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.
And Welcome !!! Avoid the lower levels if possible ……
Good happy Friday!
It’s 37° here and overcast at the moment. Not much chance of rain until tomorrow. Unngh.
Good morning, N-t-I!
I hope things are well in your neck of the woods, and that you’re enjoying life. :o]
And I’m sorry, bert, for not telling you about the Lower Levels. The walls down there have a tendency to shift. *shudder* I don’t know what happened when we built the Flying Castle, but some of the equipment seems to have been destined for elsewhere, a little less traditional.
We’re stuck with it now, though.
Why does everything have to be so difficult?
I slept okay. No cat that I recall, but it was cold. We have Envirothon all afternoon and into the evening today. I suppose I should get dressed and stuff.
Prayers all is well Face. Dang it’s cold everywhere except in the deep Deep South. Stay Warm and HUGS sent your way. May the snow be with US
Well, you waved a flag I had to check. I have no Greek and only a smattering of Latin
I think, reinforced by Wiki, that the prefix Octo refers to 8 and suffix pede refers to feet. I learned that the English octopus is the same as the Latin octōpūs. The derivation is from the Greek oktṓpous
So, it’s all clear in my mind now
Wow. I learn something new every day! Thanks, bert!
Great tagline! Zorro is exactly what California needs to be rid of petty tyrants and local despots. :o])
Yes, it’s that pesky Climate Change that gave us the “hottest year on record,” soon to be followed by a mini-ice-age, starting now.
Thanks for the warm thoughts and hugs, give my regards to your family.
For those of us who are lazy, there’s always “More than one octopus.”
Except I heard someone is planing a Zorro reboot with Zorroette. They won’t call her that, of course. Unfortunately, despite what they like to show in the movies, 120 lb women can’t beat 240 lb men unless the men are all fat. Mass matters.
It makes for a better target. ;o]
Yeah.
At least dad didn’t have to see this stuff either.
Yepper.
I think about the way things are, and then I think it’s a good thing the late Igor isn’t here to see it. It would make him apoplectic for sure.
And then there’s me. I see it, but I don’t understand it, even though I could see it coming. I guess I don’t understand how people could be so blind. But don’t get me started!
Thank you. (One of my worst shortcomings is that I can’t state my source.)
I’m glad it’s clear in your mind. What does a person have to do to get a sandwich around here?
G’daft ernoon, y’all.
You are obviously not one of us punt-and-heckers. We salute you.
Thanks for the smiles. :-)
I have a brand new Paudin Damascus santoku knife that is literally sharper than my straight razor.
For me?
It’s octopieces.
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