New papers deal huge blow to NASA-backed finding on arsenic-based life
John Timmer, Ars Technica:
NASA scientists had found evidence that life on Earth could rely on alternate chemistry, one that replaced the phosphorus used in many biomolecules for a chemical relative that is usually toxic: arsenic.
… Researchers quickly identified a number of holes in the initial analysis, both logical and experimental. Less than six months later, Science published a series of responses to the original paper that raised significant questions about its accuracy. Now, the topic is back in the pages of the same journal. Two labs have obtained the original arsenic-tolerant bacteria and shown that some of the original paper’s conclusions are completely off-base.
It would’ve been cool if the results were validated, but hey: that’s science. The scientific process works, you guys.