NASA Sets News Conference on Astrobiology Discovery

[PPI Debra]

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/nov/HQ_M10-167_Astrobiology.html

Here is a copy of the press release:

Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington                               
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Cathy Weselby
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-2791
cathy.weselby@nasa.gov
Nov. 29, 2010

MEDIA ADVISORY : M10-167


NASA Sets News Conference on Astrobiology Discovery; Science Journal Has Embargoed Details Until 2 p.m. EST On Dec. 2


WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 2, to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe.

The news conference will be held at the NASA Headquarters auditorium at 300 E St. SW, in Washington. It will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website at http://www.nasa.gov.

Participants are:
-     Mary Voytek, director, Astrobiology Program, NASA Headquarters, Washington
-     Felisa Wolfe-Simon, NASA astrobiology research fellow, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, Calif.
-     Pamela Conrad, astrobiologist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
-     Steven Benner, distinguished fellow, Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Gainesville, Fla.
-     James Elser, professor, Arizona State University, Tempe

Media representatives may attend the conference or ask questions by phone or from participating NASA locations. To obtain dial-in information, journalists must send their name, affiliation and telephone number to Steve Cole at stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov or call 202-358-0918 by noon Dec. 2.

For NASA TV streaming video and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

[Gary]

Oh, I wonder what they found?   :o

[PPI Karl]

Holy crap, this is exciting!  An "astrobiology finding":  I don't think there are very many ways to interpret that except a evidence of life.  I dunno, though.  Last time I got this excited about a NASA news conference (about Kepler's latest findings), it was a bit of a let-down.  Ah hell, just be excited, Karl.

Many thanks for posting this, Debra.  I'll be waiting with bated breath for Dec. 2.

[PPI Debra]

Holy crap, this is exciting!  An "astrobiology finding":  I don't think there are very many ways to interpret that except a evidence of life.  I dunno, though.  Last time I got this excited about a NASA news conference (about Kepler's latest findings), it was a bit of a let-down.  Ah hell, just be excited, Karl.

Many thanks for posting this, Debra.  I'll be waiting with bated breath for Dec. 2.

I was having a similar conflict: to be excited or not. I don't remember the term "astrobiology finding" being used before.

I wish I could try to find a leak on it in on the internet. I cannot wait to be home with my own internet connection!

[PPI Brian]

I don't want to get my hopes up, but wow, this could be exciting news! 

[PPI Tracy]

I can't help but get my hopes up!  (i am weak...i know)

[Damian]

Hurry up, December 2nd!

[PPI Karl]

Okay.  There's still an embargo on any announcements until the actual press conference, but it's already leaked out that they have NOT discovered alien life.   I'm thinking now they've probably just discovered an earwig scuttling on the lens of the Kepler telescope.  We'll see at 11:00 a.m. PST.

[PPI Debra]

Okay.  There's still an embargo on any announcements until the actual press conference, but it's already leaked out that they have NOT discovered alien life.   I'm thinking now they've probably just discovered an earwig scuttling on the lens of the Kepler telescope.  We'll see at 11:00 a.m. PST.

LOL! I heard that it may have something to do with water or bacteria....
Off to find out on NASA TV...

[PPI Debra]

So... they've discovered a bacterium in in Mono Lake that substitutes arsenic for phosphorus in it's DNA. Prior to this find, it has been taught in universities that the 6 elements required for life are: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Arsenic can be substituted and tolerated by certain lifeforms. Now they know that this is not true due to this execptional find, and the search for alien life as we understand it has been expanded.

An interesting side point: alchemy has hinted that this was possible all along.
"The similarity between arsenic and phosphorus is so great that arsenic will partly substitute for phosphorus in biochemical reactions." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenic

[PPI Brian]

An amazing discovery, in spite of the disappointment many people have expressed over the press release. Like the discovery of life surrounding undersea http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrothermal_ventblack smokers it proves that we really don't know very much about the basic building blocks of life on Earth.