The discovery of bacteria that appear to thrive on toxic arsenic may have implications for our understanding of the chemistry of life, both on Earth and elsewhere. But the resulting criticisms and controversy may overshadow the discovery, by questioning the very way scientists discuss their work...
Thriving on Arsenic - Rethinking the Chemistry of Life
A Bacterium That Can Grow by Using Arsenic Instead of Phosphorus; Felisa Wolfe-Simon, Jodi Switzer Blum, Thomas R. Kulp, Gwyneth W. Gordon, Shelley E. Hoeft, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, John F. Stolz, Samuel M. Webb, Peter K. Weber, Paul C. W. Davies, Ariel D. Anbar, and Ronald S. Oremland; Science; Published online 2 December 2010 [DOI:10.1126/science.1197258]
Nature responds to the controvercy: Microbe gets toxic response; Nature 468, 741 (2010) doi:10.1038/468741a
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