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.
And the computer is dying. I don’t know how long it will last but now it doesn’t want to handle more than one page at a time. I need to find the little travel computer or I’ll be lost in the boonies for the duration. Of all times for this thing to go down....
However, it’s been excellent, so far, so I guess I can’t complain.
Off to join the party!
Later!
I hope it’s lots of fun!
It was too cold to be fun, but at least it didn’t last long enough for anything unseemly to happen!
Now I’m cold and contemplating bed. Abbie was pretty happy that we made a fuss over her, and that was good. We are her family, now, because everyone in her family is on the Left Coast. I just don’t get as much time with any of them as I would like.
PW tried to pin me down about staying the entire three weeks of their European Vacation at their place but I had only planned on one or two nights a week. I mean, why would I leave my house unprotected for that long if they don’t want to leave theirs? Unngh.
Anyway, I was back home in two hours.
That makes perfect sense. Some people don’t think very clearly!
What a tiny little squee!
Good morning.
I hope you had a good night.
Have you heard from the young men on their quest to find the Swamp Thing? I hope it was interesting, if nothing else!
It’s 20° out this morning. I’m really tired of being cold!
The Other Folks were talking about their trip yesterday, saying it was 13 weeks away. Sometimes I think that’s the only reason they agreed to help me move. I’ll be glad when it’s over and done with.
I hope they have a really nice time on their trip. When we go somewhere, we tell the Carters on the left and the Upnorth People on the right that we’ll be gone, and we describe the car of the pet-feeder, unless the pet-feeder is Pat, who lives here, in which case we tell them Pat is here.
Pretty good night. I got up around midnight because I was coughing, and the cats thought I was there to let them out.
Nothing from the boys about their hike. I don’t know if we’re expecting Tom for supper; he’ll either turn up or not!
Cold turkey for catnip addict....
Cute!
They discussed this with all six of us there, and when PW asked if I planned to stay there the entire three weeks, I said no, I had only planned on, like, three nights in a row. It’s their house and their responsibility to find people to sit it. So then she asked Sam if he could come over and he’s so reluctant to do anything for anyone but himself that he was trying to say no without actually saying it.
But he’s 21 now, so he should be responsible. He’s living with his dad, so I don’t see why he can’t spend two or three nights in his mom’s house every week while they’re gone.
Anyway, who’s going to watch my place while I’m at THEIR place for three weeks? Better not answer “your neighbors” because I don’t know my neighbors but I do know none of them are young enough to do much more than inform management.
The sun is shining brightly but it will only be in the forties this morning. I’ll be putting my makeup on in the bathroom with the door closed and the heater on!
It’s going to be a beautiful day in spite of how I think I feel! ;o]
That cat does not look pleased! LOL!
Whoever thought of that must have been a cat-hater!
If they are so concerned about their house, they should have a security system. It doesn’t seem reasonable to expect others to stay at your house for you as if others didn’t have their own places to worry about.
I’m sure the idea of a security system has never occurred them, but it should, at some point. Ten years ago there was no crime here, but as the city grows, so does the propensity for criminals. So I’ll suggest a couple of things, one being to inform the local constabulary of their absence and the other being an alarm system of some sort.
I know of one company that’s very good and not too expensive, so I’ll suggest it when I hand over the maps that came yesterday. I’m going to order a set for myself so I can “follow” them.
The thing I’m most uncomfortable about is the fact that they have posted on Facebook about their trip, something I never would have done, or in fact, encouraged. Not smart. And all the more reason to install a security system.
LOL! That’s too funny!!
Thanks! Now I just hope I don’t think of that and start laughing in church! ;o])
Iirc, that kind of thing - except maybe on AOL - was how the "Barefoot Bandit" in the Pacific Northwest found some of his targets.
I’ve warned FS in the past about posting personal information (my own birthdate is the limit they would allow me to post so I’m 104 years old) and I’m going to remind him again the next time he comes over to visit.
I’ll also suggest a security system, and if nothing else, agree to help with the cost of installation, if it means they don’t demand I stay there the entire three weeks. That was presumptuous of them in the first place. I think the initial cost for a house the size of theirs is about $120. Not unreasonable.
IIRC, I was going to do that before I moved here — fly out and house-sit while they were gone, then fly back. But I live here now so the rules have changed somewhat.
Interesting!
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