NASA to Unveil Discovery That Affects Search for Extraterrestrial Life
By Mike Wall
SPACE.com Senior Writer
posted: 30 November 2010
01:19 pm ET




NASA is expected to make an announcement Thursday (Dec. 2) about a new scientific finding that "will impact the search for extraterrestrial life," the space agency said in a statement.

NASA has scheduled a press conference for Thursday at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) at the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C. Agency officials said the discovery is in the field of astrobiology, which is the study of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe.

The press conference will be broadcast and webcast live on NASA TV.

Participating in the press conference will be:

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

The results will also be published in a paper in the journal Science at 2 p.m. Thursday, according to NASA officials.

The announcement comes closely on the heels of several other major milestones in the search for life and possible habitable environments beyond Earth.

In late September, for example, researchers announced the discovery of the first potentially habitable alien planet. And less than two weeks ago, astronomers discovered the 500th planet beyond our own solar system.

Snip


http://www.space.com/news/nasa-astrobiology-discovery-announcement-101130.html


Will this be a damp squib, or a start of disclosure?

Sky,

My institution has a Science subscription. I will keep an eye out for this article and post it when it becomes available.

I just checked and it must still be embargoed.

Has NASA discovered extraterrestrial life?
Here's a curious press release from NASA:

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.

I did a little research on the news conference participants and found:

1. Pamela Conrad (a geobiologist) was the primary author of a 2009 paper on geology and life on Mars

2. Felisa Wolfe-Simon (an oceanographer) has written extensively on photosynthesis using arsenic recently (she worked on the team mentioned in this article)

3. Steven Benner (a biologist) is on the "Titan Team" at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory; they're looking at Titan (Saturn's largest moon) as an early-Earth-like chemical environment. This is likely related to the Cassini mission.

4. James Elser (an ecologist) is involved with a NASA-funded astrobiology program called Follow the Elements, which emphasizes looking at the chemistry of environments where life evolves (and not just looking at water or carbon or oxygen).

So, if I had to guess at what NASA is going to reveal on Thursday, I'd say that they've discovered arsenic on Titan and maybe even detected chemical evidence of bacteria utilizing it for photosynthesis (by following the elements). Or something like that. (thx, sippey)

Update: According to Alexis Madrigal, the answer to the hyperbolic question in the headline is "no".

I'm sad to quell some of the @kottke-induced excitement about possible extraterrestrial life. I've seen the Science paper. It's not that.

http://kottke.org/10/11/has-nasa-discovered-extraterrestrial-life

Nice shot at it BB. I love the fact that you have the time to do the research. Hee hee - one day!

Well, I am goin to cast my dice in the direction of the images included in the picture of the article. The image of the ET is a ruse to keep the baffled more baffled and hoping for a link, but it is probably going to be a sort of Bacterium or like as shown in the background of the picture. Remember, scientists are hell bent to maintain the "Evolution Theory" as it serves the lower agenda for humanity. So I bet this is the next chapter in NASA's attempt to squeeze funds for round number "eleventeen" of their secret mission saga so they can dress it up as the "Search for Exoplanetary Life" - imo.

Lets see...

Yes sky they will you watch "oh no there can't be anything out there in space that matches or exceedes the complexity of the HUMAN being "

NASA

NASA's Astrobiology Discovery: Arsenic-Eating Bacteria, Not 'Aliens'





WASHINGTON — The discovery of a strange bacteria that can use arsenic as one of its nutrients widens the scope for finding new forms of life on Earth and possibly beyond.

While researchers discovered the unusual bacteria here on Earth, they say it shows that life has possibilities beyond the major elements that have been considered essential.

"This organism has dual capability. It can grow with either phosphorous or arsenic. That makes it very peculiar, though it falls short of being some form of truly 'alien' life," commented Paul C. W. Davies of Arizona State University, a co-author of the report appearing in Thursday's online edition of the journal Science.

Six major elements have long been considered essential for life – carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur.

But the researchers found that the bacteria, discovered in Mono Lake, Calif., is able to continue to grow after substituting arsenic for phosphorous.

"It makes you wonder what else is possible," said Ariel D. Anbar of Arizona State University, a co-author of the report.

The find is important in the search for life beyond Earth because researchers need to be able to recognize life, to know what life looks like, Anbar said.

The study focuses on a microbe found on Earth. However, the announcement of a news conference to discuss it, which did not disclose details of the find, generated widespread speculation on the Internet that the report would disclose the discovery of extraterrestrial life. It didn't.

The discovery "does show that in other planetary environments organisms might be able to use other elements to drive biochemistry and that the 'standard' set of elements we think are absolutely necessary for life might not be so fixed," commented Charles Cockell, professor at the Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute, Open University, in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom. Cockell was not part of the research team.


"Snip"


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/02/nasa-could-announce-arsenic-eating-bacteria_n_790954.html



Wot - no furry fun Aliens from planet Doogle 17NB ??!!?

Does this remind anybody of the boy who cried wolf? Seriously????

NASA must really be hurting (or scared of the new CONgress).

Yes, I agree with you BB, kind of a big let down. Why did they bother????

IMO it is all part of their game plan. They knowingly have set themselves up in a situation where they don't disclose their full activity. That created a tension of expectancy. So how easy is it for them to spew a potential headline, create static in that way and then proceed will their business under that blanket.

They get away with the same stuff as what CERN does. "Not in the interest of the Sheeples!"

The one thing I have learnt is that they NEVER do anything without publishing it SOMEWHERE. All we have to do is find it and put the pieces together...


NASA -

Sheeples -

GT -

TO NASA AND CERN

MERRY CHRISTMAS ASSHOLES!! THEN GOTO HELL (because quite frankly YOU DESERVE IT!)

How can there be such goodness and yet at the same time such evil???

It's the Eville okes that run and control this world at present Siam...