The GFAJ-1 microoorganism was cultured and discovered by Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a NASA astrobiology fellow in residence at the US Geologic Survey in Menlo Park, California. The organism was isolated and cultured beginning in 2009 from sediments she and her colleagues collected along the shore of Mono Lake, California, U.S.A.[2] Mono Lake is hypersaline and highly alkaline. It also has one of the highest natural concentrations of arsenic in the world (200 μM).[3] The discovery was widely publicized on December 2, 2010.
Dec 2, 2010
Astrobiology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On December 2, 2010 it was announced the discovery of a terrestrial extremophile bacterium (GFAJ-1) that uses the usually poisonous element arsenic in place of phosphorus.[32] The find gives weight to the long-standing idea that life on other planets may have a radically different chemical makeup and may help in hunt for alien life.
Arsenic-munching germ redefines "life as we know it" - Yahoo! News
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor Maggie Fox, Health And Science Editor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A strange, salty lake in California has yielded an equally strange bacterium that thrives on arsenic and redefines life as we know it, researchers reported on Thursday. The bacteria do not merely eat arsenic -- they incorporate the toxic element directly into their DNA, the researchers said. The finding shows just how little scientists know about the variety of life forms on Earth, and may greatly expand where they should be looking for life on other planets and moons, the NASA-funded team said. "We have cracked open the door to what is possible for life elsewhere in the universe," Felisa Wolfe-Simon of the NASA Astrobiology Institute and U.S. Geological Survey, who led the study, told a news conference.
Poison-Based Bacteria Redefines Life As We Know It
Arsenic is an element that is deadly to most living creatures, but bacteria living in California's Lake Mono thrive on it. Today NASA explains how those poison-eating organisms are changing the way we search for extraterrestrial life.
BBC News - Eminem leads Grammy nominations
UK acts including Florence and the Machine, Mumford and Sons and Susan
BBC News - Web bug reveals browsing history
BBC News - Coca leaves first chewed 8,000 years ago, says research
Peruvian foraging societies were already chewing coca leaves 8,000 years ago, archaeological evidence has shown. Ruins beneath house floors in the northwestern Peru showed evidence of chewed coca and calcium-rich rocks. Such rocks would have been burned to create lime, chewed with coca to release more of its active chemicals.
BBC News - Index finger length prostate cancer clue
BBC News - Carla Bruni praises Pope over condoms on World Aids Day, Dec 02, 2010
French first lady Carla Bruni has publicly thanked Pope Benedict for saying the use of condoms to prevent HIV/Aids may be justified.
She said in an interview to mark World Aids Day that she was "astonished, surprised and grateful" for the Pope's remarks, publicised last month.
"I think this is quite an enormous step towards something very new," President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife said.
info@als-alexander.org or interalex1@yahoo.com 
BBC Sport - Football - World Cup vote live - decision day
Fifa will name the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Zurich on Thursday, with the US - hoping to stage the tournament for the first time since 1994 - in the running for 2022. Sport
BBC News - Wikileaks: Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa blamed for killings
A US envoy believed the president of Sri Lanka bore responsibility for an alleged 2009 massacre of Tamils, suggest cables obtained by Wikileaks.The claim was reported in a message from the US envoy in Colombo.It comes as Sri Lanka's parliament was
BBC News - Egypt Muslim Brotherhood 'quits election'
Egypt's main opposition movement the Muslim Brotherhood says it is withdrawing its candidates from the election run-off, reports say. The Islamist movement, which is banned but runs candidates as independents, failed to win a single seat in Sunday's first round.
BBC News - Cuba begins public debate on economic reforms
BBC News - Wikileaks founder Julian Assange faces new warrant
Swedish authorities have issued a fresh arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange following a procedural error with the first.
The detention order for Mr Assange, who is believed to be in Britain, concerns alleged sexual crimes during a visit
BBC News - Qantas begins legal action against Rolls-Royce
Qantas has begun legal action against the engine supplier Rolls-Royce following the explosion of an engine on one of the airline's Airbus A380s.
It said the legal action was back-up in case a settlement could not be reached.
BBC News - Ivory Coast election: Alassane Ouattara office attacked
BBC News - Snow leaves travellers facing further severe disruption
Travellers across parts of the UK face further misery as airports, roads and rail continue to be badly hit by snow.
The closure of Gatwick Airport has been extended until at least 0600 GMT on Friday, after a further heavy snowfall.
NASA’S BIG ANNOUNCEMENT | Weekly World News
NASA has stated that they will make a big announcement over on Thursday, December 2nd, 2010, at 2 PM Eastern time.
WWN has inside sources at NASA and has learned that they will announce that
Today News, World
| Ivory Coast Election Body 'Still Working' on Results BusinessWeek By Pauline Bax and Olivier Monnier Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Ivory Coast's election commission said it was still tabulating ballots from the country's Nov. 28 presidential runoff, missing a key deadline amid calls from international groups to announce a ... See all stories on this topic » | ||||||||
| Further weather chaos for Europe BBC News Heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures are set to cause another day of disruption on road and rail networks, and at airports across northern Europe. Temperatures dropped to as low as -26C (-14.8F) in Poland, where eight people died of exposure. ... See all stories on this topic » | ||||||||
| Opposition cries foul in Egypt Pittsburgh Post Gazette CAIRO -- Egypt's top two opposition movements on Wednesday pulled out of parliamentary elections after they were all but shut out in a first round of voting, in a surprise response to widespread allegations of fraud. The move by the fundamentalist ... See all stories on this topic » | ||||||||
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| Spain Reveals Plan to Reduce Its Giant Debt New York Times By RAPHAEL MINDER MADRID — The Spanish prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, introduced measures Wednesday intended to distance Spain from Ireland and other ailing European countries. Mr. Zapatero said the state would sell stakes in several ... See all stories on this topic » | ||||||||
| Belarus agrees to give up its stock of weapons-grade uranium Washington Post By Glenn Kessler and Mary Beth Sheridan ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN - In a surprise victory for President Obama's campaign to secure nuclear material worldwide, the government of Belarus announced Wednesday that it will give up its stock of highly enriched ... See all stories on this topic » | ||||||||
| U.S. sees time for Iran diplomacy, says sanctions bite Reuters By David Lawder and Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Wednesday there is still time for a diplomatic solution with Iran but the increasingly defiant state must take "tangible steps" to address concerns about its nuclear ... See all stories on this topic » | ||||||||
| China, Brazil Say Debate on Kyoto Accord Threatens Climate Talks Bloomberg By Alex Morales and Kim Chipman - Thu Dec 02 06:29:23 GMT 2010 China and Brazil led developing nations in saying Japan's refusal to help extend the Kyoto Protocol to curb greenhouse gas emissions may halt work on a global accord to combat global ... See all stories on this topic » | ||||||||
| Passport ring served terrorists, police say Boston Globe By Raphael Minder and J. David Goodman MADRID — Police in Spain and Thailand arrested 10 people suspected of operating a counterfeiting network that provided fake European passports to terrorist groups linked to Al Qaeda in order to smooth their entry ... See all stories on this topic » | ||||||||
| Suu Kyi sees role as facilitator of network for Myanmar democracy Monsters and Critics.com Singapore - Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi said she wanted to act as a facilitator for an international network to promote democracy in her military-ruled country, a Singapore news report said Thursday. The 65-year-old Nobel Peace laureate, ... See all stories on this topic »
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LIFESTYLE News, Dec 02, 2010
Creative Loafing Sarasota (blog)
Mame Based on the novel Auntie Mame, the dramatic bohemian Mame Dennis's eccentric lifestyle is interrupted when her late brother's son is entrusted to her ...
See all stories on this topic »
Dec 1, 2010
Chile Cautiously Awaits Wikileaks Publication Of Communications Between Santiago and Washington
Tongans listening to polling results
With early results coming in from individual polling stations the names of the leading candidates in Tonga's General Election are expected to be clear by 9:00 pm tonight after thousands of people turned out for the polls on an overcast day.
Yahoo News
- Lame-duck agenda features political votes (AP)
- 2 million lose jobless benefits as holidays arrive (AP)
- Official: Feds won't end drilling ban off Fla. (AP)
- Lawyer: Assange is being persecuted in Sweden (AP)
- Stocks rise sharply on signs of economic growth (AP)
- Winds lash the East, knock out power; roads flood (AP)
NASA - Solar Observation Mission Celebrates 15 Years
This coronal mass ejection -- observed by SOHO's EIT 195 instrument on April 7, 1997 -- was the first visual image of such an ejection headed for Earth. It appeared as the lead story on the national news. Credit: SOHO/ESA/NASA On December 2, 1995, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory or SOHO was launched into space from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atlas IIAS rocket. The joint ESA/NASA project began its work observing the sun at a time when the term "solar weather" was almost never used.
NASA - NASA Offers Space Shuttle Tiles To Schools And Universities
WASHINGTON -- As the Space Shuttle Program nears retirement, NASA is looking for ways to preserve the program's history and inspire the next generation of space explorers, scientists and engineers. Beginning Wednesday, NASA is offering 7,000 shuttle heat shield tiles to schools and universities that want to share technology and a piece of space history with their students.
Stage set for World Cup bids - Sport
| [GALLO/GETTY] |
Thursday's vote by the executive committee of Fifa, football's world governing body,
Venezuela hit by deadly mudslides
Flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rains have killed at least 21 people in Venezuela over the last week. Thousands fled their homes on Tuesday as swollen rivers and continuing rain threatened to cause more damage.
"The rains will carry on for the next three days at least," Elias Jaua,
US mulls legal action on WikiLeaks - Americas - Al Jazeera English
With controversy raging around the release of secret documents, what legal repercussions will WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, face? Assange is neither a US citizen nor a resident, so the extent of the reach of US law is in question.
Interpol called for the arrest of Assange as his site's dumping of secret US cables exposed deep tensions between the United States and Pakistan over nuclear arms safety.
Interpol called for the arrest of Assange as his site's dumping of secret US cables exposed deep tensions between the United States and Pakistan over nuclear arms safety.
Kazakhstan hosts security summit - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English
The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe opened its summit in Kazakhstan's capital
to discuss issues ranging from Afghanistan to terrorism and drug trade.
Security was tight as world leaders including Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, and Hillary
Yahoo News
- NKorean soldier at border wishes for peace (AP)
- WikiLeaks website blocked behind Chinese firewall (AP)
- Social Security cuts are part of deficit plan (AP)
- In WikiLeaks wake, whistle-blower bill set to pass (AP)
- 2 million lose jobless benefits as holidays arrive (AP)
- Clinton seeks more European help in Afghanistan (AP)
Today News, World, Dec 01, 2010
 Reuters WASHINGTON Nov 30 (Reuters) - The US State Department condemned on Tuesday an official Palestinian report last week asserting that Jerusalem's Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites, is not Jewish. Al-Mutawakil Taha, deputy information minister ... See all stories on this topic » | ||||||||
| North Korea Claims Major Advance in Nuclear Program Voice of America Photo: AP South Korean middle school students learn how to use gas masks in a supposed chemical attack in Seoul, as tensions rise with North Korea, Nov. 30, 2010. North Korea has declared a major advance in its nuclear program a week after launching a ... See all stories on this topic » | ||||||||
| Bono calls on Sydney to wipe out AIDS ABC Online TONY EASTLEY: To mark World Aids Day the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, the New South Wales Premier, Kristina Keneally, and Bono, the lead singer of U2, gathered last night to symbolically light the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House red. ... See all stories on this topic » | ||||||||
| Torrential rains leave 21 dead in Venezuela The Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Flooding and landslides unleashed by torrential rains have killed at least 21 people in Venezuela, forced thousands from their homes and idled an oil refinery. The death toll rose on Tuesday as authorities confirmed eight ... email: info@als-alexander.org or interalex2@gmail.com See all stories on this topic » | ||||||||
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| Pakistan suicide blast kills six BBC News Six people died when a suicide bomber on foot targeted a police van in north-western Pakistan. Nearly 20 others were wounded in the blast in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, close to the Afghan border. Among the dead was at least one policeman and, ... See all stories on this topic » | ||||||||
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| Some Republicans say START debate possible this year Reuters By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republicans signaled a willingness on Tuesday to debate the New START nuclear treaty with Russia in the final weeks of the year but indicated it could happen only if Democrats drop other priorities to ... See all stories on this topic » | ||||||||
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| Fresh collapse at Pompeii sparks more concern Reuters A long section of a rustic retaining wall in the garden of the House of the Moralist is seen after collapsing following heavy rains in Pompeii November 30, 2010. By Philip Pullella ROME (Reuters) - Another part of the 2000-year-old Roman-era site at ... See all stories on this topic »
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LIFESTYLE News, Dec 01, 2010
| Charlotte Observer This year's gala will be a fashion-themed cocktail party, serving heavy hors d'oeuvres, with live music and entertainment, a silent auction, an art showcase ... See all stories on this topic » |
Nov 30, 2010
Americans Say Small Businesses Are Critical To Future of The Economy
Half of Americans believe the recent election did not affect their employment outlook at all, while the rest are split on if it helped or hurt their job prospects according to a new poll by Zogby conducted for the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).
Three Ways to Profit as China Dumps Japanese Debt
As a veteran trader, I have a tendency to look past the day's top headlines. That's why a recent Bloomberg News story - which stated that China sold a net total of 769.2 billion yen ($9.24 billion) worth of Japanese debt in September - really caught my eye.
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