gmacrider

It sounds like you're tracking towards Buddhism. You may want to investigate it further. Fascinating stuff - and it requires no belief in supernatural beings.

Thanks for the interesting post. I'm curious about the idea that novas could be a mechanism for transporting bacterial life across inter-stellar distances. Is this a popular theory? Are there any ideas being bounced around that might explain the transportation of bacterial life across inter-galactic distances? Or is that just too unlikely?

But don't virii need host cells to reproduce? At any rate, it appears some primitive forms of life are capable of surviving space travel on rocks, and the violent take-off's and landings. I can imagine how this seeding might happen within a solar system, but what about the vast distances between stars? Or between galaxies? Could rocks really transport bacteria across these incredible distances? It seems to me there are four possibilities: 1. Abiogenesis occurred on Earth. 2. Abiogenesis occurred somewhere else. 3. Both of the above. 4. None of the above (as in Abiogenesis did not occur). I'm leaning towards #3, but it's just a gut feel.

I thought our main purpose was to safely deliver our DNA to the next generation. Once that has been done, everything else is gravy. So how do you make good gravy? THAT is a tough question.

As I understand, the current concept of Panspermia involves the seeding of young planets by bacteria transported across space on rocks blasted out of life-bearing planets by collisions with other rocks. I'm wondering how many bacteria would have to survive the trip (and the rough landing) to successfully seed a barren planet. I guess the answer would depend on many variables, but for a young Earth what would be the absolute minimal number of bacteria required? Would ONE be enough? Or would a large herd of bacteria be required? Are the "Common Ancestor" theorists looking for that ONE bacteria? Thanks for your thoughts.