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.
Papers. Filed.
Other papers. Not shredded.
Sun is out. Still very cold.
Did you make it to Walmart?
Nope, not worth it. I assume the low water crossings are impassible.
W00t!
I haven’t seen any of those here, but then, I haven’t started driving, yet. I can’t imagine I’d be driving anywhere outside of where I’ve been while a passenger, unless it was spring and I wanted to explore.
Drat, drat and drat.
I decided to hang the curtains and they’re up and look nice, but: they lack 5” of being long enough. My first impulse is to take the hems out but that may be more trouble than it’s worth. I may just have to try and find another pair of sheers that I like as well but are long enough to do the job.
The bedroom window presents a problem that I don’t have a remedy for. The thermal curtains I had for the west-facing window in Happy Valley were perfect for that window, including matching the quilt. I no longer have the quilt, but the curtains I have that match the blanket are sheers... Not good for another west-facing window. *sigh*
I think I’m done for the day.
Because Walgreen’s overcharged me for a couple of meds, I need to take the print-out with the charges as well as the letter from SSA and get them to refund the money. They said they would. They haven’t done it. It’s been over two months, now.
And if you’re wondering, it’s because the sun is trying to keeping shining. No dismal clouds.
Sounds like too much fun!
I believe that I watched that at some point in the past, agree with your assessment.
We use blinds instead of curtains.
I have quite a large bag of items that I put in the garage to go to Goodwill tomorrow when it’s not raining.
Where/how did you view it?
I don’t like “cold rain” as defined by raining at a temp below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Just my opinion.
Pretty good opinion.
There are blinds, but I don’t like them. They look too clinical and cold, and make the room look unfinished.
I bought it on eBay and watched it at home. I also saw the Christmas special for it on Facebook, as a “continuation” of the “Story.” I’m waiting for the cost of the second season to go down before I buy it, but the series is becoming so popular, I may be waiting a long time.
It’s all crowd-funded, but their third season is now paid for and ready to go into production.
Check with the library or see if it’s on YouTube. I’ll watch it again, as Easter gets closer. I fell in love with the “Jesus” character, as there is such humor in some of the things he says.
w00t!
Firs one in the new home. Nice job.
Curtains make more sense when there are no children or cats.
Thank you.
You can download the app and then view them all for free if you don’t mind the small form factor.
I stopped watching after the 2nd episode. I thought the Gospel stuff was really interesting, but I wasn’t willing to watch all the additional plot lines. YMMV.
I’ve had curtains when I had cats and children and I still like curtains, especially sheers. I’ll figure something out. The ones I just hung are a lighter shade of the wall paint so they look really nice. Except for the bottom part.
This window isn’t as wide as the one I bought them for, but it’s taller. I still need to prop up the middle, but I can do that on another day. I’m done with having my head thrown back. It makes me dizzy.
With the curtains up at least now, with the blinds open, the neighbors can’t see in. ;o]
The additional plot lines are a part of life, I think. Jesus had his Purpose to fulfill but I can’t imagine him going through his short Life with nothing else happening around him in the lives of those he chose. That’s just my opinion, of course.
There is some good news this Monday morning.
Last week, I got a notice from Utah DMV about the registration on the BB SUV being due, but all the paperwork was in the hands of the new owner so I couldn’t provide the VIN.
I emailed them what information I had, told them approximately when the vehicle was sold and gave them the name and phone number of the new owner.
I just got an email from Utah DMV saying they’ve canceled the registration and they thanked me. Some things work out in spite of entropy!
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