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.
9:00 a.m. at the Presbyterians. It was very nice. Back home, lunch, change of clothes, and Mass at 1:00 with the Spanish Catholics.
-00!
Remarkable fur markings
I figured it would probably be around 0900 for the Presbyterian service.
I actually have the front door open a little, just because I smelled tobacco when I came in from church. Unngh.
My day is almost over! Sundays go flying by, now that we have the later meeting time.
A Bengal.
The Presbyterians have an 11:00 a.m. service, too. More Scouts were going to be at that one. The Spanish service at St. Luke was packed today.
Ah. Lots of people like to sleep in. Must be nice. I usually sleep in on the days I absolutely positively should NOT! LOL!
FS said he’s feeling better, so that’s good.
He has a female helper, now, and she seems to be pretty on the ball, compared to the last helper he had. But the last one had a learning disability that just couldn’t be overcome well enough to do an effective job.
Anyway, I’m glad he has someone reliable because he needs that. As well as someone who can keep instructions in his head longer than three seconds. I hope it works out.
Here I am, ready to head out the door! See ya in about 90 minutes or so!
Iz Monday.
Good morning. It’s raining here.
He’p! I faw down an’ I can’t git up!
Good morning.
How was your night?
The laundry is done for the most part, and the day is mine. I think. I still have to make the bed, but that’s OK. Life is good. ;o]
It’s just very cold here. Another day of 26°. Unngh.
Not bad. A cat came by, but he wasn’t too obnoxious. The furnace came on in the house, so it’s up to 68. The cats went out in the rain and said it was my fault.
The driving bros made it to church and back last night. I don’t know what Patrick is going to do next time I want them to take themselves somewhere, but he’d better be figuring it out.
Good morning. Happy Monday!
M-I-L couldn’t get to the rehab center on Friday due to the weather. The ambulances were backed up, apparently. And they don’t do transfers on the weekend, apparently. So we’re hoping for today.
F-I-L got upset because we couldn’t figure out how to make his Kenmore dryer work. We finally called his wife and she said she put a paper-clip behind the timer knob to get it to run. He was pretty upset that she had never told him. Then he called his handyman who took a look at everything and concluded that a 2 cent paper clip to keep from having to replace a $130 part was pretty smart. So he apologized to her.
The week is about to start. It should be a little warmer for a few days.
Wordle 233 5/6
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Good morning. Sally has left for work. Bros are stirring.
I just had to take a nap. Maybe that’s the thing now — the Monday-After-Laundry-Nap. Whatever works!
The furnace came one in the laundry room and it comes out of the ceiling instead of the walls. My eyes really bother me when it turns on, so I’m wondering if a visor would deflect that blast away from my eyes and keep them from drying out.
I’m not sure I understood your comment about Patrick and the byos wanting to take themselves somewhere. Does he think he’s the exclusive driver of that car?
What a clever woman your MiL is, and good for the repair guy for agreeing with her!
It took me six tries again with yesterday’s Wordle, but I’ll keep working at it!
Patrick has been told many times that, as soon as the other boys got their licenses, he would drop to third priority on the use of the car. If James or Vlad has a legitimate wish or a need to drive somewhere, then Patrick is afoot unless he can make a deal for another vehicle.
James and Vlad went to Mass and youth group last night in the Avalon, and Sally let Pat use her car to go to work. Whether that will work another time, I don’t know. I don’t think Sally is going to be over next Sunday: she was talking about going to whatever Super Bowl watching event Anoreth has.
I think it makes sense that if the warm air is drying your eyes then deflecting a stream of the air would help.
It might also help to find a spot where the hot air isn’t blowing directly on you. Otherwise, if it’s just the warmth of the room it won’t help much.
Of course, a warm laundry room should be humid. That part’s a little strange. Unless, of course, there just haven’t been any loads done recently when you go in.
Lucky cat, gets to play in the Super Bowl this year!
Good Monday Morning!
Hopefully she will get in today.
Better Wordle to start the week, the two weekend games were 5 row efforts...
Wordle 233 4/6
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