Mono Lake: Home to the Strange Microbe GFAJ 1
Explanation:
How strange could alien life be?
An
indication that the fundamental elements that compose most terrestrial life
forms
might differ out in the universe was found in unusual
Mono Lake in
California,
USA.
Bacteria in Mono's lakebed gives
indications
that it not only can tolerate a large abundance of normally toxic
arsenic,
but possibly use arsenic as a replacement for
phosphorous,
an element needed by every other known Earth-based life form.
The
result is surprising -- and perhaps
controversial -- partly because arsenic-incorporating
organic molecules were
thought to be much more fragile than phosphorous-incorporating organic molecules.
Pictured above is 7.5-km wide Mono Lake as seen from nearby Mount Dana.
The inset picture shows GFAJ-1, the
unusual bacteria that might be able to
survive on
another world.
Best Astronomy Images:
APOD Editor to speak in Philadelphia on Jan 5 and New York City on Jan 7
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
