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.
W00t! I decided to let someone else have it, so welcome!
I have a neck light, in a pinch. Bright enough for lots of things!
The maintenance man is here, replacing the screen/storm door so that it makes a good connection.
He told me he could sand the inner door, and I told him it needed to be replaced and should have been done before I even moved in. Not his fault. He doesn’t have a say in that, but I just wanted him to be able to relay what I said about the dog that tried to dig through it.
I wonder if I’ll get burner plates today?...
Things are moving along, at least. I took Kathleen out to the nature preserve to see the runoff and made James and Vlad come to make sure they didn’t die from being immobile too long. Nice runoff and also some fungus.
It’s supposed to be down to 15° tonight.
The maintenance guy is still working on the door. I had to take the wind chimes down because he couldn’t seem to miss them. Not that he can hurt them, but it’s the idea of the thing. I also had to bring in the doormat for the same reason.
I feel slightly worn out right now, for some reason. I’m going to sit for a bit and watch more of Death in Paradise. I need a laugh. :o|
FD is on her way home from Utah, so she’ll be letting me know she’s on the ground, soon.
Hey, ‘Face. No problems. Just an advanced case of the slows.
You, too, and to DP and all the Tax-chicklets! Additionally, thank you for so many gorgeous morning kittehs. They soothe the soul.
A Happy, Healthy and Blessed 2022 to you and yours including puppy. Everybody doing OK?
A Happy and Blessed 2022 to you and yours, too!
Well maybe not but Pelosi sure came from outer space!~
On radio today in Austin they were playing her little talk and Biden’s little talk, he thinks it is 2020...
The talk show hosts said we need to get the two of them together for a public talk! ha ha ha
Tyrelle ~
And after all of that noise and disturbance, he got the door on backwards. The window that is supposed to be inside is outside for any burglar to open and cut the screen to get in.
Someone, please, save me!
*tagline*
I’m glad you like the cats. We’re all doing well.
Oh, for heaven’s sake!
Not exactly what I said, but it’s nicer.
When we first moved to TN, the exterminator asked me if hot water was supposed to be coming out of the front yard hose.
Then, we noticed that the master bath door’s hinged aspect was next to the light switch. *sigh*
You have my deepest sympathy for any household anomalies that make one do a face palm.
Here, the hot and cold water lines are reversed in the bathroom. Nothing I can do about that except remember it when I shower or use the sink.
Sweet little marmalade!
Good morning! I hope you slept well.
I think my day is going to hold surprises and some not surprises. Either way, I suspect I’ll be glad to go to bed tonight.
Good morning, and not badly, thanks. Jake was around. I have a meeting at church later this morning, and then we’ll see.
Good morning. Happy Friday Eve.
We had some snow last night, so it was a little warmer this morning.
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