"NASA Finds New Form of Life -- on Earth"

"At a 2 p.m. news conference streamed live over the Web, scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said they found microbes in the mud beneath a California lake that can use arsenic -- usually considered toxic -- rather than phosphorus as one of the building blocks of its DNA. Phosphorus is one of the elements that sustains all other life forms on earth."

Fred Tasker reports for the Miami Herald December 3, 2010.

SEE ALSO:

"Microbe Finds Arsenic Tasty; Redefines Life" (New York Times)

"Arsenic Microbe in Mono Lake May Reshape Hunt for Extraterrestrial Life" (Christian Science Monitor)

"NASA Finds New Arsenic-Based Life Form in California" (WIRED Science)