The news media is really exploring questions about how this may impact our belief that life may be able to exist on other plants with harsh environments. Currently there are a few research projects out there that have made heads turn such as the bio engineered Mycoplasma genitalium. "ScienceDaily (Jan. 24, 2008) — A team of 17 researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) has created the largest man-made DNA structure by synthesizing and assembling the 582,970 base pair genome of a bacterium, Mycoplasma genitalium JCVI-1.0. This work, published online today in the journal Science by Dan Gibson, Ph.D., et al, is the second of three key steps toward the team’s goal of creating a fully synthetic organism. In the next step, which is ongoing at the JCVI, the team will attempt to create a living bacterial cell based entirely on the synthetically made genome."
Questions that I am contemplating:
Is the bacterium found in mono lake replacing the phosphate with Arsenic? If the answer is yes then would it be possible to create a man made bacteria using Arsenic in place of the phosphate within in the DNA?
