A bizarre article that tests the limits of science by claiming that octopuses came from space

A summary of decades of research into the somewhat ‘external’ idea of Viruses From space, this raises questions about how much we know when it comes to predicting the history of life on Earth.

It’s easy to throw words like crack, tilt, and split into describing the scientific fringe, but then articles like this one, from 2018, roll around and leave us dizzy, not knowing where to begin.

A total of 33 names are listed as authors in this review, which was published by Advances in biophysics and molecular biology Back in August 2018. Journal reviewed by colleagues and very good quote. Therefore it is not a small or a suitable source of funding for publication.

Science writer Stephen Fleischerser Goes deeper into the background Among the most famous are two scholars: Edward Steele and Chandra Wickramasinghe. It is worth reading.

For a copy of T.L., Dr., stal He is an immunologist best known for his views on evolution based on the acquisition of genetic changes determined by the influence of the environment rather than random mutations, in what he calls metallic Marxism.

WickramasingiOn the other hand, he had a somewhat less controversial career, empirically acknowledged Confirms Sir Fred Hoyle’s hypothesis Describes the production of complex carbon particles on interstellar dust.

Wickramasinghe and Hoyle happened to be responsible for another astronomical treatise. This just depends on more than just the origin of organic chemistry.

Hoyle Wickramasinghe (HW)’s treatise on planetary biology makes a fairly simple claim that the direction of evolution has been significantly influenced by biochemistry that did not begin on our planet.

in a Wickramasinghe’s own wordsComets are the carriers and agonists of life in the universe, and life on Earth originated and evolved as a result of the entrance of a comet.

Wickramasinghe argued that this entry is also not limited to a generous amount of space-baked amino acids.

Instead, they contain viruses that enter living organisms and push their evolution in completely new directions.

The report is entitled “The Cause of the Cambrian Explosion – Earth or Cosmic?” , the current research concludes that rains from exotic retroviruses have played an important role in diversifying life in our oceans for nearly half a billion years.

“So retroviruses and other viruses that are presumed to be deregulated in cometary residue pathways can add new DNA sequences to the terrestrial genome and lead to more mutational change within the somatic and genomic genomes,” Authors wrote.

Let it soak for a while. And take a deep breath before moving forward, because that was the tamed part.

It was during this period A group of mollusks known as cephalopods first extended their tentacles from under their shells, branching out into an astonishing array of sizes and shapes in a remarkably short period of time.

The genes of these creatures, which today include octopus, squid, and cuttlefish, are as curious as the animals themselves, in part because of their ability to modify their DNA in flight.

The authors of the rather bold research paper argue that this genetic anomaly could be a sign of life from space.

Not from space viruses this time, but the arrival of entire genomes frozen in cavities before the ice melted in our lukewarm waters.

“The possibility that squid and/or cryopreserved octopus eggs could therefore have ended up in ice balls hundreds of millions of years ago,” should not be ruled out. they wrote.

In his review of the article, the medical researcher Keith Bafferstock From the University of Eastern Finland, I realize that there is a lot of evidence that fits the HW theory well, such as the strange timeline of the virus’ origin.

But this is not the way science advances.

“I think this article calls into question the scientific value of independent theories about the origin of life,” Jade Baverstock right on time.

“Weighing reasonable but inconclusive evidence, however impressive, is not the point.”

While the idea is as new and exciting as it is provocative, nothing in the abstract helps us understand the history of life on Earth better than current conjecture, and adds little value to our evolution model.

However, with strong caveats, science can handle a good dose of craziness now and then.

Journal editor Dennis Noble acknowledges that “more research is needed,” which is a bit of a simplification.

But given the developments in the field of organic chemistry in space in recent years, there is room for discussion.

“Given the increasing importance of space chemistry and biology, it has become appropriate to create a journal dedicated to the interaction between physics and biology to encourage discussion,” Nabil said:.

“In the future, ideas will certainly become testable.”

Only in the event that these tests confirm the speculation, we advise you to prepare well for the return of the cephalopod masters. Who knows when they want those eggs back?

This research was published in Advances in biophysics and molecular biology.

A version of this article was first published in August 2018.