http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303684004577512870896856952.html?mod=ITP_pageone_1The journal Science on Sunday repudiated research it had published that said microbes could weave arsenic into their DNA, but it stopped short of formally retracting the 2010 claim that, if correct, would redefine the basic chemistry of life on Earth.
The peer-reviewed journal published two new independent studies that contradicted the results of experiments conducted by geo-microbiologist Felisa Wolfe-Simon and her colleagues on an unusual arsenic-loving microbe called GFAJ-1. The growth medium in which Dr. Wolfe-Simon had grown the bacteria most likely was contaminated, the new studies reported.
In a formal statement, the Science journal editors on Sunday said, "The new research shows that GFAJ-1 does not break the long-held rules of life, contrary to how Wolfe-Simon had interpreted her group's data."