Did the octopus come from outer space? The question may sound funny because so far, scientists have not proven yet if life exists beyond Earth. But a study argues that the octopus and squid were not originally from Earth.
Rather, it says that the eight-armed creature fell from the space in icy bolides several hundred million years ago. They said if life on Earth started thanks to a rain of retroviruses that fell from space, it is also possible that the same thing happened with the octopus and squid. But how true are these claims?
Out of This World Origin of Octopus and Squid
In the 2018 study, titled "Cause of the Cambrian Explosion - Terrestrial or Cosmic?" published in the journal Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, researchers raised the possibility of the octopus and squid coming from other planets.
Daily Star reported that Australian researchers led by molecular immunologist Edward J. Steele argued that volcanic eruptions or meteor impacts may have blown away these sea creatures out of their original planets and caused them to travel through space for billions of miles in a kind of suspended animation before reaching Earth.
The paper suggests that cryopreserved eggs of either squids or octopuses could have arrived in icy bolides several hundred million years ago, noting that these creatures appear to have some evidence of pre-existence. Scientists said some genetic data from octopuses and other cephalopods provide challenging examples of conventional evolutionary thinking.
Furthermore, the paper also pointed out that life may have evolved on Mars before the planet became the wasteland it is today. But most of the paper touches on the controversial theory of panspermia in which it theorized that microorganisms drift from star to star on the tails of comets. With that said, they also questioned the origin of tardigrades, which are microorganisms that can be found anywhere on the planet.
No Evidence That Octopus is From Space
The idea presented in the study that life could have originated beyond Earth is not something new. Stephen Fleischfresser wrote in Cosmos Magazine that the theory of panspermia had been around even during ancient Greece. But this is perhaps the first time that a scientist has used it in a study.
According to Yahoo! Sports, there are still many scientists who have not discovered the origins of life or whether there could be life on other planets. Stedman explained that modern retroviruses have evolved throughout the years, but in the squid's case, it is highly unlikely that a planet is spitting massive amounts of squids to Earth.
While the study gives useful insight on the influence that the universe may have on the evolution of Earth, scientists said that there is no evidence at all for the claim that these cephalopods came from outer space.
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