Proof of Life in Outer Space?

[Gene Steinberg]

Well, sort of at any rate.

Scientists claim they've got fossilized proof of alien lifeforms | Blastr

I suppose we can all look at the conspiracy theory that this is just another step in the gradual disclosure process. We'll wake up one day, and realize what has been going on, slowly to avoid societal disruption. Maybe.

 

[Muadib]

I think Chris already posted this, still interesting though according to Lance this same guy or group has pulled this 4 or 5 times in the past and nothing has come of it. I'd definitely be interested in hearing how it all turns out.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

A lot of this is rehash. But you have to watch real carefully to see when and where.

 

[mike]

I doubt anyone will be satisfied until we can capture these samples in space.
Until then the claim will always be contamination.

I think panspermia is a valid hypothesis myself

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Well, if we built a Mars probe that could actually make a return voyage.

 

[mike]

While i dont doubt thats a valid way of getting some samples, it strikes me that a properly designed extra atmospheric vechicle could intercept some good specimens to.

If this alleged sample for example had been capture before it hit earth, the results would be irrefutable

 

[Gene Steinberg]

I'm thinking of native samples from Mars, or the Moon of course.

Or at least, not forcing us to speculate as to the original of a rock.

 

[mike]

I agree they would have excellent provenance, though i can hear the rebuttals already, "oh that stuff came from earth during a previous large impact"

I guess we will need to go well outside our solar system for definative proof.

And even then given we never occupy the same space time co-ordinates twice some will always claim the life started here, got blasted off by a large impact, and as the galaxy spun found its way elsewhere

Many of us have been taught about how the solar system works by viewing a physical model that has the sun in the middle with the planets going around and around in a simple circular orbit without properly accounting for the motion of the sun (aprox. 450,000 miles per hour).
Because the both sun and the galaxy are moving through space, the Earth spirals an incredible distance through space in a year's time. How far the Earth moves depends on the reference point you are using for something "stationary" or "backgroud" even though all objects in the universe are in motion.

The sun is also spiraling as it moves away from the center of the galaxy and yes the galaxy is spinning and yes the cluster of galaxies our galaxy is in is also spinning, as is the entire universe itself

We tend to look at the standard model of the SS and think, this time next year, same place.

But actually we are never in the same place twice.

But you can see where the argument could be made that any life ejected from earth via impacts could spread out behind us as we travel.

Perhaps we would need to get samples from another galaxy travelling "ahead" of us in the universal expansion field

 

[Goggs Mackay]

Yeah Mike, we revolve, we orbit the sun, the solar system is moving thru the galaxy, the galaxy itself is moving.

So, theoretically we could constantly be moving in and out of space that just might hold some physical remnant of life from elsewhere?

I suppose another way we could tell if such a microscopic sample is alien, would be if the sample matched nothing on Earth?

I have heard Chris mention about how Terence Mckenna called mushrooms the most alien-like lifeform on earth and I'm no expert but aren't fungi and suchlike with spores, a completely unique type of lifeform?

I am with Mckenna that hallucinogenic mushrooms may have been a powerful evolutionary agent for the human mind. The way it can make odd synapses fire in novel ways, allows for extreme out-of-the-box thinking and originality, that may indeed have had ancient man cooking up ideas he otherwise might never have had. I mean, the wheel?

 

[Muadib]

Ahhh the "Stoned Ape" Theory of Evolution. Definitely an interesting concept though from what I understand it deals more with the physical effects of mushrooms than the psychological effects. One example would be that one's visual acuity improves after ingesting mushrooms, at least in humans and therefore human like mammals as well, which would have made it a valuable tool for hunter gatherers. Mushrooms also produce sexual stimulation which he theorized may have led to group sexual activities that would produce more offspring and result in greater genetic diversity. On the psychological side, he theorized that mushrooms led to our first religious experiences and contributed towards our tendency to vocalize, which, according to certain theories, would also contribute to the mutation of our brains and move us further along the line towards Homo sapiens. I think it would be harder to prove that psychological effects were evolutionarily beneficial, as opposed to physical effects like enhanced visual acuity that would obviously be of immense help to a species that hunted its prey.

I don't think our ancestors would have had to get stoned to invent the wheel, though.

 

[Wade]

"...I don't think our ancestors would have
had to get stoned to invent the wheel,
though...."

Maybe not, but a big black monolith doesn't hurt.

 

[exo_doc]

Well, if we built a Mars probe that could actually make a return voyage.

Remember Phobos-Grunt (or Fobos-Grunt in Russian) this time last year? Fobos-Grunt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It was supposed to make a return sample trip from Phobos but was derailed by (supposedly) sabotage, or possibly US radar from the Marshall Islands disabled it according to the article. But then it goes on to say more prosaic explanantions.

It's not Mars, but I thought it was a start.

 

[RonReyes]

Hmmm... Alien plants from outer space. Kinda catchy but not really newsworthy, although I will start using the term "Panspermia" more often. Thanks Wickramasinghe! Your name is also awesome <3