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.
*yawn* ‘morning.
Good morning. Happy Thorsday.
Floofy thing to look at today.
Good morning. I hope you slept well.
I have no idea what I’ll be doing today besides sorting pills. Maybe I’ll feel up to constructing something that will hold books. Maybe. By the time I got done with yesterday’s doings I was all out of gumption.
What’s happening in your neck of the woods?
Good morning, and not bad, thanks. I broke up some cat hostilities about 4:00 a.m. and then went back to bed until 5:30.
Frank is going on an outing with his friend up the street. I’ll take Kathleen to the library. Looks like it’s time to mop the floors, too.
Good morning. Happy Friday Eve!
Sorry I’m late. Princess went one day longer than her old record without a seizure. So I’m a bit behind on my morning activities.
We have to bathe her after each seizure, especially when she has it outdoors, as she did today. While Mrs. ArGee and I were toweling her off I got too close to a moving elbow. Now I have this bruise on my right eyelid that’s going to be annoying as it’s fairly swollen. Just the lid. I hope it will go down on its own.
Good for you, going back to sleep! I was going to sleep after I shut the alarm off but I was too cold, so I got up.
Good luck to Frank and his outing! I enjoy the library. I may have to go, just for DVDs about nature and geography and vulcanology and stuff like that there.
The slippers I was given two Christmases ago finally wore out, and I desperately need something on my feet with these cold stone tile floors. I wouldn’t, if I jumped out of bed and into my clothes but I sit in my jammies for an hour before I get dressed, so my feet get frigid. I need to find a pair that I can afford. Who knew slippers could be so expensive??
I may work in the closet today, if I can get up the gumption. I’m going to try and call SSA this morning, with my new phone number and see if I can get in queue at 0800, now that my phone no longer has a PDT area code.
I found something else to frame and hang up. I’ve done quite well, considering. The soffits give me more space to hang stuff, but I’d rather have the top of the cupboards to store things, as I said yesterday. But beggars.
Poor Princess. Try a cold pack on your eye?
When I opened the back door to let the cats out this morning, we heard some cat-shrieking going on a few yards away. Both Jake and Shannon froze and started growling, so I shut the door and told them to find something else to do for a while.
Good Friday Eve morning!
I’m so sorry about the Princess. Yesterday when you mentioned it, I had a feeling it was not over with. Sorry about your black eye, as well! Ice!
I’m going to take a shower. Then it will be time for something else.
I thought about putting something on it, but it’s in a very awkward place. I hate to lose use of the entire eye for a bruise.
You only need to ice it in the first five minutes. That will reduce the swelling as well as the bruising. It’s never too late in the first few hours, but after that, the damage has been done. Bruises around the eye can be problematical. Trust me: I’ve had my share.
I’m just biding my time until I can call SSA. Unngh.
Yes, they have no business being out when the gangs are causing trouble!
If I hadn’t second-guessed myself, I would have had it in three!
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Good Job!
A bit of a toughie today...
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I opted for Advil for now. Maybe I’ll put some ice on it before my first meeting.
Hope that you are both feeling better soon!
Not my best effort.
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