Posted on 11/04/2005 11:15:37 PM PST by tbird5
Most scientists have long assumed that life on Earth is a homegrown phenomenon. According to the conventional hypothesis, the earliest living cells emerged as a result of chemical evolution on our planet billions of years ago in a process called abiogenesis. The alternative possibility--that living cells or their precursors arrived from space--strikes many people as science fiction. Developments over the past decade, however, have given new credibility to the idea that Earth's biosphere could have arisen from an extraterrestrial seed.
Planetary scientists have learned that early in its history our solar system could have included many worlds with liquid water, the essential ingredient for life as we know it. Recent data from NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers corroborate previous suspicions that water has at least intermittently flowed on the Red Planet in the past. It is not unreasonable to hypothesize that life existed on Mars long ago and perhaps continues there. Life may have also evolved on Europa, Jupiter's fourth-largest moon, which appears to possess liquid water under its icy surface. Saturn's biggest satellite, Titan, is rich in organic compounds; given the moon's frigid temperatures, it would be highly surprising to find living forms there, but they cannot be ruled out. Life may have even gained a toehold on torrid Venus. The Venusian surface is probably too hot and under too much atmospheric pressure to be habitable, but the planet could conceivably support microbial life high in its atmosphere. And, most likely, the surface conditions on Venus were not always so harsh. Venus may have once been similar to early Earth.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciam.com ...
It's amazing how far the scientific community will reach to try to prove that life "just happened" without an "engineer to run the design". Now the poor slobs are passing the buck to some other world, where, presumably, all of the ingredients for the RNA-DNA helix are just sitting there, waiting to inspire themselves to form complex creatures.
We are stuck with an education system larded with "scientists" that insist that our young people must accept as scientific fact that the evolution proves that life started itself, then radically made itself more complex - even though the physical laws - like entropy - would say otherwise.
Hopefully, this next generation of young people will do a better job of questioning the conventions of these "experts".
Thanks. Good article. I wish I had found this thread earlier. It's already too far gone for my ping list.
How many "may haves" do you have to have to reach "probably"? Most of the hope that life on earth came from elsewhere falls into the invoking of a secondary hypothesis category to push off to some other place and time the absolutely enormous difficulties posed for cells "evolving" chemically from non-living materials. The chances for a single cell evolving into all life we see today are minuscule compared to those of a single cell "evolving" from non-living materials.
If the first life emerged from nowhere, what did it have to eat? .... Rocks?
In the Bible that would be the seed of the fallen ones, as opposed to the Jews, who were the chosen race because they were the creation of Jehovah.
The bacteria in my nickel plating tanks eat hydrogen and nickel ions. BTW, they would be quite comfy in a Martian hot spring with sulfuric acid.
Correct on Zacharia Sitchin!I don't know if he's right but he's right but he has plausible theories as to mankind's origins.
WARNING: To those who believe that they will become gods... with their very own planet to control!
God is a jealous God.
Just noting that it is more likely that life from Earth seeded other worlds in the solar system. Like the Martian meteorite, meteorites crashed off the Earth have made it to Mars or Titan or wherever.
There is also a class of bacteria, the smallest ones known, that can withstand 1,000s of times the radiation that any other living organism can withstand. The bacteria survives and slowly repairs its DNA. Scientists say that the radiation level they can withstand would never have existed on Earth so there would be no need to evolve this ability. That ability, however, would come in handy on a rock in deep space.
Sorry. I'm one of those "Holy Rollers"... I believe in a God able to do anything He wants...
I had one instructor illustrate the odds against evolutionary beginnings. He took an old pocketwatch, and placed it into a cloth bag. He then smashed it several times with a hammer, until you could hear the parts jinging. He then shook it, and shook it, after which he made the following statement:
"the opportinity for evolution is just as likely for this watch to come out of the bag whole!"
In my humble studies, I have found nothing to convince me of the origins of man, having come about by accident. OTOH, I don't really need to find another one.
I hope you find the Peace of God...
bump for later read
I've been keeping track of him since '76. Had the feeling he was painting himself in a corner and would have to extricate himself at some point. Not sure he did it to everyone's satisfaction, but I don't think he lost many fans. Can't believe the number of groups that have sprung up who have used his research to promote their own followings, giving him minor mention or credit, though grudgingly, I suspect -- or even not at all.
"David Warmflash"? Unfortunate name. Sounds like a symptom of pre- pre-menopause.
There are Zacharia Sitchin conventions once or twice a year. It was Ft Lauderdale and Chicago last year. He has followers who are not paupers :)
And who will fly to where he wants to have a weekend gathering
They wasted a few. 
My Baby Jenette "Vasquez" Goldstein! Heart THROB
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.