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.
Did Jake miss you? I recall he sometimes pouts when you’re gone overnight.
I thought of walking Dollar General, which is about a mile in the opposite direction from Walgreen’s, but there are no sidewalks in this town, so I would have to be very careful. I need some good walking boots, but I will have to research them. All I know is that I think my present shoes are not suitable for that kind of walking. My legs hurt more than they should.
Not too bad for a Satiddy! A lucky guess is what it really was!
Wordle 308 3/6
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Jake’s ignoring me right now. Maybe he’ll like me better in a couple of days.
Now that I know you’re up, I’ll send my reptile friend snaps. He sat on my backpack for a while, then on my shoe, and then he climbed up and sat on my lap. I felt like Sally!
I was looking for walking boots, so thanks for the distraction!!
Your reptile friend looks as if he/she/it is used to people things.
I have gotten so many compliments on my Danskos since I moved here. I like them more every time I wear them. Which is every day, now.
Not good for walking over uneven terrain or walking at the speeds I use when I’m going somewhere, but for my daily needs they’re the most comfortable shoes I own!
Maybe it thought I was a nice rock for basking. Or a Disney Princess who would sing a song with it.
Well, in the lizard world, you could be all of that. Who knows what they hear when our backs are turned?
*tagline*
Absolutely! I have noticed as the years roll on, that periods of high humidity definitely ramp up the aches and pains...
I didn’t have the last letter until the end... I had the middle 3 laid out by inference...
Good show!
Those eliminated letters can certainly help!
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Excellent ‘Face!
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It was a strange one for me today, got all of those letters right away, but no positions locked in... took me a while to ponder it...
Wordle 308 4/6
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Choir practice completed. Next, I need to eat lunch and take a shower and get ready for a Quinceanera, at which we are guests rather than the band.
Our county just lifted the burn ban, after what seems like months of it being in place... now, we just have to wait for these incessant winds to die down...
I’ll sit and think about what’s next on this wonderful Saturday. Saturdays should be preparation days for Sunday. :o])
Awesome Wordle, ‘Face! I hope everyone is having a nice Saturday.
I got mine in four.
Wordle 308 4/6
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What a cute little peach-colored kitty, TC. 😻
I got a letter and also mailed one today. We’re about to leave for the Quinceanera. We’ll go to the Mass, come home and check for disasters, and then go to the party.
Thanks! It just popped out at me, which is different!
Yours looks like some of mine, but you pulled it out! Good going!
There are things I should be doing, but they aren’t what I want to do at the moment, so I’ll sit here for a bit...
Afternoon! It would be nice to have a kitten - for about five minutes!
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