(The "
SARS From Space Theory", reposted by direction of
the powers that be into this node...)
In a rather
counter-intuitive theory, Professor
Chandra Wickramasinghe of the
Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology has argued in a letter to the British medical journal
The Lancet that the
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
virus originated from space.
As evidence for the plausibility of his theory, he points to an experiment he participated in, in which collection bags were launched into the
stratosphere, 41 kilometers above
India, and were found to contain
microorganisms which he was unable to
culture on
terra firma.
Dr. Wickramasinghe considers these organisms "highly
evolved", and postulates that historical events such as the
plague of Athens in the fifth century BC and the
influenza epidemic of 1917 may also have originated from space-faring microorganisms.
Professor Wickramasinge explains that this idea is a logical extension of the "
panspermia theory" which postulates that the evolution of life began elsewhere in the
cosmos, and expanded to other planets via
comets.
Other researchers point to the similarity of the SARS
coronavirus to other viruses of mundanely Earthly origin, generally finding the theory "farfetched".
Sources: cnn.com, wired.com, theage.com.au, news.bbc.co.uk, globeandmail.com