Did Earth Seed Life Elsewhere in the Sol System?

ljk — 3/18/2006 6:33:06 PM (archived)

Earthly bacteria could have reached distant planets and moons after being flung into space by massive meteorite impacts, scientists suggest.

The proposal neatly reverses the panspermia theory, which suggests that life on Earth was seeded by microbes on comets or meteorites from elsewhere.

Both theories envision life spreading through the Solar System in much the same way that germs race around a crowded classroom, says Jeff Moore, a planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. "Once one planet comes down with life, they all get it."

Full article here:

http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060313/full/060313-18.html

LPSC abstract - "Meteoroid Transfer to Europa and Titan":

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2006/pdf/2165.pdf

The whole thread (38 posts)

Did Earth Seed Life Elsewhere in the Sol System? - ljk - 3/18/2006 6:33:06 PM
- re: Did Earth Seed Life Elsewhere in the Sol System? - GLORIA WU - 4/4/2006 2:11:38 AM
  - Care to elaborate?? (n/t) - ModBob - 4/4/2006 4:29:06 AM
- re: Did Earth Seed Life Elsewhere in the Sol System? - lance - 3/20/2006 2:08:06 AM
- A good way to find out is to send humans to Mars - Scott Evil - 3/19/2006 11:17:49 PM
  - We might be looking for a while - SteveS - 3/20/2006 2:37:54 PM
    - Earth microbes on the moon - REB - 3/23/2006 9:20:50 PM
    - Did we look? - Scott Evil - 3/21/2006 5:35:26 PM
      - I don't think so - SteveS - 3/21/2006 7:14:58 PM
    - re: We might be looking for a while - ljk - 3/20/2006 3:08:53 PM
      - re: We might be looking for a while - SteveS - 3/20/2006 8:13:40 PM
- Our "gravitational well" is very deep. - Jacob Samorodin - 3/19/2006 9:55:40 PM
- Better to pponder when we FIND life elsewhere in the Solar System. (n/t) - et - 3/19/2006 7:29:50 PM
- Possible. - Tom Brosz - 3/19/2006 5:30:37 PM
  - Deinococcus radiodurans - ljk - 3/19/2006 6:30:18 PM
- Unlikely, but plausible. The problem is the survival time - David F Mayer - 3/19/2006 6:10:08 AM
  - re: Unlikely, but plausible. The problem is the survival time - ljk - 3/19/2006 7:33:59 AM
    - But at what radiation levels? (n/t) - DFM - 3/20/2006 4:08:48 PM
- Did it seed the Galaxy? - Adam - 3/19/2006 6:05:51 AM
  - re: Did it seed the Galaxy? - ljk - 3/20/2006 4:14:33 PM
  - re: Did it seed the Galaxy? - ljk - 3/19/2006 6:56:38 AM
    - That's the one - Adam - 3/19/2006 8:23:48 AM
      - re: That's the one - ljk - 3/19/2006 3:51:07 PM
- re: Did Earth Seed Life Elsewhere in the Sol System? - SteveS - 3/19/2006 12:26:51 AM
  - Earth life is much older than that - ljk - 3/19/2006 1:07:12 AM
    - re: Earth life is much older than that - Marcia - 3/19/2006 2:55:42 AM
  - Lot longer than 500 million - dtb - 3/19/2006 12:46:54 AM
    - That's right they are talking bacteria, my bad (n/t) - SteveS - 3/19/2006 12:56:21 AM
      - Earth rocks could have taken life to Titan - ljk - 3/19/2006 9:40:22 PM
        
        re: Earth rocks could have taken life to Titan - SteveS - 3/20/2006 2:47:36 PM
        
        re: very dubious - Andrew - 3/20/2006 6:09:57 AM
        
        Meteroites - Adam - 3/20/2006 9:25:29 AM
        
        re: Meteroites - ljk - 3/20/2006 3:33:52 PM
        
        re: Meteroites-still dubious - Andrew - 3/21/2006 12:42:17 AM
        
        re: Meteroites-still dubious - ljk - 3/21/2006 7:30:53 PM
        
        re: Meteroites-still dubious - pwokenyaw - 3/21/2006 5:43:07 PM
        
        Did life shape Earth's evolution? - ljk - 3/23/2006 6:27:41 PM
        
        Preventing the Forward Contamination of Mars - ljk - 4/4/2006 2:54:16 PM

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