Several scientists on Friday criticized an arsenic microbe paper that was published last year in the Science magazine.

The criticism to the study lead by Felisa Wolfe-Simon of the NASA Astrobiology Institute was also published in the Science magazine. The earlier study describing a microbe suggested the organism was able to incorporate poisonous arsenic into its genes.

The criticism to the study has been published outside its Science's regular publishing schedule and has come without a prior notice that gives times for the scientific community to run independent researches and offer comments.

The on-line "technical comment" papers have now been released and will be officially published in June. The magazine expects the debate on the subject to continue after the publishing of the critiques. It said that it sees it as an opportunity for further research and education.

Scientists have criticized a range of aspects of the study from fundamental aspects to arsenic playing nicely with cell biochemistry from Steven Benner of The Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, to failure to check for contamination from biologist Rosemary Redfield of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Wolfe-Simon and team have offered their response to the criticism but many believe that the arsenic microbe debate will continue until the final understanding on the matter.