Showing papers by "N. C. Wickramasinghe published in 2018"
01 Nov 2018
TL;DR: Grebennikova et al. as mentioned in this paper interpreted the discovery of microorganisms on the exterior surface of the International Space Station (ISS) on several occasions between 2013 and 2017 may be interpreted as evidence supporting the Hoyle-Wickramasinghe theory of cometary panspermia.
Abstract: The discovery by Russian researchers (Grebennikova et al., 2018) of microorganisms on the exterior surface of the International Space Station (ISS) on several occasions between 2013 and 2017 may be interpreted as evidence supporting the Hoyle-Wickramasinghe theory of cometary panspermia. The homologies between the ISS-recovered genotypes and known terrestrial bacteria can be seen as evidence of co-evolution and gene transfers (HGT) within a biosphere that spans astronomical distances. On the one hand, the height of the ISS orbit at 400km can be argued as being too high for lofting surface microorganisms. However, there is a theory that purports to explain the possible transport of small particles from the troposphere into the lower stratosphere and ionosphere as a result of vortex motions as well as vertical flows (streamers), which are generated as a result of the development of the modulational instability in the ionospheric plasma. More research is needed to properly evaluate this proposal.
5 citations
TL;DR: A growing body of evidence suggests the operation of life and life processes in comets as well in larger icy bodies in the solar system including Enceladus and possibly Pluto as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: A growing body of evidence suggests the operation of life and life processes in comets as well in larger icy bodies in the solar system including Enceladus. Attempts to interpret such data without invoking active biology are beginning to look weak and flawed. The emerging new paradigm is that life is a cosmic phenomenon as proposed by Hoyle and Wickramasinghe (Lifecloud: the Origin of Life in the Galaxy, 1978) and first supported by astronomical spectroscopy (Wickramasinghe and Allen, Nature 287:518, 1980; Allen and Wickramasinghe, Nature 294:239, 1981; Wickramasinghe and Allen, Nature 323:44, 1986). Comets are the transporters and amplifiers of microbial life throughout the Universe and are also, according to this point of view, the carriers of viruses that contribute to the continued evolution of life. Comets brought life to Earth 4.2 billion years ago and they continue to do so. Space extrapolations of comets, Enceladus and possibly Pluto supports this point of view. Impacts of asteroids and comets on the Earth as well as on other planetary bodies leads to the ejection of life-bearing dust and rocks and a mixing of microbiota on a planetary scale and on an even wider galactic scale. It appears inevitable that the entire galaxy will be a single connected biosphere.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a series of astronomical observations obtained over the period 1986 to 2018 supports the idea that life is a cosmic rather than a purely terrestrial or planetary phenomenon, and they conclude with specific predictions on the properties expected of extra-terrestrial life if it is discovered on Enceladus, Europa or beyond.
Abstract: A series of astronomical observations obtained over the period 1986 to 2018 supports the idea that life is a cosmic rather than a purely terrestrial or planetary phenomenon. These include (1) the detection of biologically relevant molecules in interstellar clouds and in comets, (2) mid-infrared spectra of interstellar grains and the dust from comets, (3) a diverse set of data from comets including the Rosetta mission showing consistency with biology and (4) the frequency of Earth-like or habitable planets in the Galaxy. We argue that the conjunction of all the available data suggests the operation of cometary biology and interstellar panspermia rather than the much weaker hypothesis of comets being only the source of the chemical building blocks of life. We conclude with specific predictions on the properties expected of extra-terrestrial life if it is discovered on Enceladus, Europa or beyond. A radically different biochemistry elsewhere can be considered as a falsification of the theory of interstellar panspermia.
2 citations