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.
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When a clamp is not available the rope tourniquet worked well for centuries. When the rope loop is tighten with the stick, slide the stick so that the cross rung stops it from loosening.
Kewl! Thanks! I never knew that, and probably never even thought about it. It’s an interesting thing to know.
The bungee cord was at the right length so there was just the right amount of tension. Now I’ll just have to worry about sitting on that chair, and make sure I do it rather than company!
Kitteh likes the sunbeans.
Good morning.
Oh, gross. Nothing like stepping in cold spew first thing in the morning. I’m glad you missed that experience.
Staying home last night was the right thing to do, for sure. I logged over nine hours of sleep.
Is anything fun planned for today? We’ve got a toasty 16° this morning, so needless to say, I won’t be going anywhere.
The advantage of that method it also doubles as an example of a trebuchet/catapulpt...
to amuse pets snd children.
Twang! another doggie treat launched! .....almost as good as a laser pointer
LOL!
There’s an image I won’t soon forget! Thanks for the First LOL Of The Day!
*tagline*
ps. don’t try that trebuchet thing with folding alum. patio chairs...they gets the bends.
(op. cit. “Age Ten - Vol. XXII Hard Lessons Learned”)
Also attempting to launch fireworks indoors not a good idea.
We have 2-3” of snow. Frank has gone out with his friends. Pat (under orders) cleared the snow off the car window and (on his own initiative) went somewhere. I assume Kathleen has gone out.
Jake is sleeping on Shannon’s sleeping bag in the sunbeam. Shannon’s probably up in Pat and James’s room: she likes Pat’s “gaming chair.”
LOL!
I’ll try to remember all of the above, Covenantor! :o])
We haven’t seen snow here, yet, except for a few lost flakes that drifted down one early evening last month. Nothing that would accumulate, though.
It’s still very cold, but our high is supposed to be 45°, while yesterday, it wasn’t above freezing before it dipped for the night again.
As I understand it, “gaming chairs” are quite comfy, so it’s a no brainer that Shannon would claim it in his absense.
FS and PW have gone to Memphis, but I haven’t heard a word from them since last night. Maybe they’ll text me when they get back.
The order from Walmart is to be delivered this afternoon. The cost of delivery has gone up, no big surprise, like everything else. But this time, I used PayPal, so hopefully, the chances of being hacked will be less.
It didn’t take me long to realize that going to Walmart when Other Folks do is not good for me. There are too many people in the store, and I can’t really WALK with any speed whatsoever. Since I don’t belong to any sports club, and my attempts at inviting myself to the gym with Other Folks has been ignored, I feel quite deprived of my physical activity. Of course, I can always walk to Kroger and Walgreen’s, but I don’t do well in the cold. Not this kind of cold, anyway.
If I had a bathing suit that fit, I could go to the community pool three times a week with a neighbor until the Problem Child is on the road.
If. If wishes were fishes we’d all have a fry!
Look at Swim Outlet and see if you find something you like. I will need a suit in my expanded size if I ever imagine swimming again.
I looked at other sizes and was surprised at how much weight I’d lost. Even with the few pounds that I added over the holidays, I’m still going to lose, but this would keep me going until it got to the Falling Off stage!
Saw it. Now maybe I’ll be motivated to shop!
Thanks!
Maybe you will! You’ve got no place to go but down! (Weight loss is wonderful as long as you don’t lose height with it!)
I don’t intend to get much shorter, but the unexpected can happen!
I would like to schedule a Saturday nap curled up in a sunny spot with the featured feline du jour.
I lost height when I had spinal surgery, but that was a long time ago, so now, I won’t do it again. I want to keep losing the width, too! ;o]
I went to bed, but Jake was hanging downstairs in the sunbeams.
What a unique cali!
Good morning.
I hope you slept well.
I never heard word one from the Other Folks yesterday, and probably won’t hear from them today until they’re on their way to pick me up for church. It’s disconcerting as all get out, but it is what it is and they’re adults, so....
This is a day I don’t want to go anywhere because of the lateness of the meetings, but it’s only until the Problem Child is up and running. Then I can go to the 0900 meetings and won’t feel quite so worn out on Mondays. I could do all this online, of course.
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