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.
Making wise decisions is not one of her strong points. However, she will do what she wants, and I’ll try to pick up the pieces when it goes south. All I can do is love her in the meantime.
I’ve decided to make some soup tomorrow. It will have some good things in it, like barley and chicken and carrots and maybe some onion. Because I want some comfort food, and I have no chicken soup that I can find!
Wow. Is it Covid or is it Omicron? From what I’ve heard, the latter is mild and “everyone will get it,” but “99.9%” will survive it. I’ve given up trying to keep these things separate. We used to have flu season. Now we have “We’re all gonna DIE!” season, all year long.
I’m sorry about Asuncion’s granddaughter, and hope that she’ll recover quickly, and that others in the house will be untouched.
If I’ve had Covid, it was so mild that it was like another relapse of CFIDS, so I’m disinclined to panic. Nor will I be tested to see if I’ve had it. I’m just hoping that Americans will finally get tired of being in a political prison and begin to assert themselves. Masks are not healthy, and neither is quarantine. But don’t get me started.
I agree. She didn’t say what version of the Chinese virus. I don’t know that it matters all that much. We all had very mild symptoms with the original issue a year ago, and the whole justification for lockdowns and masks and all was that people could be infected and contagious with no symptoms.
Also, it’s true that we will all die ;-).
I don’t think it does matter what version of the Wu-Flu a person has. There have been varying strains of flu virus from multiple places around the world for a good many years, but it’s only been since the communists wanted a One World Order that we’ve begun to see tightening of restrictions in every aspect of life.
And again, people are getting tired of it. There are a lot of conservative social media outlets, now, because the three major ones have begun to stifle freedom of speech. Like I said. People are getting fed up. And others are seeing their control of the masses slipping more and more every day.
Good for Americans!
Mexicans and South Americans aren’t into stopping their lives, either. We’ve been having choir practice here all this time!
And good for Latinas, as well!
I hate having to put on a mask, but I do it when required. It’s off as soon as Elvis and I have left the building! Though I must say, he’s often the first to remove his. It seems to interfere with his driving. ;o]
I don’t like masks, either, but I’m not a fussbudget. I was at Mass today after my meeting with the adult ed director, and more than half of attendees only put their masks on for communion, when they would be on the streaming video. It just doesn’t make any difference.
Tom took James for a drive a little early. He said his interview with the environmental consulting firm seemed to go well.
We just do what we have to do, and that’s about all there is to it. The rest of it is just fluff or backwash.
I hope Tom’s interview was productive. Did they give a time frame as to when he will be told one way or the other?
Yeah. I can see where that would work. Not.
Still cold?
It was mid 50s today.
Wow. We barely got past freezing. The wind chill is 19°, and it’s been a very damp day. The kind of damp that freezes your fingers unless they’re protected. *shiver*
Freezing in Dixie? Sure sign of global warming...
Well, I’m not quite in Dixie. I think I’m still above the Mason-Dixon Line. I’d have to look at a map to be sure. Northeast of Little Rock...
Frappy Hiday, y’all, and have a great weekend!
Good morning. Happy Friday!
We had a little snow this morning, but not the bomb cyclone (or whatever) that NYC is expecting. 3-5” they’re supposed to get and it’s panic time. The agency sent out a reminder about snow policy last night.
I wasn’t meaning to suggest that Churches shouldn’t have buildings. I was responding to the Priest saying you would have mass in the new building this year even if you had to stand outdoors.
I feel like the floofy kitteh.
Good morning. I hope you slept well.
Unngh. It’s 10° outside! With a high predicted of a blistering 27°. It’s a good thing I have the “door snake” or it would be very cold indeed in here.
I was awake for about an hour in the middle of the night but managed to go back to sleep. So here I am, late.
When I booted up the laptop, I was met emails demanding money with menaces. Blimey. I’m still waiting for the water to heat up, then I’ll go take my shower.
The only thing planned is, of course, the letter to Charlie. After that, it’s anybody’s guess.
I see. I didn’t quite catch the nuance.
It would be okay with me if you thought churches shouldn’t have buildings (or new buildings). Some in my parish think that having new buildings is the wrong decision, in spite of the complications - including totally inadequate parking and the city trying to push us out - of our current facility.
Some of the cost is the runoff management system, mandated by the county, and some is details of the building plan mandated by the Bishop. I sometimes expect to learn that the building committee chairman has murdered either the county stormwater executive or the bishop ;-).
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