Primordial soup theory has had its time

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by Ukwildlifeo

......., though I have to say Im yet to read a paper on it (not saying there isn't one btw!)

A quick google brings this up Life Falling Back to Earth

Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe came up with that theory and wrote many papers on it, including one in Nature, I think. Summarised here:

Life from Space: An Emerging Paradigm (ActionBioscience)

Yet another interesting theory!

[RKB]

I was at University when the 'out of space' hypothesis started gaining wider interest, but it still sounded a bit barmy. But now it is a serious contender. I think it's much less likely that full-formed organisms arrived that way, though. I remember the huge NASA announcement about 10 years ago, that they had found fossil organisms on a Mars sample. That seems to have been quietly swept under the carpet (or can someone update?).

[loripo]

Quote from Newscientist Nov 2009 on this subject...
The possibility that the rock contains fossilised microbes received another boost in August when a team led by Paul Niles, also of NASA Johnson, showed that carbon in the meteorite was deposited in balmy water conducive to life, rather than a scorching temperature above 150 °C as had been proposed previously.

[Ukwildlifeo]

Originally Posted by RKB

I was at University when the 'out of space' hypothesis started gaining wider interest, but it still sounded a bit barmy. But now it is a serious contender. I think it's much less likely that full-formed organisms arrived that way, though. I remember the huge NASA announcement about 10 years ago, that they had found fossil organisms on a Mars sample. That seems to have been quietly swept under the carpet (or can someone update?).

Yea I think it was proved to be an inorganic mineral deposit so NASA quickly moved on to something else! Still with some of the 'extremophiles' (I love that name) on earth living in hot springs, thermal vents, deep underground, under Ice and various other places not so long ago we though life was impossible, I don't think micro organisms travelling across space, safe in a (large) meteorite is too hard to consider

[medieval knievel]

paul davies' the origin of life (aka the fifth miracle) is a good account of the panspermia theory; quite readable too.

Amazon.com: The FIFTH MIRACLE: The Search for the Origin and Meaning of Life (9780684863092): Paul Davies: Books

[animartco]

Hi Hobjob. I'm curious. If Earth's atmophere wasn't lrgely methane, what was it? Just nitrogen and CO2 or are you suggesting oxygen was there all along?