NASA Disovers New Lifeform

[toranokaze]

Originally Posted by glatt

I don't have the biochemistry to completely understand this, but doesn't DNA stand for a big long word like dioxyribonucleic acid, or something like that? And isn't DNA made up of all these bases? The As and Cs and Ts and Gs? And isn't each "A" an actual specific chemical? (And so on.)

If we're switching chemicals here, so that the formula for each base pair is different, then how can they call it DNA? DNA has a specific chemical formula. wouldn't they have to make up a new name for it? Does the "DNA" in this bacteria have the same double helix shape?

What makes DNA is the sugar Deoxyribose. Now the nucleic acid (the A,T,G,C part) is attached to one end and the Phosphorus, or Arsenic in this case, is attached to the other.

So as long as Deoxyribose is there it is DNA helix or not.