The significance of Mono Lake’s famous bacteria; plus science marches on
December 22nd, 2010 by Geoff, Executive Director
Bacteria gathered at Mono Lake can substitute arsenic for phosphorus in their DNA, reported a NASA science team led by Dr. Felisa Wolfe-Simon earlier this December. The remarkable finding—no other organism on earth is known to do this—drew a huge amount of public attention worldwide (for example, see our wrap-up of network news coverage). It was pretty darn exciting for those of us here at Mono Lake as well, since we know many of the researchers and fielded a deluge of calls after the announcement.
The significance of this finding is tremendous. In short, it changes the fundamental understanding of how life works on earth (read more here in the Mono-logue).
The finding also demonstrated the tremendous importance of protecting Mono Lake for today and for future generations. You just never know everything about a place like Mono Lake, but it’s not hard to conclude that protecting the lake from destruction by excessive water diversions to Los Angeles was the right thing to do.
Certainly without the efforts of the Mono Lake Committee and many individuals to protect this special place, it’s unlikely NASA would have stopped by to study Mono Lake microbes and make discoveries such as this.
Science marches on
Not surprisingly, a scientific report of this magnitude has drawn close scrutiny and raised many questions.
Some questions—for example, does this bacteria incorporate arsenic into its DNA here “in the wild” at Mono Lake—are about the natural history of the organism, and the Committee and Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve staff are seeking answers.
Others questions are more technical, questioning the techniques and procedures used by the NASA team and thus questioning the results. The Los Angeles Times recently reported on the questions raised by critics; Dr. Wolfe-Simon’s team has released a preliminary “frequently asked questions” document.
As the LA Times observed in a subsequent article on scientific process, “the wrangling is just a turbo-charged version of the kind of debate researchers have engaged in for centuries.” Fair enough. Science marches on, and critics raising questions is key to reaching scientific certainty.
You can expect a lively, interesting discussion and debate to carry forward in the pages of scientific journals. In the meantime, Mono Lake fans everywhere will continue to enjoy the worldwide attention on our favorite salt lake as confirmation of a simple truth we already knew: Mono Lake—it’s worth saving!
On the Internet:
Los Angeles Times: Scientists skeptical about organism said to survive on arsenic
Los Angeles Times: Something’s amiss with aliens and arsenic
Dr. Wolfe-Simon: Response to Questions Concerning the Science Article, “A Bacterium That Can Grow by Using Arsenic Instead of Phosphorus”
