by Nancy Houser

Created on: August 12, 2008   Last Updated: January 15, 2012

Professor Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe is considered the world's leading authority on the "theory of Panspermia" and is also known for his contributions toward the "theory of cosmic dust" - stating that life on earth originated in the deepest part of space while traveling on comets and their dust to arrive within our solar system - an individual who was under the supervision of the late Sir Fred Hoyle for his PhD. We get excited when we think of space dust, but when we think of life coming here from Venus or Mars through that same pathway - well, can we only imagine?

The research that was done by Professor Wickramasinghe and his daughter, Dr. Janaki Wickramasinghe, shows that Venus has a microbial ecology that is high in its atmosphere, traveling not only from the farthest part of the universe but also from planet to planet. Ian O'Neill wrote an excellent July 25, 2008 article in Universe Today, "If Life Exists on Venus, Could it be Blown to Earth?" which refers to this very same topic. When giving a keynote address in Slough, England, distinguished astronomer Professor Wickramasinghe's speech referred to the fact that the Sun, Venus and Earth were in a direct line every 580 days. His study showed that it was during this time that the Venus microbes could be transferred to Earth.

Going even further, Professor Wickramasinghe stated that he felt the three planets of Venus, Earth and Mars were also interconnected biologically (excellent reading at "Biomineralization and Biological Metal Accumulation: Biological and Geological Perspectives: Papers Presented at the Fourth International Symposium on Biomineralization", Renesse, the Netherlands, page 90, June 2-5, 1982). Because of this, life on Earth was thought to be represented by a "chain of being" that extended to the furthest remote corners of the entire cosmos. Recently the study of cosmic dust has taken on a slightly different meaning with new findings of recent studies - Professor Wickramasinghe feels that microbial life could be harbored on the top layer of clouds.

Back in the mid-1900s, scientists actually thought that life originated in a little pond that was warm in temperature somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. But Sir Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe have lately developed some pretty controversial ideas which state that life is actually a cosmic phenomenon - harbored in comets and traveling through our planetary system. Their theories have become more and more accepted within the scientific

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