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.
What is the model year of your vehicle?
It’s a 2003. FS ordered a Haynes Manual from someone on eBay, but his luck with sellers doesn’t seem to be as good as mine.
I found a manual on eBay as well as Amazon for within $3 of each other, so now all I have to do is convince FS that he doesn’t have to be held hostage by one seller.
He’s not too happy with me today, so we probably won’t talk until Saturday or Sunday, depending on whether I buy groceries from Walmart online or not.
The bros returned successfully. Now James wants me to take him to the ATM, but I’m going to finish my tea first.
I can’t find an image for drive mode control for the 2003. It has some kind of one, but I don’t know where it is.
I don’t need it this winter, so if you find it by next winter, be sure to let me know! ;o]
There was a thing on Facebook this morning from Dog Patch PD, including photos of some of the streets, warning the peasants to stay home unless absolutely necessary.
Some of us need warnings and others don’t!
You may or may not get any of this storm, but since I only have the local weather feeds and nothing of a national scope, I won’t know how bad this is until I find something on my Facebook feed from friends in other areas.
In ignorance is bliss. Or something. ;o]
Oh, golly, I’m cold!! Someone send in the fur-bearing, cuddling critters, please!
Jake can’t get there in time!
I guessed this 5-letter word in 3/6 tries.
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
WORTH - zero letters
SPAIN - zero letters
FLUKE - solved!!
Catalog those. That’s three zero-overlap words that include about 60% of the alphabet, including all the vowels.
Use all three and still get nothing — man, I dunno. ZYGGY?
This is so true!! I finally got too cold and just went to bed. Heated mattress pads are a boon to cold mankind!
Jake was out all night. He got wet. Then he came in and threw up.
A marmalade!
Good morning.
Did you have a good night?
I can’t believe it’s Friday already. I think my back was turned for a minute and here it is.
After my shower and the letter to Charlie, if I’m feeling half-way decent, I may tackle something in here. I don’t know what. Maybe the walls. Maybe.
The closet is as organized as it can be for now, but I’ll work on the bedroom a little at a time since its mostly together enough for me to look at it and not be frustrated.
The continuing sa-aga of ‘Face’s move-in dilemma.... Not quite as exciting as The Perils of Pauline, I’m afraid. ;o]
Pretty good. No Jake! And it wasn’t as cold as usual. Nobody else is up yet. Seems like a lot of my life is about waiting for the rest of the household to get up.
Ah, famous last words. I just heard a flush.
Yeah, I know what that waiting is like. It was 15° this morning. We’ll get above freezing “they” say, but that’s not much consolation for me.
The shower has been had, and the bed is yet to be dealt with. Next is putting my clothes on, which will happen soon because it’s cold in here!
The bursitis in my left thumb is acting up today. I hate when it does that because I can’t open jars or bottles. It was there when I woke up, so I have no idea what the cause was. Ohwell. Onward and upward!
Admiral Fitz says it’s going to be cloudy with snow in winter. Yessir. This time, he’s right! Now I just need to find a place to hang the barometer.
Please do us a favor and don’t share the answers. I haven’t played yet.
Apologies - that apparently wasn’t today’s.
Good morning. Happy Friday!
I spent a good amount of time this morning getting Mrs. ArGee’s car clear of ice and snow so she could take the dog to the groomer’s. Then a few seconds ago she yelled that she couldn’t get the back door open. So I ran down and yanked it open against the ice that was holding it closed.
Such is the morning of an evening of rain followed by sleet. Fortunately it’s only snowing now so it’s not so bad.
And, for today:
Wordle 230 3/6
🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
That must be the storm that hit us. Poor you! At least the dog got to the groomer’s!
Good Happy Friday! The weekend in here! The weekend is here!
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