of life.At this point how can anyone deny that life could (and probably does) exsist elseware in the universe?[/citation]

....and once 2013 rolls around, I'll still be pointing and laughing at everyon that predicted that the world was ending... just like I still do after 1999 and Y2K.

 

[teknomedic]

^^ oops, wrong quote, lol. ^^

[citation][nom]SirDevon[/nom]Once 2012 rolls around and us carbon-phosphorus-based lifeforms are all obliterated, this is the next lifeform to rule the planet.[/citation]

....and after 2013 rolls around, I'll still be pointing and laughing at everyon that predicted that the world was ending... just like I still do after 1999 and Y2K.

there... that's better.

 

[dogman_1234]

^ Don't beat yourself up.

 

[killakat]

Sh*t just got real, son.

Every microbiologist is probably defecating in astounishment.

 

[Guest]

The problem with god and religion is it lacks empirical evidence, and hence is arbitrary and depends on the person who preaches it. I bet those who bombed 911 believed in god too. And many great wars have been committed in the past by those with faith and were righteous.

 

[Guest]

The truth is out there.

 

[Parsian]

Definition of Science: You are always wrong. Keep seaching and Learning while discovering

 

[alyoshka]

Looks like it's time for Plan R ............... again.........

 

[pandemonium_ctp]

Big discovery in terms of DNA manipulation, but meh, I was excited for something along the lines of "we've determined Titan indeed has life on it." My fault for expecting results that quickly, I suppose.

[citation][nom]ct1615[/nom]why do people always bring up religion with science...to paraphrase the great Superintendent Chalmers "Religion has no place in science, just like facts have no place in organized religion"*science is the study of "how"?religion helps to answer the question of "why"? some people simply don't need religion to answer that question and some do. if you understand the size the scope of just the known universe, then you understand the belief of life only on the planet earth as being completely egotistical. *yes I know several religious people and clergy have mind great contributions to science & astronomy.[/citation]

Indeed. The distinction between how and why is really where it's blurry for a lot of people and lines get crossed, people go all extreme and get offended, "witches" get burned, and cultures become eradicated. This world is full of things that require a lot of attention and understanding. A little patience goes along way...for anyone.

Who knows, maybe it's time for Atheists to have their holy crusade. We'll call it "reverse-crusading."

 

[Horhe]

[citation][nom]logicman[/nom]The problem with god and religion is it lacks empirical evidence, and hence is arbitrary and depends on the person who preaches it. I bet those who bombed 911 believed in god too. And many great wars have been committed in the past by those with faith and were righteous.[/citation]
1. Religion is about faith, not evidence.
2. What about the two world wars? Religion had nothing to do with them. What about all the wars between the Catholic states in the middle ages? What about the wars between the Muslim states? What about the wars between Chinese/ Japanese states/rulers? What about the wars between tribes? And even for the crusades, who were "holy wars", religion was only a pretext, the real purpose had nothing to to with religion. So please, don't say that religion is the cause for wars.
3. Why there is always someone who bashes religion or science? They are not mutually exclusive.

On topic, I think this is a great discovery, and I'm sure that if they search in more of these "exotic" locations they will find even more different life forms.

 

[pandemonium_ctp]

[citation][nom]SirDevon[/nom]Once 2012 rolls around and us carbon-phosphorus-based lifeforms are all obliterated, this is the next lifeform to rule the planet.[/citation]

See you in 2013, unless you're in jail from believing 2012 was the end of the world and you went nuts with debt and/or crime.

 

[nick8191]

[citation][nom]chriskrum[/nom]I laugh at people of faith. If it were up them we'd be slitting the throat of a goat every year to make it rain.[/citation]

we were supposed to stop killing goats for rain? Someone should have sent me a memo... Now what do I do with the rest of these goats?

 

[peanut_bully]

[citation][nom]Restatement3dofTed[/nom]So what should we put our faith in, then? God? [/citation]
Yes.
[citation][nom]chriskrum[/nom]I laugh at people of faith. If it were up them we'd be slitting the throat of a goat every year to make it rain.[/citation]
It seems to boggle most minds out there but contrary to popular belief, religion doesn't make you ignorant, and being ignorant doesn't imply that you are religious. Scientology as an example. I believe in a living God, an afterlife and also in the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe. I also believe in evolution, and I believe in creation. It's narrow-minded to discount logical possibilities just because you're uncomfortable with it.
Regarding the discovery of an arsenic-based life form, it opens a lot of new research avenues previously disregarded (someone else posted about a cure for cancer; +1) due to conventional thinking. If one of the six building blocks can be "sunstituted" how many are really needed? And how many others can be used? Think of computer technology if semiconductor materials can be incorporated into organic structures - the future looks interesting indeed.

On a lighter note though, while I was reading this article, I couldn't stop thinking of Orlando Jones in Evolution - "Take the leg, take the leg!!"

 

[pandemonium_ctp]

"""""Restatement3dofTed :

So what should we put our faith in, then? God?

Yes."""""

No, put your faith in whatever you want. If it gets you through the day, then your faith works. I personally put my faith in man-kind to do the right thing. As many horrible people there are on this planet, I know that there are still good people. Believing that God or the people themselves are the real perpetrator, is entirely up to you.

Saying you have to believe in God is pretty biggoted.

 

[wild9]

Well you've got an acidic form of government, it seems..maybe Obama comes from another planet.

 

[Guest]

This is very big news, the concept of life as we know it changes here! We always hypothesized that life could grow from forms other than our mineral makeup, and here we have proof!

This could mean life on planets with methane atmospheres or other chemicals, simply put it means life can happen under totally different circumstances to our own closed eco-system called Earth!

 

[tahoward]

[citation][nom]verrul[/nom]um if it is in the bacteria's DNA it is based on arsenic[/citation]

DNA is primarily based off the pairing of two chemicals in a pattern that does not include arsenic.

However, it seems arsenic is replacing phosphorus that normally makes up a part of the double-helix backbone you see in text books; which is really cool.

The double helix is still mostly a carbon chain though... I guess.

 

[Griffolion]

So will dettol get rid of this, or will i need something stronger?

 

[doive1231]

Eukaryotic cells can do anything. The make up of our cells evolved by the first cells "eating" other parts of other cells. Good for them. Next they'll substitute phosphorus for pepperoni.

 

[mlopinto2k1]

[citation][nom]jednx01[/nom]Wow. This is actually sort of a major discovery. I have my Biology I final in a week and stuff like this makes me doubt the accuracy of the information that I am learning. lol[/citation]Hmmm, you have 20 votes up and you just said pretty much the same thing that the person who posted first said, in different words, and he received 20 votes down. Hmmm.