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.
How many questions will there be on the forestry test? A whole bazillion?
While I was sorting the pills yesterday, I ended up playing Tetris trying to get them to fit in the little cups. One of the replacement pills came in capsule form instead of caplet, as I had been using, and that took up just enough space that I had to carefully place the rest of the pills in order to close the lids. My back was killing me before I got done, and I had to sit down twice in the meantime. Unngh.
Anyway, the shower is done, and the water stayed hot, but I still can’t quite figure out how that works. I think I’m doing it the same way each time, but obviously not. Anyway, it was surprisingly luxurious this morning, both in heat and in time.
Twenty-three, plus pictures for identification.
Wow. OK. Nice test length.
Since my last post, I was writing to Charlie. I did take time out for a dose of pills, then to make a phone call, and here I am. I have a couple more calls to make but I need to make the bed, first.
Then, when I take Charlie’s letter out, I need to take the garbage out as well. After that, I’m not sure, but maybe I’ll get back to shredding the stuff in the ever-dwindling pile of stuffs.
Then I’ll have another bag to take to the dumpster. But maybe not today!
How did you like that article I sent? I know it was rather lengthy, but it was pretty interesting, I thought. I have a book on the battalion, but the article shed more light on what I already knew.
I’m still looking for time to read it. Yesterday was Spanish music, today is science, tomorrow is Spanish music, and all the unnngh.
I picked up some books at the library and then went by the church to make music copies for tomorrow.
That’s OK! You’ll get around to it, eventually. ;o]
Sounds like you’ve been very busy, so far today. Naptime with a cat?
Most of my morning was taken up with letters and phone calls, then some filing, and I still haven’t gotten to the shredding. However, I think that will have to wait for another day. I suddenly ran out of steam.
I had thought about cleaning the bathroom, but I don’t know if I’m even up to that. I realized last night that I was in a partial relapse, or a minor relapse or whatever one wants to call it. But it’s not surprising, considering all that’s happened since mid-October.
I’ll just do what I can do and the devil can take the hindmost!
Turning up the heat will cause you to run out of hot water faster than turning down the cold.
For what that’s worth.
I find that the temperature of the cold water also has a lot to do with it.
Yeah, I got that. That would be true with any “normal” plumbing. The hot and cold water lines are reversed in the bathroom, so that the faucet has to be turned to “cold” for hot water. The only way to lessen the heat is to lessen the flow. Cold water is just that. Middle position shuts off the flow entirely.
The kitchen faucet is normal. Anyway, the water heater is very small and I don’t know what the recovery rate is, but in order to have hot water for a shower, I have to turn on the hot water for five minutes, then wait about 30 minutes before turning it on again for another minute. THEN I can go in and take a hot shower. If I hurry, it will stay hot until I’m done.
;o]
Another one that I had a hard time ‘seeing:’
Wordle 244 5/6
⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛
⬛⬛🟨⬛🟩
⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Good job! At least you saw it. Some days, I can’t even do that. I got this in four again today, but it took some thinking. Tough!
All the science! Trees!
Floofies for brekkity!
Good morning.
I hope you slept well.
Did you get all the test questions done? I hope your evening went well.
I found a British crossword and they’re every bit as tough as they seemed on “Endeavour.”
Now I need to get dressed because I don’t know when the Other Folks are coming to pick up this piece of luggage for a Walmart excursion, but I need to be ready for them. I didn’t mess with the alarm, but I didn’t get up right away, either!
Good morning. The forestry test was a success. Today we have all the choir!
Good luck on your Walmart trip.
Thanks. It will be good because we split up when we get inside so contact is minimal.
I’ll have company this afternoon, and I was too polite to refuse on the grounds that “I have no place for you to sit.” I don’t know who told them I “needed” a visit, but it was obviously someone who was totally unaware of the circumstances of my apartment.
So the bathroom is clean and the bed is made and the floors will be next. Meanwhile, I have to put on my “walking” shoes before the Other Folks get here.
Choir completed. I’m going to bed with Jake next.
I don’t blame you. I hope the choir went well.
Walmart was one of those shop and then hurry up and wait deals. I’ll have to try and remember to bring an insulated bag with me because most times, my frozen stuff begins to melt and the cold stuff isn’t by the time I get home.
Now, all I can do is wait for the company to come and go and try to get back to life at a normal pace. Unexpected interruptions are not liked by my body. I hate to say it but anything out of the routine isn’t good.
I’m having trouble with the laptop, now, and it doesn’t look good. It doesn’t want to give me a full screen when I log in. It gives me a tiny box in the upper right corner, and then I can’t remember how to get back to what I had before. Not good.
I had a nice lie-down with Jake. I had extra coffee during choir practice, so I was a bit jittery. We got through four performances worth of material, though, and I told Asuncion that for the next Mass she plans, she’s allowed to have ONE new song ;-). We like so many songs, but we can’t learn them all at once.
I’m glad you got your groceries!
Thanks! I’m glad I got them, too, but in the Other Person’s zeal to get to Walmart, the stuff that went into the back of the car at my place didn’t find its way to the Goodwill drop-off until the Other Folks were in the check-out lane. I was waiting for them and sent a text, so of course, it was my fault she had to go and do that, and then come back to get us.
Learning one new song is hard enough! Most choirs need two months to learn four songs, so yeah, I agree.
My company came and went and they enjoyed themselves but I felt stressed by the time they left. Standard. They offered to help me unpack, but I told them, as I have told everyone who has offered, that I have to do it when I feel up to it. Of course, that happens when no one else is around. By the time we actually left for Walmart, my ability to do any unpacking was gone. Perhaps, had we left at 0830 or so, I could have gotten something taken out of a box or two and put away. *sigh*
And now, I’m stressed about the laptop, but will have to wait until Monday for any answers.
It sounds like a long, exhausting day. I ran the vacuum after supper, which feels like an Accomplishment. Next, I’ll go check on the laundry again.
I did manage to clean the bathroom, but that was a job that needed doing desperately. I was going to start to unpack something (another box) and figured that it was close to the time when the Other Folks usually headed for Walmart, so I thought I’d just wait until I got back. We know how that ended.
The company had only been gone about 30 minutes or so and the phone rang. It was the parents of the PW, calling to see how I’ve been doing.
Forty-five minutes later and here I am, ready to call it a night. So I’ll be shutting this down and taking my pills and going to find someplace warm!
I hope you have a good evening and that you sleep well, with or without cats!
See you tomorrow!
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