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A Weird Paper Tests The Limits of Science by Claiming Octopuses Came From Space
https://www.sciencealert.com ^ | 28 DECEMBER 2021 | MIKE MCRAE

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.


TOPICS: Astronomy; History; Outdoors; Pets/Animals; Science; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: abiogenesis; astronomy; cephalopods; crevo; cryptobiology; edwardsteele; fredhoyle; fringe; godsgravesglyphs; ohsomysteriouso; panspermia; science; scientism; sirfredhoyle; wickramasinghe; xplanets
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To: Allegra

I live in upstate NY, about 3.5 hrs north of NYC.


3,841 posted on 04/19/2022 7:58:12 AM PDT by ArGee (Well, this year's a bust. I guess I need to start hoping for a good 2023.)
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To: zzeeman
I've been known to try to provide a kitteh when TC isn't around, but I had to clear some snow this morning, then was dumb enough to take a Verizon survey that took way longer than I anticipated.

Try this on for size. This kitteh is getting ready for his shower.


3,842 posted on 04/19/2022 8:00:39 AM PDT by ArGee (Well, this year's a bust. I guess I need to start hoping for a good 2023.)
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To: ArGee

Ahh very good, it is a Mackerel Tabby so you can’t go wrong!!


3,843 posted on 04/19/2022 8:03:57 AM PDT by zzeeman ("We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality." )
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To: Allegra

You did a good job!

I was working with some gray lint this morning, so that’s my excuse and I’m stickin’ with it! ;o]


3,844 posted on 04/19/2022 8:47:25 AM PDT by Monkey Face ( ~~ Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid. ~~ Ronald Reagan)
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To: ArGee; Tax-chick; zzeeman; Allegra

Thanks!

That kitteh looks like a whisker away from a sudden slashing death for the person who put the shower cap on it! LOL!


3,845 posted on 04/19/2022 8:50:01 AM PDT by Monkey Face ( ~~ Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid. ~~ Ronald Reagan)
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To: ArGee
I live in upstate NY, about 3.5 hrs north of NYC.

Pretty country up there. I spent a chunk of a summer around Saratoga Springs, Lake George, Ballston Spa…

Beautiful in the summer. I’m a cold weather wimp, so I probably wouldn’t like it in the winter. “Snow” is definitely a four-letter word to me. 😁

3,846 posted on 04/19/2022 9:01:48 AM PDT by Allegra
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To: Allegra

You are correct, it’s both pretty in summer and cold in the winter. There’s also a race track around here.


3,847 posted on 04/19/2022 1:49:08 PM PDT by ArGee (Well, this year's a bust. I guess I need to start hoping for a good 2023.)
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To: Monkey Face

Nice day today, except for cold. I’ll send you some pictures tomorrow.


3,848 posted on 04/19/2022 4:31:46 PM PDT by Tax-chick (Nature, art, silence, simplicity, peace. And fungi.)
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To: Tax-chick

I didn’t move here to freeze but that’s exactly what I’m doing. I thought I now lived in the South!

I hope you slept well again last night. If so, good for you!


3,849 posted on 04/20/2022 3:38:11 AM PDT by Monkey Face ( ~~ Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid. ~~ Ronald Reagan)
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To: Tax-chick; Monkey Face; NicknamedBob; null and void; no-to-illegals; Silentgypsy; ColdOne; ...

Good morning. Happy Humph Day!

If it's trying to warm up out there, it's doing it wrong.

Wordle was OK today, not great.

Wordle 305 5/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜🟨🟨 ⬜🟩🟨🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

3,850 posted on 04/20/2022 4:41:37 AM PDT by ArGee (Well, this year's a bust. I guess I need to start hoping for a good 2023.)
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To: ArGee

I love Grumpy Cat!! Thanks!

Good happy Hmpf Day. It’s raining. It will be raining all this week. I don’t like the rain, but it is what it is.

This “climate change” is making liars out of the Leftists and making a mockery of their “carbon taxes.” Good job, Mother Nature!


3,851 posted on 04/20/2022 5:34:31 AM PDT by Monkey Face ( ~~ Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid. ~~ Ronald Reagan)
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To: Monkey Face

Leftists are beyond being mocked. They know they don’t have to care.


3,852 posted on 04/20/2022 6:04:50 AM PDT by ArGee (Well, this year's a bust. I guess I need to start hoping for a good 2023.)
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To: ArGee; Tax-chick; Monkey Face; Allegra; null and void; no-to-illegals; Silentgypsy; All
Good Wednesday Morning!

I did some research on that shower cap cat that you posted yesterday... and found out that he often just showers without the cap...

shower-cat

3,853 posted on 04/20/2022 6:06:12 AM PDT by zzeeman ("We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality." )
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To: ArGee; Tax-chick; Monkey Face; Allegra; null and void

Today’s Wordle:

Wordle 305 4/6

⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛
🟨🟨⬛🟨⬛
🟨🟩⬛⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩


3,854 posted on 04/20/2022 6:08:28 AM PDT by zzeeman ("We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality." )
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To: zzeeman

LOL! Good find, Z! <3


3,855 posted on 04/20/2022 6:09:07 AM PDT by Monkey Face ( ~~ Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid. ~~ Ronald Reagan)
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To: zzeeman; ArGee; Tax-chick; null and void; Allegra

Today’s effort was just that: an effort!

Wordle 305 5/6

🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜
🟨⬜🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩


3,856 posted on 04/20/2022 6:19:25 AM PDT by Monkey Face ( ~~ Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid. ~~ Ronald Reagan)
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To: zzeeman
Shows as:


3,857 posted on 04/20/2022 6:33:25 AM PDT by null and void (Replace No Bail with Mo' Jail. The certainty, not the possibility, of punishment keeps 'em in line.)
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To: null and void

That’s him, showering away!

😂


3,858 posted on 04/20/2022 6:41:51 AM PDT by zzeeman ("We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality." )
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To: zzeeman; Monkey Face; ArGee; Tax-chick

Good morning!

Lucked into this…

Wordle 305 4/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩
🟨🟩⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Love the kitty in the shower!


3,859 posted on 04/20/2022 6:49:03 AM PDT by Allegra
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To: zzeeman
I see a blue square with:
imgbb.com

bandwidth limit
exceeded

I didn't even know imgbb had a bandwidth limit...

3,860 posted on 04/20/2022 6:49:12 AM PDT by null and void (Replace No Bail with Mo' Jail. The certainty, not the possibility, of punishment keeps 'em in line.)
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