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Scientists Offer 'Overwhelming' Evidence Terran Life Began in Space
An anonymous reader writes "Using data from recent comet-probing space missions, British scientists are reporting today that the odds of life starting on Earth rather than inside a comet are one trillion trillion (10 to the power of 24) to one against. That is, we're not originally from around here. Radiation in comets could keep water in liquid form for millions of years, they say, which along with the clay and organic molecules found on-board would provide an ideal incubator. 'Professor Wickramasinghe said: "The findings of the comet missions, which surprised many, strengthen the argument for panspermia. We now have a mechanism for how it could have happened. All the necessary elements - clay, organic molecules and water - are there. The longer time scale and the greater mass of comets make it overwhelmingly more likely that life began in space than on earth."'" jamie points out that the author of this paper has many 'fringe' theories. Your mileage may vary.
I thought this was sarcasm until I looked at your website..
6,000 years ago, eh? So I take it the dinosaurs came from a non-God directed commit. Heathen beasts!
Wise men say, "Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."
I couldn't help but notice a parallel to one of my favorite psalms. And as there is obviously no one on /. antagonistic toward religion, I thought I would share... ;-)
Theory of the Article: We developed inside a radioactive ball of clay, water and organic molecules and were stuck there for millions of years until we crashed into the earth, after which we developed into terrestrial creatures.
Psalm 40:1-2: "I waited patiently for the LORD, and He turned to me and heard my cry, and He brought me up out of a tumultuous pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."
No, you're wrong.
Since comets arrive in the solar system from all directions, it is assumed there's a big cloud of comet-like material out there beyond the solar system. This is called the "Oort cloud". We know almost *nothing* about it. Astronomers believe that this material is much older than the solar system, left over from the condensation of the solar nebula.
Remember that the heavy metals in the earth did not originate in our sun, they are from a previous star that went supernova. Much of the material in the solar system has been recycled in this way from previous events. There's a lot of material around that is vastly older than the sun... the gold you buy your wife was born in a supernova.
In fact, assuming (1) the hypothesised vast longevity of pre-sol cometary material in the Oort cloud, and (2) assuming that this material contains liquid water and organics and clay, and (3) assuming that life can originate spontaneously in such media, it is almost inconceivable that life didn't form in comets before it formed on earth.
Sorry: having violated the groupthink, I completely expect to be modded as a troll. Sigh.
The only thing that makes people not take theories of human origins from space seriously is their egos. You guys are just too damn *educated* to think scientifically about an issue. I'm not saying anyone knows the truth, but it isn't that drivel that they fed you in school. Look-see: Fish, reptile, little ape, ape, ape-man, man. I know, 'cause I've seen the cartoon in my science book. If any one looks scientifically at all the holes in this theory, an open mind would have to say, "C, something else".
Here's the cartoon I originally meant:
[Two aliens observing the planet earth]
A1: It seems the earthlings have developed atomic bombs.
A2: Let me see, maybe it's time to interact with them?
A1: They are pointing them at each other.
[Two aliens walk away from observation site]
I wouldn't approach us, either.