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.
I have rough days.. looking at Kittens makes it all better...
I’m sorry you have rough days, and I’m glad the kittens makes things better. If more people spent more time with kittens, it would be a cheerier world!
Why does everything have to be such a hassle?
Unnngh.
100% agree...!!
What T-c said! ;o]
I believe it’s called “red tape” because it makes those of us who have to deal with it on a regular basis see red.
It doesn’t get any easier because the laws keep changing, not in our favor. I deal with it when I have to, but there is never any question about reimbursement for ink, paper, time or stress, so, no compensation of any kind.
I’ll do what I have to do and spend the next 11 months pretending they don’t exist. That’s about the limit of my executive powers.
“Complexity is a tax.”
I just ordered a vinyl record of an American group doing French cafe-music covers for Bill’s birthday. He will love it.
Yes, 3 rows is surprising... often many choices at the point (based on remaining letters)... I often consider it lucky to pick the correct ones...
I moved to the strategy of always using the clues (letters confirmed or eliminated) on the rows now...
Only ‘discovery’ word is Row 1 now... seems to be fruitful most days...
I think Bill will, indeed, love that record! Vinyl is the new thing, and Walmart is full of new presses of old (dead) artists, as well as new presses of new, popular artists.
I got yesterday’s in three, as well! It was just one of those things, I guess, designed to hearten those of us who rarely get it, even in five.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvrBWn0KxEc
It’s a little klezmer, a little Brothers Comatose. Bill took French in community college.
That’s the way I do it. I have one standard word that I use to begin with and work from there. If I’m lucky, I can rearrange the letters properly to make the word by the fifth try. NOT an easy game!
Somebody call me?
Oh, sorry, misread.
What sweet little babies to start the day!
Good morning.
I hope you had a good night, with or without cats!
I’m waiting for the water to heat up before my shower, and I hope I feel better.
It’s 18° out, with the wind right out of the north, bringing freezing rain to the higher elevations and rain here. Unngh.
I don’t know what “my committee” has planned for me, but they say I have to get the stuff ready for the office first thing. Politics.
PW told me how she used her bread machine to just make the dough, then she removed it to bake in pans, so I believe that’s what I’m going to do, first time I make bread. Soon.
Good morning! Happy Humph Day!
I made it through the night without this nasty bug hitting me. It was kind enough to wait until I got up at 5:30. Episode 1 before my shower. Episode 2 when I tried to eat a couple of saltines to settle my stomach. They didn’t. I’ll probably only “go” to work for important meetings.
At least I go today’s Wordle. I might have gotten it in 3 if I hadn’t forgotten one letter I knew.
Wordle 249 4/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Somehow, they made those almost incompatible instruments work together in a surprising rendition! I’m impressed! I could like that! <3
I’m so sorry about the bug hitting you. I could offer all the stomach-settling remedies like chamomile tea, mint tea and hot chocolate with cinnamon or cinnamon toast (anything that goes well with cinnamon, as cinnamon is the active ingredient) but you probably know all that, so I won’t.
I’ll just wish you a speedy recovery.
You did a good job on Wordle, for someone who’s feeling puny.
I won’t do today’s Wordle until this evening. My brain has too many things to interrupt the flow of letters in the mornings.
They also do American pop covers.
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