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.
My finicky Siamese gets the occasional nibble of roast chicken on the occasion that I have it, because he asks so nicely.
Other than that, he’s content with his kitty food. At least the varieties that he’ll eat. Did I mention that he’s a tad finicky?
Starvation and then plenty often run in cycles, depending on the circumstances. But yes, people tend to overeat when food is available (and then don’t “know why” they’re obese) and over time, it does develop into diabetes or structural diseases from excess weight.
I never got enough to eat when I was growing up, but we had a fairly large family, and a low income (supplemented by a garden and/or home-canned foods) and I was extremely active.
As long as I stuck to my hypoglycemic diet, (The closest thing to it is the Keto diet) I was fine. But getting off it when I became ill was the worst thing I could do.
Mom doesn’t know feeding Tyson can be bad, but you’re still wise to watch. A lot of things are out of my inventory, as well, until I see what’s in the shopping cart of my FS and his PW! Then it goes on my list for the next week. My bad.
Seeing his photos, I can well believe he’s a tad finicky! He’s just got that regal look! You should post a photo of him! T-c will agree with me, I’m sure!
Here’s me with a lucky start!
Wordle 297 4/6
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For some reason, I can’t post pictures on FR anymore. Maybe it’s because I post from my phone?
He is a handsome kitty for sure. And he has the sweetest disposition. He’s the only kitty I’ve had who calmly lets me clip his claws. He also asks to be picked up and cuddled.
He never claws furniture (or me.) He only uses his scratching posts and scratching boards.
He is spoiling me as much as I spoil him. ♥️
If you post it on FB, I can copy it and send it to T-c in an email. Maybe she can post it on FR, because she’s very good at that!
Siamese deserve the best food.
Cat has been viewed. Very handsome!
I think you’re both qualified to work in government.
At the highest levels.
Got any 5s?
Heheheheh!
I did work in local government before the illness forces me to quit. ;o]
Thank you! He is as sweet as he is handsome. That little motor of his is running almost any time he’s awake. 😻
Triple nickel time...
I have Jake, the brown tabby, who goes to bed with me.
Apparently some gun shot some people in a Brooklyn subway station in NYC this morning, during rush hour.
For reasons still unknown, the police are looking for the person who was holding the gun. Why they would blame a person when a gun was involved is beyond me.
I’m glad I no longer go into NYC.
I saw that news. Just amazing that there could be a gun in New York. Didn’t it know it wasn’t allowed?
It probably didn’t speak one of the official languages in which NYC posts everything.
IIRC there are 10 or 12 including English, Russian, German, French, Polish, Haitian-Creole, Simplified Chinese, Standard Chinese, Urdu, Arabic, and others.
BOOM isn’t one of those.
Well, that was certainly an unwelcome change in plans!
Good that it didn’t come closer!
New York needs more Equity!
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