After 15 years of discussion, a study that published alleged discovery of arsenic-eating microorganisms was retracted by Journal Science because of data contaminated and defective data. However, the original research authors disagree with this move.
The microbial strain labeled GFAJ-1 was recovered from the salt waters of Lake Mono, California, arsenic rich in Mono by a research team led by Felisa Wolfe-Simon of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute.
Wolfe-Simon and colleagues grew GFAJ-1 in Petri dishes, replacing it with phosphorus, an important component of DNA. This was usually replaced with arsenic, which is highly toxic to the organism. The team published their findings in the journal Science in 2010.
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Before the paper came out, NASA exaggerated the findings by holding a press conference to the media and telling them that they would “discuss the discoveries of astrobiology that influence the quest for evidence of extraterrestrial life.” Soon after, the discovery of the GFAJ-1 microorganism quickly spread through word of mouth and was hailed as a breakthrough in astrobiology. It overturned a biologist’s understanding of the basic requirements of life, and proved that “arsenic life” is possible on the surface.
“What we found is building up a part of ourselves from the microscopic, arsenic, doing new things,” Wolf Simon said in a 2010 NASA statement. “If something on Earth can do something very unexpected, what else can life we haven’t seen yet?”
However, criticism of the research quickly flowed, and by the time science published its paper on a 2011 print issue, the original study was accompanied by eight technical comments from outside experts pointing out important scientific flaws in method and interpretation.
Related: What is the best evidence we found for Alien Life?
In 2012, two studies published in Science tried to replicate the arsenic developmental findings of Wolfe-Simon and colleagues. Both studies determined that GFAJ-1 can withstand high levels of arsenic, but cannot be used as a life component in place of phosphorus.
The controversial study of “Arsenic Life” was never replicated, but was not retracted because there was no intentional fraud or fraud. However, over the past five years, science has begun to withdraw papers for reasons other than fraud or fraud. On Thursday (July 24th), Science decided to officially withdraw the research by Wolf Simon and his colleagues.
“One of the technical comments pointed out that the nucleic acids analyzed were not fully purified,” wrote Valda Vinson, editor-in-chief of Science Journals and Holden Thorp, editor-in-chief of Science Journals, in a blog post. “Given the evidence that the results are based on contamination, science believes that the important conclusions of the paper are based on flawed data.”
However, the authors of this study do not support the withdrawal.
“The dispute over the conclusions of the paper, including how well it is supported by the available evidence, is a normal part of the science process,” they wrote in eletter, published Thursday. “Our work may have been written and discussed more thoroughly, but I support the data as reported.”
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