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.
Why? Who knew she was apart, besides you? ;o]
W00t!
I finally found something to use for a stiffener for the envelope, so hopefully, with instructions not to fondle, spin or manipulate the envelope, the article will get to you in readable condition.
I was watching a series from Australia, called “Mystery Road,” but there is too much of the “F-bomb” in it. My ears can only take that in very small doses, but this seems to always come from a woman and from the limited amount of screentime she gets, it seems to make up about 90% of her dialog. The story lines are really gripping, but I finally had to give it up and go back to MI-5.
Seems I spent most of my afternoon here, for some reason, surfing the interwebs. Don’t know wassupwithat. But I did catch up on some nieces and a nephew or two.
It seems also that FS has found a piece of Formica for the top of the stove, so I’m now going to wait and be surprised when he shows up with it. Whenever that is.
Maybe it’s the dish soap fumes. He’s really pretty, though.
Back from a Vlad Driving Adventure. He kept having to stop for the bathroom.
w00t!
Happy Friday Eve, everyone!
We have a warming trend until Sunday. Hopefully some of this snow will melt before the next snowfall.
Wordle 236 3/6
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I was going to respond to this last night, but I mean, what could I say? Weak bladders are nothing to sneeze at.
*kof-kof*
Kitteh says, “Dis mah place! Is warm!”
Good morning. Did you sleep well?
I think I did, but I was only trying to catch up from night-before-last. It always works that way.
Does Kathleen still have riding lessons?
Not bad, thanks. There were issues with Jake, and also, I find that I’m clenching my jaws uncomfortably.
Kathleen has a riding lesson this afternoon. Maybe Vlad will drive. Kathleen and I will be leaving for the pool in a few minutes. Wish me luck!
I got it in three this morning!!
I have a tendency to clench my teeth in my sleep and it’s downright painful. I’ve trained myself to wake up enough to stop before it gets too bad, but it can result in jaw misalignment. That causes headaches. TMJ disorder.
I wish my new swimming suit would get here so I could go swimming with my neighbor. She probably thinks it will never happen.
Good luck at the pool!
(Am I babbling this morning?)
Good Morning!
You and ArGee did well!
Me? Not so much...
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So sure on row 3, even more sure on row 4, and then...
Good morning!
By the time I got to row two, there was only one choice left. It doesn’t happen often, but when it works it works!
;o]
Breakfast quandry...cook two same color, mix color....
Eggs from my private supplier...the center egg is actually bluer than photo shows.
I saw a crate of 18 eggs displayed according to color with the lightest at the bottom right to the darkest at top left. The colors went from blue to white to tan and then brown. No two eggs were the same color. It was fascinating to look at!
You gonna have bacon with that?
WooHoo!
My daughter was upset that it took her 5.
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