Damn.... there goes pangea lol I saw this yesterday on Kurzweil's blog and went back to the post to check it and saw they had put out this UPDATE to the original, which I am pasting below. -Chris
UPDATE Sept. 21, 2013 1:00 EDT In a blog post on KurzweilAI, theoretical biologist Dr. Richard Gordon called these conclusions into question, noting that just one broken diatom shell was found (not statistically impressive), no controlled experiment was reported in a dusty environment, collection methods and lab conditions were unspecified, and the study failed to provide data on the condition of the balloon-borne equipment. He also noted that there is literature on how hurricanes and storms move diatoms through the atmosphere, and that there have been several mechanisms suggested for the transfer of particles to the upper atmosphere. For example, bacteria and other biological materials are common components of cloud condensation nuclei. 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. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Telmo Menezes Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2013 5:47 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Scientists claim discovery of life coming to Earth from space Unfortunately this appears to be bs: http://science.slashdot.org/story/13/09/20/136220/alien-life-story-of-dubiou s-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_6de721fb33-60630eb1 > c2-281942553 > > -- > 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. -- 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.
