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.
Floofy marmalade has a great place to hide.
Good morning. I hope you slept well.
I don’t think I did. But that’s OK. It’s enough that I was parallel to the deck and was warm.
This morning will be spent in a variety of things, like phone calls and letters, and maybe even rearranging a few things so I can get to the walls and start to make sense of the chaos on this end of the place.
Then I’ll start looking for a sofabed.
Or maybe I’ll just be a slug for another day.
Good morning. Happy Twosday!
I think we had 10 fs when I walked the dog this morning. I know she was a little quicker than usual.
There was Jake, but the other person could have been worse and usually is. Jake has no sympathy with a person’s needing to go to the bathroom.
I’m trying to get all the personnel to finish their breakfasts so I can clean the stove and mop the floors. Then we’ll go to the library.
If I jump in front of a trash truck, tell them it was the sighing that did it.
It’s a balmy 24° this morning. Not sure if I’m ready for such heat.
I’m sure Dog doesn’t like cold feet any more than the rest of us.
See? I hate getting up for a bathroom trip.
I’m going to fill out a form, then write a letter and then take some stuff to the dumpster, since the truck came at around 0400 to empty it.
FS sent me a text at 0600 saying he didn’t get my messages because his phone was on the charger in the bedroom. Well, maybe. I’m thinking he missed the early afternoon text because, work. The evening, yes, but it’s OK. He said he’d get with me later today, so in the meantime, I’ll make at least one phone call.
My brain isn’t working at all effectively this morning, but I’ll do what I can with it.
Good luck at the library! Please don’t jump in front of a trash truck! We’d all miss the morning floofs. ;o]
As for the sighing, couldn’t that be responded to with an exaggerated sigh or many exaggerated sighs? Would that make things worse?
41°F here, nearly the same number as last night’s wind speed, with the attendant power failures.
I sometimes say, “Is there something you need me/us to do for you?” and then he’ll say, “No, I just realized I was breathing shallowly.” Gah.
In the grand scheme of things, it’s nothing, but we’re going on two years with no escape, and everything feels unbearable. You know?
Times are changing (solar minimum), it is 37 degrees Fahrenheit there at the moment.
10 degrees Fahrenheit will quicken all steps!!
Golly. That would send up alarums with me. How often does he have a physical? I may be something that needs to be addressed and could be taken care of with a minimum of fuss.
I’m done with the application, but it took far longer than I wanted to. Next up is the letter.
The sun is wanting very much to beam into my living room, but the clouds have other ideas. It’s just as well. I’m not ready for such a bright light.
The clothes need to be folded and put away, but not just yet. They can wait for a while.
I cleaned the stove, and now I’m mopping the floors.
It’s 24° now, and the sun is trying to shine.
I learned to really hate the wind in the years I lived in Las Vegas Valley. It would circle the valley for days, causing static electricity, and gusting upwards of 80 mph without warning.
Power failures were common, but somehow, not ever where I lived! All around me people would have no power, no matter where I lived. But I seemed to be in a protected pocket, until Hooterville. Then we had one that lasted an hour. Not even time for my mattress pad to get cold!
I need to wash down the cupboards. I don’t want to, because I’ll have to be on a stool, but it is what it is. No one else is around to do it, so that just leaves me.
Soon it will be time for a phone call.
I’m finished mopping for now.
Some believe the Venus Fly trap plant cane from Space. It only grew is one small area in the Carolinas NEAR A METATOR CRATER!
Yeah. They made a movie about it: “The Day Of The Triffids.”
Welcome to The Undead Thread! We’ve taken it over for now, and you’re most welcome to come back and visit whenever you feel the need to relax!
‘Face
;o]
Application done, letter done, phone call next. After a break of course.
My days are messed up, what with the problems of this move, but I’m beginning to wonder if they ever won’t be. What a thing to contemplate.
In his defense ... I do that. It’s usually when I’m concentrating. I don’t even realize I was breathing shallowly until Mrs. ArGee points is out.
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