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.
I’ve stopped worrying about the stupid phone typos. If I have time to correct it, I do. Otherwise, I just leave it.
I’m the same way with IMs at work. I despise them. People have learned that with me, they’re only for brief communications, not lengthy discussions. When someone tries to do a long, detailed conversation on the “chat” feature, I ask them to either send me an e-mail or call me, depending on the complexity. I tell them “Enough with the tiny typing.” 🤪
No problem. I’m glad you found the mirror! I’m sure I’d have one if I wore anything other than lipstick. It’s hard to put on makeup using the bathroom mirror even if the lighting is okay, especially if it means leaning over the sink.
Our service went very well. It’s “Children’s Day” in Mexico, so we did some songs for children, and all the children got a gift from the congregation.
Now we’re having a thunderstorm.
Exactly. I agree 100%.
But here, we’re kinda “we all do it on our phones, so...”
This is family, and probably the only thread where no one cares and the points don’t mean a thing!
Years ago, I wore less makeup, even with the scars, but these days, with the loss of collagen, the scars are more evident, so makeup it is. And as I have understated so many times, I’d like to shoot the architect who designed these buildings. The bathroom is a joke.
Next Sunday being Mother’s Day, I think they’re going to have the kids sing to us. I always enjoy that, because no matter how many of these I’ve been to, in how many different places, there is always that one little boy, standing right up to the railing in his Sunday Best, singing at the top of his lungs and animating every syllable. Sometimes it’s a girl who garners the attention, but it’s usually the boys. So I look forward to it every year.
You’re probably having that storm we had yesterday. Today was gorgeous, and tomorrow will start the rain for another week. *sigh*
The laundry is sorted, so I may or may not be ready to go out early tomorrow morning. Last week, I left my coin purse in the laundry room. Unngh...
It was a brief storm. It’s not unusual for these systems to brush by us.
Frank and Kathleen have Wilderness Survival Day Camp tomorrow. They need to make lunches!
Next random puzzle.
One correct letter in the correct place on the first guess.
Second guess, got the whole word, yet again.
I’m definitely totally in The Zone!
Our storm yesterday was all of 35 minutes, but between the buildup and the actual sound and light show, it took almost an hour to get by us. Distant thunder for 10 minutes, and then the wind, then show time! Fierce for 35 minutes, then gone in a flash. But boy, was it ever WET in that 35 minutes!
I may make a chicken sandwich tomorrow. Just because it sounds good. But one sandwich is about all one can get out of a little flat can. And the price keeps going up.
Good Evening!
Hoping it was a good weekend for all...
I also wondered if this was an incorrect spelling...
Wordle 316 4/6
⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨
⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛
⬛🟩🟩🟨⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
👍🏻
My Walmart has chicken breasts for $1.99/lb. You can freeze them and cook one at a time to make stuff.
I usually have to toss the chicken pieces because of freezer burn. So I buy canned chicken and that way, there’s less waste. (I’m ashamed to even admit the freezer burn thing.)
OK. Off to strip the bed and then I’m outta here for a while!
Cat-ching some sunny Zs!
Good morning. I hope you slept well.
The laundry is mostly done, but the important thing is that I’m out of the laundry room. However, the cost of the laundry has gone up since last week, by 25¢ a machine. Usually, it’s just the washers that go up, but the next increase includes the dryers. Here, it’s all of them. Can’t win for losing.
At least I didn’t leave anything behind this time — except money.
Not bad, thanks. No incidents with Jake! I’m glad you succeeded with the laundry!
Frank and Kathleen have Wilderness Survival Day Camp today. Mapquest says the location is about an hour away, but we’ll leave with plenty of time for bad traffic and getting lost!
I hope it’s a good day for both of them and that you bring a good book! Or something to write a letter with!
Right now, I’m trying to decide if I want a nap or not. I was having such a nice dream when the alarm rang, I really didn’t want to get out of bed. (Now of course, I’m starving!)
When I was rummaging in the closet a few weeks ago, I ran across my bunny slippers. I washed them this morning. They look almost brand new, and I can’t help but cheer up when I see the cute little bunny faces. The world needs more bunny slippers!
If only this had been yesterday’s word...
Wordle 317 2/6
⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
I have both a book and more birthday cards. It depends on whether I’m needed to help out, though.
Well, whatever happens, enjoy the day!
I hear a nap calling to me....
Nice!
Good morning. Happy Monday.
We seem to have survived the weekend. Not that it was all that difficult this time.
The weekend had lots of this kind of thing:
Wordle 317 5/6
🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
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