NASA NEWS CONFERENCE

[Monster Dave]

For anyone interested:

NASA will be holding a news conference at 2pm ET/12noon central regarding some "big news" in astrobiology.

Rumor has is that they may have discovered life on one of the moons of Saturn.

Streaming can be done: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

Participants are:
-     Mary Voytek, director, Astrobiology Program, NASA Headquarters, Washington
-     Felisa Wolfe-Simon, NASA astrobiology research fellow, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, Calif.
-     Pamela Conrad, astrobiologist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
-     Steven Benner, distinguished fellow, Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Gainesville, Fla.
-     James Elser, professor, Arizona State University, Tempe

[derby]

somewhat related:

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sciw-arsenic-microbe3-20101103,0,1993684.story

[Monster Dave]

somewhat related:

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sciw-arsenic-microbe3-20101103,0,1993684.story

According to the press conference that's where they are headed.

A microbe doing something different than any/all life on earth, substituting arsenic for phosphorous - which may not sound like a big deal, but they are discovering that life is flourishing within an arsenic (extremely toxic) environment.  It's like trying to grow plants in complete darkness - but it's happening and flourishing.

[Le Pirate]

so is that was the conference was about?


I wasn't able to watch it.


Pretty cool, but I was hoping for contact with an alien race or something 

[Monster Dave]

Yeah it was - and so was I.....damn internet hype!!

[battlecry]

Yeah.  What good are they.  Can't eat them.   

[roy-nexus-6]

A microbe doing something different than any/all life on earth, substituting arsenic for phosphorous - which may not sound like a big deal, but they are discovering that life is flourishing within an arsenic (extremely toxic) environment.  It's like trying to grow plants in complete darkness - but it's happening and flourishing.

Actually, a lot of press releases have unfortunately muddied the issue.

ALL life on Earth uses DNA as the molecule for genetic transfer: phosphorous backbone, G, A, T, C nucleotides.

The newly discovered bacteria can use phosphorous OR it can use arsenic. In short, it is (at this time) unique.

[techno]

Dammit.  I thought they were finally gonna role out the Roswell aliens.

[ducatiz]

The buildup to this conference was inexcusable.

For something like this, I want to see a reply to Voyager or the Borg coming.

I don't want to hear about some potato-shaped microbe that can fart a different color because it swaps As for P. 

YAWN

This is what happens when ultra-nerds control the news. 

[Monster Dave]

The buildup to this conference was inexcusable.

For something like this, I want to see a reply to Voyager or the Borg coming. -->

I don't want to hear about some potato-shaped microbe that can fart a different color because it swaps As for P. 

YAWN

This is what happens when ultra-nerds control the news. 

Agreed!