Maintenance of Genetic Information in the First Ribocell

Kun, András István

doi:10.1002/9783527814527.ch14

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 198 publications

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“…The next review may examine new research into extremely small early life cells such as ribocells with enzymes made from fragments of RNA instead of proteins (Kun, 2021). Steven Benner and Paul Davies say the small 0.01 micron diameter structures in the martian meteorite ALH84001 are consistent with RNA world cells (Benner et al, 2010: 37).…”

Section: Recommendationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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NASA must protect Earth's biosphere even if Mars samples hold mirror life – motivating planetary protection with new scenarios like mirror life - survey of recent research relevant to a Mars sample return - and how to keep Earth's biosphere 100% safe with a miniature telerobotic lab above GEO, and protect other biospheres 100% with sterile robotic explorers

Walker¹

2023

Preprint

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In the late 2020s to 2030s, China, and NASA / ESA and Japan plan to return samples from Mars. We need to keep Earth’s biosphere safe from any Martian microbes. Japan’s agency JAXA has the simplest mission, to return samples from the top few centimeters of Mars’s innermost moon Phobos. JAXA can safely return unsterilized samples without any precautions, because any microbes already withstood ejection from Mars, most recently, 700,000 years ago. Then on Phobos they were sterilized similarly to martian meteorites arriving at Earth today from that ancient impact.JAXA warned this meteorite argument is not valid for samples from the Martian surface. NASA’s draft EIS incorrectly says any life from Jezero crater can get here faster and better protected in a meteorite than in a sample tube. Surface dirt and dust can’t get here at all.NASA’s EIS also proposes to return its samples to a Biosafety Level 4 facility. However, the European Space Foundation study in 2012 set size limits well beyond capabilities of a BSL-4 and indeed beyond any current air filter capabilities.We can avoid all these issues and keep Earth 100% safe by sterilizing samples before they get here, with the equivalent of a few hundred million years of Mars surface ionizing radiation. This has virtually no effect on geology, while terrestrial contamination in Perseverance’s samples makes most astrobiology impossible.We can greatly increase science value with contamination free samples in a sterile container returned to a martian gravity centrifuge in an unmanned satellite above GEO, to start Sagan’s “vigorous program of unmanned exobiology”. This is a review of central results in planetary protection literature, with new worst case scenarios such as mirror life, to encourage space agencies to ensure Earth’s biosphere is adequately protected when they return samples from Mars.

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Section: Recommendationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As we learn more about the mystery of the first cell, these researches may lead to a review of the size limit to accommodate new ideas (Kun, 2021).…”

Section: Recommendationmentioning

confidence: 99%

NASA must protect Earth's biosphere even if Mars samples hold mirror life – motivating planetary protection with new scenarios like mirror life - survey of recent research relevant to a Mars sample return - and how to keep Earth's biosphere 100% safe with a miniature telerobotic lab above GEO, and protect other biospheres 100% with sterile robotic explorers

Walker¹

2023

Preprint

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“…A review board could consider research since 2012 into small synthetic minimal cells (Lachance, 2019) and protocells (Joyce et al, 2018). Also, ideas for simpler "RNA world" cells without ribosomes or proteins (Benner et al, 2010: 37) could be revisited using new research on ribocells (Kun, Á., 2021). Panel 4 for the 1999 "Size limits" workshop calculated that such a primitive free living lifeform could be as small as 0.014 microns in diameter and 0.12 µm in length, if there is an efficient mechanism for packing its RNA.…”

Section: Example Of Best Available Nanofilter Technology From 2020mentioning

confidence: 99%

So many serious mistakes in NASA's Mars Samples Environmental Impact Statement it needs a clean restart - omits major impacts – uses old science later overturned – statements cited to sources that say the opposite – no response to significant public concerns – “Purpose and need” should permit a sterilized return as a reasonable alternative action - and size limit needs a new review first, a decade after the ESF in 2012 reduced the size of particle to contain from 0.2 to 0.05 microns

Walker¹

2022

Preprint

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The cites for this draft NASA EIS are so flawed that it’s unsalvageable. The statements they make contradict the findings of numerous panels of experts in the Mars sample return studies including the ones they themselves cite.If NASA uses this as their final EIS, and it gets taken to the courts, NASA won’t have a case, It will fail basic review, just checking the EIS’s own cites.However, I suggest with some changes the proposed action can go ahead in a way that is safe for the environment and maximizes return for astrobiology and geology.What this EIS proposes is similar to building a house without smoke detectors. But a house for nearly 8 billion people, most of whom are not aware that this decision is being made for them by NASA. This smoke detector analogy is from Margaret Race from her contribution "No Threat? No Way" (Rummel et al., 2000) We need to examine this properly and if it is needed we need to install those smoke detectors. To do this requires an adequate EIS that uses the sources correctly and it needs to consider alternatives designed to protect Earth with 100% safety, and not just “no action”In this proposal NASA plan to return unsterilized Mars samples to a biosafety level 4 facility on Earth – and to examine them for life sciences using BSL-4 precautions and then sterilize samples that are taken out of the BSL-4 facility.The European Space Foundation determined in 2012 that Mars samples should be contained to far higher standards than BSL-4 to protect Earth. This draft EIS doesn’t cite the ESF report which reduced the size limit from 0.25 to 0.05 microns. Even a decade later the technology the ESF require doesn’t yet exist even for experimental filters in laboratories, today. For details see this section and the following sections (below):We do know how to contain known hazards such as anthrax safely. However until we know what’s in the sample we can’t discount the possibility of something far harder to contain than anthrax.The worst case would be starvation limited ultramicrobacteria which have been observed to pass through 0.1 micron nanopores, or perhaps even a hypothetical ribocell which may be able to pass through a 0.02 micron nanopore. Research since 2012 makes ribocells more plausible than it was then and the ESF study in 2012 said it needs regular review. It is not at all clear that a new review would decide that a 0.05 micron standard is sufficient.NASA haven’t commissioned any new review and they haven’t even consulted the 2012 review. In this EIS they are relying on a review conducted in 2009 which is 13 years ago. A lot has changed in scientific understanding of microbes, extremophiles and the possibilities for extraterrestrial life in those 13 years.This proposal surely shouldn’t go ahead until we have had an updated review of what is needed. It is impossible to evaluate the technology requirements until we know the size limit that needs to be targeted.A simple way to install those “smoke detectors” is to require the lab for UNSTERILIZED materials and potentially viable martian microbes to be in orbit or somewhere unconnected with Earth's biosphere - unless we can prove that -there is no life in the sample OR -the life can’t harm Earth in any way OR-we know how to contain the life after return to Earth with truly zero risk.The lab also has to have no connection with Earth’s biosphere so all sample handling has to be done remotely from Earth using telerobotics. Quarantine won’t work to protect Earth from, say, a mold that is harmless to humans but attacks crops, or mirror ultramicrobacteria.Sterilized samples can return to Earth and be studied in normal labsThis leads to 100% safe sample return. Why have less than 100% safety when there is even a tiny chance of large scale effects for the whole Earth in an ultra low probability worst case?As Carl Sagan once put itThe likelihood that such pathogens exist is probably small, but we cannot take even a small risk with a billion lives.

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Maintenance of Genetic Information in the First Ribocell

Cited by 2 publications

References 198 publications

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