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.
yes I did! and it was great. Yolks are more orange than the pale yellow factory eggs and tastier.
...and just for giggles I do sometimes arrange by shade and color within the limits of the dozen egg carton. Was considering doing a photo series. That sort of face image gives me ideas. The original image is really high def. 4k x 3k roughly...big file size and great detail
👍🏻
Tell her that I was upset as well!
🤣
We have Rhode Island Reds and Americanas...... so I always cook an even mix of both..... just a habit that developed....
Nice photo, btw!
Thanks! Doesn’t happen often, but I love it when it does!
thanks!
It was beautiful and amazing. I mean, who knew? Besides Egg People, I mean! ;o]
Corn or grass-fed chickens lay eggs with darker, tastier yolks. I prefer them, actually. Even baked goods benefit from the tastier yolks.
We used to get funny-colored eggs from a friend, but those hens eventually died.
Kathleen and I had a good time at the pool. Maybe I’ll try water aerobics next week!
;>)
Good deal! Meanwhile, Charlie called. I think he called to tell me someone had died but couldn’t remember who it was by the time he actually was talking to me.
I decided to find my red and white outfit for Sunday and found a bunch of stuff in a storage tub that should have been put elsewhere. Long story short, I did put it elsewhere, and thereby freed up said container for donation.
Meanwhile, I printed up an address label and it was only when I went to cut it and place it on the envelope that I realized the wrong return address was on it and I had to reprint it. Some things just slip through the cracks when one makes such a long-distance move.
Today is sweet little Abbie’s birthday, and I sent her a Bitmoji birthday greeting. Then I sent a text to FD and asked her if she had ever played Wordle. She’s never heard of it. We’ll see about that!
Now, I have to finish this envelope and get it out before the carrier comes. She’s been coming early this week, and I don’t want to miss her.
I went to take a pain pill but then I couldn’t remember if I took it or not, so I took another one. I’ll know if I took the first one if I suddenly get up and start to unpack the books and get them put away!
It sounds like you’ve been busy. We’re getting ready to leave for the riding lesson.
I like the new bathing suit. When I get too small for it, I’ll get a similar one in a smaller size!
Fan mashup of Jurassic Park but with giant cat...1:15
very funny and well done.
And now, there are lots of interruptions!
While I was playing Nervous Rat in the bedroom, I realized there was room under the bed for two more flat containers and that would be enough to free up at least one more storage tub, if not two. If I can make that happen, I can move the plastic file boxes to the other side of the closet (under the hanging clothes) and have more actual room. If there is enough money on payday, I’ll make the tubs happen, and that will give me an excuse to make some more changes in there. Yay, me!!
It’s a gorgeous day out, and I have the door open a little, but of course, I have to prop it so it doesn’t swing all the way open. When the inspectors saw the door and the light switch in the bedroom, there was some “tut-tut” and “there’s no excuse for that” going on, but we’ll see how fast they’re taken care of. Probably soon, because the next inspection will be from HUD and it will reflect badly on the owner if things aren’t fixed.
Anyway, stay tuned. (That came out “stuned” but it isn’t what I meant to say! LOL!)
THAT was cute! Thanks! <3
apparently “owlKitty” has a whole series of short movie mashups
Claws was funny as well.
I’ll have to check some of those out. I haven’t spent much time on YouTube, ever, so all this is new to me. I may need a reminder in the near future, if you wouldn’t mind! ;o]
I hope the rest of your day went well.
I kept having interruptions and didn’t ever get the surge of energy I was hoping for so I guess the answer is no, I didn’t take two pain killers. Maybe tomorrow I’ll do it deliberately and get something done.
Have a good night and I’ll see you tomorrow!
no problem...I’ll preview some and give links to the best.
Driving adventures!
Recall the recent mass surveillance of citizens mentioned.
I called it in 2015
https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/3365707/posts?page=31#31
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