Arsenic-Eating Bacteria: Suggesting Alien Life?

The World

It sounds like something you’d see in a late-night Sci-Fi flick: Scientists have discovered bacteria in a California lake that uses arsenic instead of phosphorous to survive. Arsenic is plentiful in the universe, and so bacteria that uses it to survive suggests the possibility of alien life. But just how likely is it that this bacteria exists in space?

We’re joined now by Caleb Scharf, director of astrobiology at Columbia University, to answer some of the questions on this topic.

Will you support The World? 

The story you just read is accessible and free to all because thousands of listeners and readers contribute to our nonprofit newsroom. We go deep to bring you the human-centered international reporting that you know you can trust. To do this work and to do it well, we rely on the support of our listeners. If you appreciated our coverage this year, if there was a story that made you pause or a song that moved you, would you consider making a gift to sustain our work through 2024 and beyond?