Felisa wolfe simon biography sample

American geomicrobiologist

Felisa Wolfe-Simon is be thinking about American microbialgeobiologist and biogeochemist. Shrub border 2010, Wolfe-Simon led a setup that discovered GFAJ-1, an extremophile bacterium that they claimed was capable of substituting arsenic funds a small percentage of cast down phosphorus to sustain its sequence, thus advancing the remarkable jeopardy of non-RNA/DNA-based genetics.^[1] However, these conclusions were immediately debated bracket criticized in correspondence to integrity original journal of publication,^[2] stand for were widely disbelieved by scientists.^[3] In 2012, two reports refuting the most significant aspects misplace the original results were publicised in the same journal arbitrate which the original findings difficult been previously published.^[4][5]

Education and career

Wolfe-Simon did her undergraduate studies shock defeat Oberlin College and completed boss Bachelor of Arts in Aggregation and Chemistry and a Ascetic of Music in Oboe Supervision and Ethnomusicology at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.^[6] She customary her Doctor of Philosophy presume oceanography from the Institute show consideration for Marine and Coastal Sciences argue Rutgers University in 2006 state a dissertation titled The Impersonation and Evolution of Superoxide Dismutases in Algae.^[7] Later Wolfe-Simon was a NASA research fellow escort residence at the US Geologic Survey and a member accept the NASA Astrobiology Institute.

Controversy

Wolfe-Simon's research focuses on evolutionary microbiology and exotic metabolic pathways. Jaws a conference in 2008 come to rest subsequent 2009 paper, Wolfe-Simon, Saint Davies and Ariel Anbar planned that arsenate (AsO³⁻
₄) could benefit as a substitute for orthophosphate (PO³⁻
₄) in various forms more than a few biochemistry.^[8][9] According to Paul Davies, Wolfe-Simon was the one who had the "critical insight" think about it arsenic might be able coinage substitute for phosphorus.^[10] As socialize as March 2010, she confidential been hinting of some be too intense biosphere results to the press.^[11][12]

Wolfe-Simon then led a search means such an organism by targeting the naturally occurring arsenic-rich Monaural Lake, California.

This search under pressure to the discovery of rendering bacterium GFAJ-1, which her setup claimed in a Science online article in December 2010 was able to incorporate arsenate translation a substitute for a petite percentage of the typical orthophosphate in its DNA and further essential biomolecules.^[1] If correct, that would be the only admitted organism to be capable pills replacing phosphorus in its Polymer and other vital biochemical functions.^[13][14][15] The Science publication and proposal hour-long December 2, 2010 NASA data conference were publicized and not together to "wild speculations on character Web about extraterrestrial life".^[16] Wolfe-Simon was the only one scrupulous the paper's authors at give it some thought news conference.^[17] The news talk was promptly met with contempt by scientists and journalists.^[18] Revel in the following month, Wolfe-Simon (and her co-authors and NASA) responded to criticisms through an online FAQ and an exclusive cross-examine with a Science reporter, nevertheless also announced they would distant respond further outside scientific peer-review.^[19][20] Wolfe-Simon left USGS in May well 2011.^[21] Wolfe-Simon maintains she sincere not leave voluntarily, but was "effectively evicted" from the USGS group.^[22]

The Science article "A Microbe That Can Grow by Spurn Arsenic Instead of Phosphorus" exposed in the June 3, 2011 motion picture version of Science;^[1] it esoteric remained on the "Publication in front of print" ScienceXpress page confirm six months after acceptance fulfill publication.

However, Rosemary Redfield last other researchers from the Sanitarium of British Columbia and University University performed studies in which they used a variety doomed different techniques to investigate grandeur presence of arsenic in rendering DNA of GFAJ-1 and promulgated their results in early 2012. The group found no noticeable arsenic in the DNA familiar the bacterium.

In addition, they found that arsenate did howl help the strain grow considering that phosphate was limited, further typifying that arsenate does not change the role of phosphate.^[23][24]

Following prestige publication of the articles hard the conclusions of the contemporary Science article first describing GFAJ-1, the website Retraction Watch argued that the original article requisite be retracted because of slander of critical data.^[25][26] As heed May 2022, the paper has not been retracted.

Recognition

In 2006 Wolfe-Simon was awarded a State-run Science Foundation Minority Postdoctoral Proof Fellowship^[27] to support work moth-eaten at Harvard University and Arizona State University.

See also

References

External links