Octopuses may have originated from outer space: Study suggests

Scientists have been trying to figure out if alien life exists or not. But what if it exists and we are actually familiar with it. We all know Octopuses, these are vividly colored with eight to ten limbs and a central hand with huge eyes animals. Octopuses have a strange ability to edit their own bodies in order to adapt and survive any climate change or other factors which have baffled many biologists. Evolution occurs with genetic mutations and change in the DNA over time which results in contrasting changes in the host, however, octopuses seem not to follow the trend according to the recent findings which have raised controversial claims that octopuses came from the space.

As per a previous study conducted in April 2017, scientists found out that octopuses, some species of squids and cuttlefish have the ability to edit their RNA. This particular feature is strange and unique in the animal world. RNA is a single-stranded molecule that carries genetic material similar to the DNA which is a double-stranded molecule. RNA is responsible for transmitting genetic information to produce required proteins. Now, researchers believe that RNA was the precursor to DNA during the earliest organisms on Earth.

Common squid which is a type of cephalopods has edited 60% of its RNA in its nervous system after it started accepting DNA a long ago. The editing technique might have helped it to shift temperatures and other capabilities. Moving further, researchers observed that one species of cuttlefish and two species of octopus exhibit the same capability. They also found out that the technique of editing RNA was invented by the coleoid cephalopods, however, how it works and how the species control or use it has remained unknown.

Joshua Rosenthal, researchers at the US Marine Biological Laboratory hinted towards the stimulus like the change in temperature or even experience that could have trigger RNA editing in these animals. Although the technique of RNA editing is used by coleoids a lot, it has come with a price. These species aren’t evolving much since their DNA remains unchanged even after their RNA changes to adapt and survive to any stimuli which mean, these species have already given up their ability to evolve further. Panspermia theory is among the top plausible explanation behind such a strange ability.

“The genome of the Octopus shows a staggering level of complexity with 33,000 protein-coding genes more than is present in Homo sapiens. It is plausible then to suggest they seem to be borrowed from a far distant ‘future’ in terms of terrestrial evolution, or more realistically from the cosmos at large.

“One plausible explanation, in our view, is that the new genes are likely new extraterrestrial imports to Earth – most plausibly as an already coherent group of functioning genes within (say) cryopreserved and matrix protected fertilized Octopus eggs,” read the paper.

“Thus the possibility that cryopreserved Squid and/or Octopus eggs, arrived in icy bolides several hundred million years ago should not be discounted as that would be a parsimonious cosmic explanation for the Octopus’ sudden emergence on Earth circa 270 million years ago.”

Panspermia theory discusses one of the most baffling questions which has intrigued scientists over the years. It discusses the origin of life on the Earth where it states that life originated from other planets which were later transported to the Earth via asteroid or comet. It also contemplates that life could have bombarded on the Earth between 4 and 3.8 billion years ago during which, heavy meteor shower was observed.

The research paper published in the journal Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology. It discusses how Cambrian Explosion resulted in the existence of life in form of retroviruses. This led to cephalopods which later spurred into different species i.e. squid, octopus, cuttlefish, etc. There is a number of explanations discussing how these retroviruses transformed into life on Earth of which, there is a possibility that eggs of squids and octopuses might have bombarded on year millions of years ago thereby titling these animal species as aliens.