Scientists Find Evidence of Life Coming to Earth from Space

 Extraterrestrial Origins  

Scientists from the University of Sheffield believe they have found evidence of life continually arriving to Earth from space after sending a balloon 27 km into the stratosphere.

Scientists from the University of Sheffield believe they have found life arriving to Earth from space after sending a balloon to the stratosphere.

The team, led by Professor 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 27 km into the stratosphere during the recent Perseid meteor shower.

Balloon used to sample the stratosphere for microbes in an attempt to demonstrate neopanspermia-the view that life (microbes) are continually arriving to Earth from space

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, 27 km. The only known exception is by a violent volcanic eruption, none of which occurred within three years of the sampling trip.

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“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!”

The balloon, designed by Chris Rose and Alex Baker from the University of Sheffield’s Leonardo Centre for Tribology, was launched near Chester and carried microscope studs which were only exposed to the atmosphere when the balloon reached heights of between 22 and 27km. The balloon landed safely and intact near Wakefield. The scientists then 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.

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 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 Centre for Astrobiology also gave a presentation of the group’s findings at a meeting of astronomers and astrobiologists in San Diego last month.

In the report, the group concludes that their results show,

unequivocal evidence that a diatom fragment has been found in the lower stratosphere. Further studies by us are now underway on the biology of the stratosphere with a view to finally answering the question of where the organisms found in this region originate – are they exiting from Earth, or falling in to our planet from space? For the moment we are content to claim that diatom fragment isolated during these studies has an extraterrestrial origin.

Wainwright’s team is hoping to extend and confirm their results by carrying out the test again in October to coincide with the upcoming Haley’s Comet-associated meteorite shower when there will be large amounts of cosmic dust. It is hoped that more new, or unusual, organisms will be found.

He 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!”


SOURCE  University of Sheffield

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