Cause of Cambrian Explosion - Terrestrial or Cosmic?

Abstract

We review the salient evidence consistent with or predicted by the Hoyle-Wickramasinghe (H-W) thesis of Cometary (Cosmic) Biology. Much of this physical and biological evidence is multifactorial. One particular focus are the recent studies which date the emergence of the complex retroviruses of vertebrate lines at or just before the Cambrian Explosion of ∼500 Ma. Such viruses are known to be plausibly associated with major evolutionary genomic processes. We believe this coincidence is not fortuitous but is consistent with a key prediction of H-W theory whereby major extinction-diversification evolutionary boundaries coincide with virus-bearing cometary-bolide bombardment events. A second focus is the remarkable evolution of intelligent complexity (Cephalopods) culminating in the emergence of the Octopus. A third focus concerns the micro-organism fossil evidence contained within meteorites as well as the detection in the upper atmosphere of apparent incoming life-bearing particles from space. In our view the totality of the multifactorial data and critical analyses assembled by Fred Hoyle, Chandra Wickramasinghe and their many colleagues since the 1960s leads to a very plausible conclusion - life may have been seeded here on Earth by life-bearing comets as soon as conditions on Earth allowed it to flourish (about or just before 4.1 Billion years ago); and living organisms such as space-resistant and space-hardy bacteria, viruses, more complex eukaryotic cells, fertilised ova and seeds have been continuously delivered ever since to Earth so being one important driver of further terrestrial evolution which has resulted in considerable genetic diversity and which has led to the emergence of mankind.

Oumuamua (A/2017U1) – A Confirmation of Links between Galactic Planetary Systems

“…A rapidly growing body of evidence from within biology itself, as well as from geology, astronomy and space research, is now converging towards a vindication of the HoyleWickramasinghe theory of the origin and evolution of cosmic life (Steele et al, 2017) [11]. In a comprehensive review article Steele et al [11] have shown that this long-resisted paradigm shift is well under way at the present time. The arrival of Oumuamua (A/2017U1) may coincide with the ushering in of a new transformative paradigm in science.…”

Viroids-First—A Model for Life on Earth, Mars and Exoplanets

“…The Greek philosopher Anaxagoras considered this in the 5 th -century BC, and later also scientists including Francis Crick and Leslie Orgel [128] even hypothesized that life on Earth may have been deliberately seeded by extraterrestrial civilizations. Recently the idea was repeated by Steele et al, who considered an extraterrestrial origin of retroviruses during the Cambrian explosion about 541 Mya when life diversified at an enormous speed [129]. The authors also discussed the SARS coronavirus as originating from space.…”

Viruses More Friends than Foes

“…There are arguments against it because radiation from space over long distances would not allow traveling of living entities like life on earth. The pansperm theory still has many followers today [27,28]. There are meteorites which contain up to 90 amino acids, even though we have only 20 as the basis of life on Earth.…”