NASA announcement about life building-blocks discovered close to home off Highway 395
NASA-funded astrobiology research has changed the fundamental knowledge about what comprises all known life on Earth, according to a news conference today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObkqIMPmaJw&feature=player_embedded
Researchers conducting tests in the harsh environment of Mono Lake in California's Eastern Sierra off of Highway 395 have discovered the first known microorganism on Earth able to thrive and reproduce using the toxic chemical arsenic. The microorganism substitutes arsenic for phosphorus in its cell components. Click here and here for the story.