Panspermia, Past and Present: Astrophysical and Biophysical Conditions for the Dissemination of Life in Space |
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Authors: | Paul S Wesson |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada 2. Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, Victoria, B.C., V9E 2E7, Canada
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Abstract: | Astronomically, there are viable mechanisms for distributing organic material throughout the Milky Way. Biologically, the destructive effects of ultraviolet light and cosmic rays means that the majority of organisms arrive broken and dead on a new world. The likelihood of conventional forms of panspermia must therefore be considered low. However, the information content of damaged biological molecules might serve to seed new life (necropanspermia). |
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