arsenic for phosphorus in the amino acids that make up DNA thrilled me no end.
There are also extremophiles in the ocean depths that can, for example, harvest
the energy from naturally occurring background radiation from uranium compounds.
Wiki has a extensive article on speculations about the possibility of life based
on elements other than carbon, including, as a matter of fact, certain forms of
uranium and lead, not to mention the old sci fi standby, silicon-based life
forms.
As I have mentioned, I frequently check an astrobiology blog called "What's New
in Cosmic Ancestry"
I betcha that some time during my life they are in fact going to find some
indication--if not outright proof--that there are non-carbon-based life forms.
To paraphrase J.B.S. Haldane, the Universe is not only more fecund than we
imagine, it is more fecund than we *can* imagine.
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