Alien Rain

[paulanderson]

I'm curious about the confirmed DNA also because no nuclei had been seen before. Is that possible? Or perhaps these two UK teams have found nuclei, but it just isn't mentioned in this article. The front page of <i>NewScientistSpace</i> also has a good new microscopic image of some of the cells also (with nuclei?):<br /><br />http://www.newscientistspace.com

 

[mlorrey]

This discussion doesn't belong in missions and launches, it is a Phenomena topic.

 

[paulanderson]

There is a thread in Phenomena already; I didn't start this thread either, I just found it and saw it had been around for a while now without being moved so just did a couple brief updates fwiw. I think Phenomena is the better place so also, so maybe these two threads could be merged or just move this thread to Phenomena also.

 

[vulture2]

If the material is of extraterrestrial origin it would be of overwhelming importance. That said, it should be noted that colored rain has been observed in many places (primarily in South Asia) and for many years. In those cases of biological origin analyzed to date, it has been shown to be caused by the presence of terrestrial organisms. The most commonly reported cause of colored rains in South Asia is pollen that is excreted in the feces of bees. This type of colored rain has been reported to occur in a range of colors. I cannot find any report as to whether the rain reported in Kerala was subjected to PCR analysis; this could show the specific species involved. The organisms responsible for the coloration have undergone considerable degenerative change, and of course will be contaminated with dust, so neither microscopic inspection nor elemental analysis are likely to be helpful. The extended period (weeks) and wide area over which the red rain fell, not to mention the enormous mass of the total rainfall, without any impact crater or fireball, make it somewhat difficult to see how an extraterrestrial source could be responsible.<br /><br />That said, the material deserves careful biochemical and biomolecular evaluation, which hopefully will provide clear evidence of the source. Until such analysis is available, it would not be productive to speculate in the absence of facts.

 

[paulanderson]

Good points. I try to avoid too much speculation also, although The second <i>New Scientist</i> article from March 31, which I linked to on page 1 of this thread, shows that the possibilities have now been narrowed down at least. But, how do we know the organisms have undergone degenerative change? I've read nothing to indicate that yet.<br /><br />So now, a new summary to-date:<br /><br />- confirmed as biological cells; "exceedingly unusual"<br />- not red blood cells, fungal spores or red algae<br />- DNA found, but no specific DNA sequences found yet; DNA may then be unusual<br />- unusually thick cell walls<br />- "daughter cells"<br />- Trentepohlia alga?<br /><br />The thick cell walls and "unusual" DNA could still be consistent with cells originating from a (hostile) extraterrestrial space environment, possibly? Do other known earthly cells / microorganisms have "unusual" DNA in any significant way? The thinking seems to be that they are terrestrial because they have DNA, but so could extraterrestrial ones. They probably will turn out to be terrestrial I suppose, but they do at least seem to be quite unusual in nature. I look forward to their full findings when published.

 

[bonzelite]

this seems awkwardly worded. anyone help me? <br /><br /><font color="yellow"><br />Something like the Trentepohlia alga, perhaps? That's the conclusion of microbiologists at the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute in Kerala, <i><b>who say they have cultured the cells and grown Trentepohlia, an alga common in Kottayam, where the first report of the red rain originated.</b></i> Formal DNA identification awaits. </font><br /><br />what cells were cultured? the red rain cells were cultivated to render Trentepohlia, or they cultured Trentepohlia only? the red rain cells <b>are</b> Trentepohlia? <br /><br />huh? <br /><br /><br />

 

[paulanderson]

It is awkwardly worded, I agree. But, I found the full report here (from CESS, PDF file), which explains their findings:<br /><br />http://www.geocities.com/iamgoddard/Sampath2001.pdf<br /><br />Is this the solution? If so, I'm a bit surprised the two other UK labs haven't also easily confirmed this yet...?