Implications
The discovery of this microorganism that can use arsenic to build its cellular components may indicate that
life can form in the absence of large amounts of available phosphorus, thus increasing the probability of finding life elsewhere in the
universe.
[1][2] The finding gives weight to the long-standing idea that life on other planets may have a different chemical makeup and may help in the search for alien life.
[1][2][5][6] It has also been speculated that use of arsenic in place of phosphorus on Earth may date back to the
origin of life, which may have occurred in arsenic-rich
hydrothermal vent environments.
[7]
