Posted on 12/29/2021 5:57:37 AM PST by Red Badger
A summary of decades of research on a rather 'out-there' idea involving viruses from space raises questions on just how scientific we can be when it comes to speculating on the history of life on Earth.
It's easy to throw around words like crackpot, rogue, and maverick in describing the scientific fringe, but then papers like this one, from 2018, come along and leave us blinking owlishly, unsure of where to even begin.
A total of 33 names were listed as authors on this review, which was published by Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology back in August 2018. The journal is peer reviewed and fairly well cited. So it's not exactly small, or a niche pay-for-publish source.
Science writer Stephen Fleischfresser goes into depth on the background of two of the better known scientists involved: Edward Steele and Chandra Wickramasinghe. It's well worth a read.
For a tl;dr version, Steele is an immunologist who has a fringe reputation for his views on evolution that relies on acquiring gene changes determined by the influence of the environment rather than random mutations, in what he calls meta-Lamarckism.
Wickramasinghe, on the other hand, has had a somewhat less controversial career, recognized for empirically confirming Sir Fred Hoyle's hypothesis describing the production of complex carbon molecules on interstellar dust.
Wickramasinghe and Hoyle also happened to be responsible for another space biology thesis. Only this one is based on more than just the origins of organic chemistry.
The Hoyle Wickramasinghe (H-W) thesis of Cometary (Cosmic) Biology makes the rather simple claim that the direction of evolution has been significantly affected by biochemistry that didn't start on our planet.
In Wickramasinghe's own words, "Comets are the carriers and distributors of life in the cosmos, and life on Earth arose and developed as a result of cometary inputs."
Those inputs, Wickramasinghe argued, aren't limited to a generous sprinkling of space-baked amino acids, either.
Rather, they include viruses that insert themselves into organisms, pushing their evolution into whole new directions.
The report, titled "Cause of Cambrian Explosion – Terrestrial or Cosmic?", pulls on existing research to conclude that a rain of extra-terrestrial retroviruses played a key role in the diversification of life in our oceans roughly half a billion years ago.
"Thus retroviruses and other viruses hypothesized to be liberated in cometary debris trails both can potentially add new DNA sequences to terrestrial genomes and drive further mutagenic change within somatic and germline genomes," the authors wrote.
Let that sink in for a moment. And take a deep breath before continuing, because that was the tame part.
It was during this period that a group of mollusks known as cephalopods first stretched out their tentacles from beneath their shells, branching into a stunning array of sizes and shapes in what seemed like a remarkably short time frame.
The genetics of these organisms, which today include octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish, are as weird as the animals themselves, due in part to their ability to edit their DNA on the fly.
The authors of the paper make the rather audacious claim that these genetic oddities might be a sign of life from space.
Not of space viruses this time, but the arrival of whole genomes frozen in stasis before thawing out in our tepid waters.
"Thus the possibility that cryopreserved squid and/or octopus eggs, arrived in icy bolides several hundred million years ago should not be discounted," they wrote.
In his review of the paper, medical researcher Keith Baverstock from the University of Eastern Finland conceded that there's a lot of evidence that plausibly aligns with the H-W thesis, such as the curious timeline of the appearance of viruses.
But that's just not how science advances.
"I believe this paper justifies skepticism of the scientific value of stand alone theories of the origin of life," Baverstock argued at the time.
"The weight of plausible, but non-definitive, evidence, great though that might be, is not the point."
While the idea is as novel and exciting as it is provocative, nothing in the summary helps us better understand the history of life on Earth any better than existing conjectures, adding little of value to our model of evolution.
Still, with solid caveats in place, maybe science can cope with a generous dose of crazy every now and then.
Journal editor Denis Noble concedes that 'further research is needed', which is a bit of an understatement.
But given the developments regarding space-based organic chemistry in recent years, there's room for discussion.
"As space chemistry and biology grows in importance it is appropriate for a journal devoted to the interface between physics and biology to encourage the debates," said Noble.
"In the future, the ideas will surely become testable."
Just in case those tests confirm speculations, we recommend being well prepared for the return of our cephalopod overlords. Who knows when they'll want those eggs back?
This research was published in Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology.
A version of this article was first published in August 2018.
The kittehs we saw weren’t abandoned. They were road sandwiches. Probably former farm kittehs.
We’re supposed to get ice mixed with snow starting tomorrow night into early Friday morning.
I hate ads with any game, so I may or may not be playing long. I’d rather pay for it than watch stupid ads.
I got today’s word in four.
WooHoo!
Thanks!
Don’t know how I managed it, but there it was! ;o]
*tagline*
OK. I’ll say it: I’m addicted.
42 games played
40 games won
37 in a row
35% guessed in 4
30% guessed in 5
20% guessed in 3
8% each guessed in 2 and 6
Trying to push up the 3’s and 4’s to where I’m getting 2/3 of the answers in 4 or fewer tries. It’s, what...63% ATM?
Not now, tho.
NOW, now that the BestBuy contractors have come and gone and the new microwave is ready for action, I’ve gotta pretend I have a job.
“Microwave?” you say.
Oh, did I not tell you...?
MY built-in over-the-cooktop microwave died last fall right after Thanksgiving. I have a home warranty so $75 and they’re supposed to come fix it, OR declare it “dead” and get a new one, OR declare it “dead” and send me a check.
BUT FIRST, it was about two weeks before anyone could come out, so I’m up against Christmas without a microwave. When the guy does come, he looks it over for two or three minutes and says, “Yep, it’s dead. I’ll let ‘em know ‘n’ they’ll get back to you about how they’re going to handle it.” Literally $75 and he’s here for less than ten minutes.
So, THEN I get email saying they’re going to send me a check to go shop for a replacement on my own. Turns out the check was about $50 less than I had to pay for said replacement.
THEN I find out, microwaves are plenteous, UNLESS you want a white one. ALL the ones “in stock” are that uber common brushed stainless steel finish — a white one has to come from the factory, and every appliance dealer of repute said “March 1st.”
MARCH 1ST!?!?!? UNGH!!
BUT, I checked BestBuy, and they had a white one they said they could get to me FEBRUARY 1ST, AND they were even a few dollars less than the other guys.
So, they just left a bit ago — couple a young guys; personable, relaxed, obviously knew what they were doing, got the old one down, the new one in, tested, even set the clock — ZERO drama. So, now it’s done.
And, since it’s done... back to work.
[Which I enjoy well enough, so...no real complaints.]
I’m getting pretty tired of hurting.
Back spasm after playing fetch/keep away with the 90 pound wrecking ball on the 10th. ER, later urgent care, ineffective meds.
Shouldn’t have refused opiates. *sigh* Now a pinched nerve.
Chiropractic and PT, one of the PT exercises aggravated the pinched nerve.
And today the now 100 lb wrecking ball broke the kid’s nose.
Good thing he’s cute.
Good thing he's cute...
James and Vlad have achieved their drivers licenses. Vlad didn’t have to test after all. Too much can’t be expected of our essential DMV employees.
Oh, Nully, I’m so sorry about your back! Is it too late to get the opiates?
The miscreant looks very sad about the whole thing, especially about not being allowed on the furniture.
Perhaps His Cuteness will share the bed with you, just until your back spasms ease. ;o]
Congratulations to James, his hair and Vlad. No more Driving Adventures for you for a while! Yay!!
He’s peacefully asleep. Yes his eyes are open.
Good news on the nuke.
I haven’t been at the Wordle thing as long as you have.
25 played
25 won
1 guessed in 2
3 guessed in 3
13 guessed in 4
6 guessed in 5
2 guessed in 6.
I’m not planning to do the math and make those %ages. You can if you want.
Now to see if there’s any reason that I get most in 4 and if I can decrease that.
Today I could think of 3 words to try for my 3rd. One of them would be right. Naturally, I didn’t try the right one.
Cute is good.
Cute and well behaved is better.
We’re still trying for better here.
If some humans can sleep with their eyes open, I don’t know why dogs can’t.
Peacefully asleep on the Not Allowed On furniture. I somehow think he missed the memo!
I’m so new at it, I won’t even post the stats! They’re pretty dismal, anyway. ;o]
Vlad needs another 12 hours in the next six months with a supervising driver. We did 1-1/2 today.
“I’m not planning to do the math and make those %ages.”
If you click on the little vertical bars icon at the upper right, the percentages show up in white against the end of the green bars on the Statistics display.
Some things are worth the wait. Six months? Tom can do that, easily! Vlad should be an easy student for him.
I sure hope my sleep patterns get situated, soon. I’m all over the clock, these days, and the Fitbit beeber is so wonky it’s not funny. I’m pretty sure I logged 11 hours of sleep, or close to it last night, but the beeber has me at 8.5. I’ll let the battery discharge and then me and Beeber Central will have another conversation!
My neighbor, Mona, is now 28 days without smoking. Well, she smoked one or two since then, but for the most part, she’s working hard to quit. I told her yesterday it was all good, and she said that since she “is Pentacostal,” the guilt is very hard for her to bear. I don’t know how to even address that, just to simply encourage her to keep going with her cessation program.
I don’t know why smoking is especially a thing for Pentecostals. However, it’s certainly better for her if she doesn’t smoke, especially since it’s not allowed in or around her apartment.
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