Octopuses have always been enigmatic creatures, prompting the imagination to entertain various fantastical ideas about their origins. In a controversial paper published in Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, a team of 33 researchers, notably lacking any zoologists, proposed an extraordinary theory: octopuses are of extraterrestrial origin.
Led by Chandra Wickramasinghe, a proponent of directed panspermia, the hypothesis suggests that alien microbes kickstarted life on Earth, leading to the Cambrian explosion 500 million years ago. The paper contends that the octopus, with its intricate genome, large brain, and sophisticated eyes, emerged as a result of genetic manipulation by extraterrestrial viruses.
The researchers propose two scenarios for the arrival of these otherworldly genes. The first involves alien microbes initiating the Cambrian explosion, culminating in octopus evolution. The second posits that cryopreserved octopus and squid eggs were delivered to Earth by comets several hundred million years ago.
However, the scientific community is skeptical of these outlandish claims. Experts, including Mark Carnall and Seth Finnegan, dismiss the lack of evidence for such theories. Jonathan Eisen emphasizes the need for scientific rigor, stating unequivocally that there is no credible evidence supporting the idea that octopuses originated in space.
In the absence of concrete evidence, the notion of octopuses as extraterrestrial beings remains firmly in the realm of speculative science fiction, adding another layer of mystery to these already enigmatic creatures.
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