Could the Mono Lake arsenic prove there is a shadow biosphere?

Could the Mono Lake arsenic prove there is a shadow biosphere?

www.timesonline.co.uk

Mono Lake has a bizarre, extraterrestrial beauty. Just east of Yosemite National Park in California, the ancient lake covers about 65 square miles. Above its surface rise the twisted shapes of tufa, formed when freshwater springs bubble up through the alkaline waters.

Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a geobiologist, is interested in the lake not for its scenery but because it may be harbouring alien life forms, or “weird life”. Mono Lake, a basin with no outlet, has built up over many millennia one of the highest natural concentrations of arsenic on Earth. Dr Wolfe-Simon is investigating whether, in the mud around the lake or in the water, there exist microbes whose biological make-up is so fundamentally different from that of any known life on Earth that it may provide proof of a shadow biosphere, a second genesis for life on this planet.

Arsenic is chemically close to phosphorus. While phosphorus is a primary building block of life on Earth — an essential component of DNA and ATP, the energy molecule — arsenic is a deadly poison. In Mono Lake there are micro-organisms that live with arsenic. But they don’t incorporate it into their biology.

(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit on 3/8/2010 by iMacFanatic]

Gawd I hope there is alien life and it would be nice if they visited us but I find the whole notion of grays...greens...shape shifters...reptilians...and abductions...crop circles all that nonsense rather silly and does nothing to boost claims of alien/human encounters. In fact they tend to do the exact opposite...render the whole subject to the realm of the absurd.

We are all however stardust and if life appeared here (the evidence of intelligent life on earth is still debatable) the odd are that it has appeared other places as well.

And good places to look for them are places like Mono lake and thermal vents etc.

Life itself is so tenacious and adaptable the odds are we are the only planet with it seem astronomical.

www.timesonline.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Some of the most interesting life on earth are the extreme life forms...the tube worms...the bacteria that live in the rock miles deep...things that live in environments that would kill most other life.

Those life forms should be scrutinized the most...but of course if they have a RNA/DNA comparable to ours then odds are they are local.

Wow, as someone who is a biology major, I really think this is a badly worded article. Look at the bacteria we already know exist. Some bacteria are able to stand incredibly acidic or basic environments, others can stand sub freezing temperatures. Still other forms of bacteria can stand temperatures beyond that of boiling water.

Suddenly an article pops up that says "something can live with arsenic, could it be alien?"

I don't know but it sure seems like sensationalism to me.

Bad writing is endemic these days. Still the question is whether life forms that can live in conditions that are toxic to everything else; are from around here, is a valid one.

I am surprised that this thread has gone nowhere.

It is an interesting subject.

reply to post by Happyfeet


I think they mean they are trying to find life based on alien building blocks.

We are based on C, P, H, and O (mainly) forming DNA, Amino-acids, etc. and have a more or less complete understanding of organic chemistry based on those elements.
We have only started to scratch the surface of Si-based chemistry e.g colored bubbles. (you try and find somebody willing to fund non-marketable weird science... )

If we swap just one compatible element in a biological compound, the chemistry goes awry. Pu screws up our Ca for example.
Theoretically we might be able to replicate a working system with a compatible set of elements. Using As for P, SiO-compounds as amino-acids, etc. (you get the drift...)

Alien biochemistry.