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Old 12-02-2010, 03:50 PM   #6
Happy Monkey
I think this line's mostly filler.
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: DC
Posts: 13,575
More detail. It does have double helix "DNA" (I'm not sure if the phosphorus-arsenic switch is enough to rename it). The phosphorus is replaced by arsenic in the DNA and other parts of the cells. The two elements are similar, but arsenic is less stable in these molecules. These bacteria have apparently overcome that instability.

[Not sure whether this is exactly what the NASA announcement was about, but it certainly seems related]
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