Chen 1Comets and Meteors A cosmic approach of explaining the diseases on earth
A glance at the moon will reveal its scarred surface, which is the result of a long history of abuse from meteors. While earth has suffered its share of nicks and dents as well, the changing environment has all but covered up these blemishes. ... Therefore, these obscure rocks from space have a significant effect on the development of life on earth. ... A new theory dictates that certain diseases such as the common cold and the recent Mad Cow disease may have a link with comets and meteors. ... Sir Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe, distinguished British scientists, promoted in the late 1900’s the modern theory of Panspermia, which states that comets and meteorites carry viable organic matter to earth. ... However, how plausible is this theory that postulates that new diseases can Chen 2 be explained through extraterrestrial means such as the occurrence of comets and meteors? ... Even more important though, is the fact that if diseases are affected by outside genetic material, then the debris of the cosmos affects the evolution of life itself. However, despite evidence such as the sudden appearance of sweeping plagues and recent research on life-associated compounds in space, certain diseases such as influenza and the Bubonic plague probably did not originate from debris on comets and meteors as the theory Panspermia postulates. ... Does extraterrestrial bacteria affect the genetic material on earth? ... Chen 3 Survival of bacteria in space The idea that the living microbes are ubiquitous throughout the cosmos goes back to Anaxagoras, a Greek philosopher (Britt). ... Finally, they realized that these irregularities in the properties of cosmic debris could be explained by organic material, namely hollow matter such as the remains of bacteria. ... Chen 4 On November 20, 1969, NASA recovered a camera left on the moon for thirty-one months. ... Due to strict precautions taken, NASA was sure that the germs were launched with the camera from earth. ... Also, bacteria have thrived on earth under near-vacuum pressure. ... These bacteria have only been tested within Chen 5 earthly parameters. Definition of extreme heat on earth is not necessarily the definition of extreme heat in space. Hoyle and Wickramasinghe calculated that a normal bacterium might get heated to five hundred degrees Celsius upon entry into the earth’s atmosphere. ... The fossil resembled magnetotactic bacteria, which ingest iron that cause it to align with a magnetic Chen 6 field to produce a definite shape (Klyce Fossilized). ... Meteors collide on earth with such force that it is broken up into hundreds of pieces. Many meteoroids move at sixty to seventy kilometers per second while a shuttle comparatively travels around the earth at about eight kilometers per second (Bray and Meyer). ... In regards to the theory of Panspermia and extraterrestrial origin of bacteria, it is unlikely that bacteria could exist long enough to impact life on earth. Even if only fossilized bacterium could reach the surface safely, it would be helpless to procreate and spread into diseases such as influenza and the Bubonic Plague. Evidence of the spread of disease on earth Hoyle and Wickramasinghe had more reason to promote Panspermia though. Trends of viruses and diseases on earth such as influenza and Mad Cow disease caused suspicion in the intervention of extraterrestrial material. ... Prions are the smallest infectious agents known and are puzzling because they are 100% protein Chen 7 and do not have nucleic acids considered necessary for reproduction in all life forms” (Howe). ... Diseases such as the Bubonic Plague in the fourteenth century also support the trend of sudden peaks of outbreaks. ... On the other hand, cancer, AIDS, and numerous other diseases do not have cures either. ... Also, the swiftness that diseases spread can be attributed to societal factors as well. ... Chen 8 Hoyle and Wickramasinghe also explained that the cosmic debris rains down into the upper atmosphere, which then precipitates to the surface below. In fact, NASA suggests that as many as four billion meteors fall to earth every day (Bray and Meyer).