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.
Sorry about that.
Wish sense would prevail.
I’m so sorry to hear that, Darks. It’s difficult when the family gets smaller!
Pleased to see the smokeless tobacco thing was cleared up. What slimy people!
No way I’m letting a doctor’s office hold me hostage. Someone else might be dumb enough to let it slide but I’m not going to.
Not treating people badly in the first place is much more effective a strategy than trying to make up for it later.
It’s never been about making sense.
Glad you were able to drop by. We don’t see enough of our friends to the north.
I’m sorry for your loss, Darks.
Happy Friday Eve, everyone!
It’s easy to lose track of where we are in the week. Yesterday I was asked if I could have something done by Wednesday.
Er - today is Wednesday.
It is???? I thought it was Monday.
For those doing the Wordle, I got it in 4.
This is what you get if you share your results and copy text.
Wordle 215 4/6
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
It’s like pushing a rock uphill every day, isn’t it?
The mayor of my town died yesterday from cancer. He was 52. He was a good mayor: we almost never heard anything about the city government.
I wish that were me, still under the warm sheets.
Good morning. did you sleep well last night?
I couldn’t figure out why it was so cold in here when I got up but it would seem, when I went out to get the advertisements from the mailbox yesterday, that I didn’t put the door snake back. *shudder* So, I had to put on a sweatshirt this morning, over the warm knit top. Now, I’m going to go find leg warmers!
Oh, yes. It’s 11° outside! The wind is straight out of the north, so I don’t want to go out in it at all. It’s bad enough being in here.
And for what it’s worth, when the manager came in yesterday, she said she didn’t smell any tobacco. I still have one short wall, and parts of the long wall to wash, but that will come, soon. It’s enough for now to walk in and not be assaulted by the odor of tobacco.
You’re absolutely right.
I just told her I appreciated what she did, but I stopped short of telling her how nice she was for doing it, which seems to be what she was fishing for. They were informed by the insurance company that I won’t go back and that seems to have bothered her almost as much as my complaint did in the first place.
Like you, though, I think it all could have been avoided if the intake nurse had paid attention. Wouldn’t have cost them a thing. Now the insurance company has them flagged.
I’m so sorry, Darks. Please keep us informed.
{{{{{Darksheare}}}}}
Lemme try that again...
(Oh, no! Does that mean I’m on the road to addiction???)
It’s not that cold here. I’m glad your apartment smells better! Mine smells like garlic because I’m making soup with some miscellaneous vegetables another person put in the refrigerator drawer and forgot about. And lots of garlic.
I slept pretty well. My alarm is set for 5:10, because the coffeepot turns on at 5:00 and takes a few minutes to drip, but I keep waking up at 5:08. One day this week, a cat turned up at 5:08. Obviously he was programmed for me to get up at 5:00 with the old coffeepot!
Jake was out last night, which makes things more peaceful when I don’t know about it. If I know he’s out, I worry.
Is there a specific coffee brand or type you like? Inquiring minds want to know. My pot doesn’t have a timer, and only makes one cup at a time, but it doesn’t take long to make. I got it because it makes drip and the pods. I can use it for cocoa, too. :o]
I love the smell of garlic and/or onion in foods that are cooking. It always reminds me of childhood, they’re comforting smells.
I’m too cold to move much today, so I don’t expect a lot to get done. Maybe making the bed is as far as it goes.
Congrats to James! I am in the dark as to what a “chronological advancement date” may be... perhaps congrats are in order for Kathleen as well!
That would be good, an eager and competent maintenance man is a real plus!
Well, at least your record is cleared...
Another Central Time Zoner here, but very rarely frequent the Internet after the morning hours...
(I value my sanity!! lol)
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