Talk:A critique of The microbiologist looks at panspermia

NASA scientist sent a spaceship to collect samples of gas and dust from a comet. They found glycine in the sample but were not sure if it originated on earth. So they decide to use an isotopic method to break down the glycine. Once they broke down the glycine, they found out that it contained carbon 13 instead of carbon 12.

Hmohy985 01:55, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

NASA scientist Richard B. Hoover used an experiment of 9 meteorites and found that there were micro-fossils on the meteorites made up of cyanobacteria.

Wasim24 02:02, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

After they broke down the glycine through the isotope method, they discovered carbon 13 - which is not naturally produced on earth. Therefore the glycine found on the comet was originally from outer space, which proves that panspermia is true!

Jmay3355 01:56, 1 February 2012 (UTC)


 * A Critique of the Results

The results show that the chemical make up is very similar on earth and surrounding earth (within 41 km)and the article describes that if panspermia did exist, the chemical make up would be noticeably different when spotted. There was testing done of the survival of lichens was tested by sending them from earth into space via space shuttle. The test showed that the lichens survived only when they were in the environment from which they were launched. In each case,the lichens died upon arrival into the earth’s atmosphere from space, and into space from the earth’s atmosphere. Thus supporting that panspermia doesn't exist because many of the organisms that have been tested are unable to survive the harsh climate of outerspace.Shayd948 02:23, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

Critique of the Theoretical Perspective
 * The argument that extraterrestrial organisms would be distinctly different from those found on Earth presupposes that there isn’t a universal recipe book for life. It cannot be definitively said that given the same pressures, gravities, chemical materials, etc, that life would not come out with the exact same structures, on an extra planetary body. The argument also neglects the possibility that the formula for life is rigid and that the laws of physics are universal. A Big Mac is Big Mac whether in Tokyo or New York, because there is only one way to make one. The same may be true for life in the universe. Ixby 02:26, 1 February 2012 (UTC)