Unfortunately this appears to be bs: http://science.slashdot.org/story/13/09/20/136220/alien-life-story-of-dubious-provenance-goes-viral
(but what do I know!) Best, Telmo. On Fri, Sep 20, 2013 at 11:53 PM, Chris de Morsella <[email protected]> wrote: > Seems like the Pangea hypothesis might have gotten some evidence... wouldn't > say this is conclusive though, but it is intriguing. > -Chris > > Scientists claim discovery of life coming to Earth from space > Scientists from the University of Sheffield believe they have found life > arriving to Earth from space after sending a balloon to the stratosphere.’ > After it landed, scientists discovered that they had captured a diatom > fragment and some unusual biological entities from the stratosphere, all of > which are too large to have come from Earth. > Other scientists disagree, as noted here: New Alien Life Claim Far from > Convincing, Scientists Say > The team, led by Professor (Hon. Cardiff and Buckingham Universities) Milton > Wainwright, from the University’s Department of Molecular Biology and > Biotechnology found small organisms that could have come from space after > sending a specially designed balloon to 27km into the stratosphere during > the recent Perseid meteor shower. > Professor Wainwright said: “Most people will assume that these biological > particles must have just drifted up to the stratosphere from Earth, but it > is generally accepted that a particle of the size found cannot be lifted > from Earth to heights of, for example, 27km. The only known exception is by > a violent volcanic eruption, none of which occurred within three years of > the sampling trip. > “In the absence of a mechanism by which large particles like these can be > transported to the stratosphere we can only conclude that the biological > entities originated from space. Our conclusion then is that life is > continually arriving to Earth from space, life is not restricted to this > planet and it almost certainly did not originate here.” > Professor Wainwright said the results could be revolutionary: “If life does > continue to arrive from space then we have to completely change our view of > biology and evolution,” he added. “New textbooks will have to be written!” > Professor Wainwright said stringent precautions had been taken against the > possibility of contamination during sampling and processing, and said the > group was confident that the biological organisms could only have come from > the stratosphere. > The group’s findings have been published in the Journal of Cosmology (open > access) and updated versions will appear in the same journal, a new version > of which will be published in the near future. Professor Chandra > Wickramasinghe of the Buckingham, University Center for Astrobiology (of > which Professor Wainwright is an Honorary Fellow) also gave a presentation > of the group’s findings at a meeting of astronomers and astrobiologists in > San Diego last month. > Professor Wainwright added: “Of course it will be argued that there must be > an, as yet, unknown mechanism for transferring large particles from Earth to > the high stratosphere, but we stand by our conclusions. The absolutely > crucial experiment will come when we do what is called ‘isotope > fractionation’. We will take some of the samples which we have isolated from > the stratosphere and introduce them into a complex machine – a button will > be pressed. If the ratio of certain isotopes gives one number then our > organisms are from Earth, if it gives another, then they are from space. The > tension will obviously be almost impossible to live with!” > The research was conducted by Professor (Hon. Cardiff and Buckingham > Universities) Milton Wainwright from the University of Sheffield, Chris Rose > and Alex Baker from the University of Sheffield’s Leonardo Centre for > Tribology and Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe Director of the Centre for > Astrobiology, University of Buckingham. > http://www.kurzweilai.net/scientists-claim-discovery-of-life-coming-to-earth-from-space?utm_source=KurzweilAI+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=60630eb1c2-UA-946742-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6de721fb33-60630eb1c2-281942553 > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Everything List" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
