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'''Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe''' (born 20 January 1939) is a ]n-born British mathematician. He is currently Director of the Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology, a private company and charity.<ref name="closed">{{cite news|title=Closed astrobiology centre to be reborn as private company|agency=Nature Publishing Group|work=Nature News|author=Reich, Eugenie Samuel|date=2011-03-17}}</ref> '''Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe''' (born 20 January 1939) is a ]n-born British mathematician. He is currently Director of the Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology, a private company and charity.<ref name="closed">{{cite news|title=Closed astrobiology centre to be reborn as private company|agency=Nature Publishing Group|work=Nature News|author=Reich, Eugenie Samuel|date=2011-03-17}}</ref>
He was a student and collaborator of ]. Their joint work on the infrared spectra of interstellar grains led to developing the hypothesis of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/research/bcab/background |title=Historical background — University of Buckingham |publisher=Buckingham.ac.uk |date=|accessdate=2013-01-18}}</ref> It proposes that ] in the ] and in comets is partly organic, and that life on Earth was 'seeded' from space rather than arising through ] on earth. He was a student and collaborator of ]. Their joint work on the infrared spectra of interstellar grains led to developing the hypothesis of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/research/bcab/background |title=Historical background — University of Buckingham |publisher=Buckingham.ac.uk |date=|accessdate=2013-01-18}}</ref> It proposes that ] in the ] and in comets is partly organic, and that life on Earth was 'seeded' from space rather than arising through ]. His latest work attempts to extend the hypothesis of cometary panspermia to that of ] in collaboration with Carl H. Gibson, Rhawn Joseph and ]. He is also making further identifications of spectral features in comets and in the interstellar medium.


He has advocated that elementary living organisms like the ]-forming ] spores present in the ] are of extraterrestrial origin and that pathogens as the ] virus also arrived on Earth from deep space carried in asteroids and comets. He has attempted to generate controversies in both academic and public circles, by bringing his arguments into the discussion about ] and ]. Though Chandra Wickramasinghe's latest speculations have no support from the scientific community, he has fascinated some public media.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/were-all-aliens-how-humans-began-life-in-outer-space-2228530.html |title=We're all aliens... how humans began life in outer space|work=]|author=Connor, Steve|agency=The Independent|date=2011-03-01}}</ref>
The fundamental tenet of the work of Chandra Wickramasinghe is that "Life is a Cosmic Phenomenon".
<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2011/03/19/chandra-wickramasinghe-dismissed-from-cardiff-university-in-wales/ |title=Chandra Wickramasinghe dismissed from Cardiff University in Wales|work=LankaWeb|agency=LankaWeb|author=Jayawaradhana, Walter|date=2011-03-19}}</ref>

Based on the latest results of the ], NASA has estimated there are approximately 144 Billion earth-like exoplanets around sun-like stars. This fact alone has caused a change in attitude to the probable existence of extraterrestrial life - certainly microbial life and statistically also intelligent life. Not only are senior academic figures supporting this paradigm change, but a new generation of NASA scientists have now openly embraced the "search for life" <ref>http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/releases/2012/12-35.html </ref>. This consciousness change supported by the media has brought the ideas of ] and ] back into the public eye, and fellow Astrobiologists and Astrophysicists are revisiting their published works..


==Education== ==Education==
Wickramasinghe studied at ], the ] where he graduated in 1960 with a ] ] degree in mathematics, and at ] and Jesus College, Cambridge where he obtained his PhD and ScD degrees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/directory/professor-chandra-wickramasinghe/ |title=Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe — University of Buckingham |publisher=Buckingham.ac.uk |date=|accessdate=2013-01-18}}</ref> He was previously Fellow of ] (1963-1973); Professor and Head of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Astronomy at ] (1973-1988); Professor in the School of Mathematics, University of Wales College of Cardiff (1988-1998); and Professor and Director of the Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology (1999-2011).<ref name=closed/> Wickramasinghe studied at ], the ] where he graduated in 1960 with a ] ] degree in mathematics, and at ] and Jesus College, Cambridge where he obtained his PhD and ScD degrees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/directory/professor-chandra-wickramasinghe/ |title=Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe — University of Buckingham |publisher=Buckingham.ac.uk |date=|accessdate=2013-01-18}}</ref> He was previously Fellow of ] (1963-1973); Professor and Head of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Astronomy at ] (1973-1988); Professor in the School of Mathematics, University of Wales College of Cardiff (1988-1998); and Professor and Director of the Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology (1999-2011), now a private company and charity.<ref name=closed/>


==Scientific career== ==Scientific career==
In 1960 he commenced work in Cambridge on his PhD degree under the supervision of the late ], and published his first scientific paper "On Graphite Particles as Interstellar Grains” in ''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'' in 1962.<ref name="garfield.library.upenn.edu">{{cite news|url=http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/classics1986/A1986C401400001.pdf |title=This Week’s Citation Classic |publisher=ISI Current Contents |date=1986-06-02 |accessdate=2013-01-18}}</ref> He was awarded a PhD degree in Mathematics in 1963 and was elected a Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge in the same year. In the following year he was appointed a Staff Member of the ]. Here he continued to work on the nature of interstellar dust, publishing many papers in this field<ref name="buckingham.ac.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/research/bcab/hrwarchive |title=Archive of key historical publications — University of Buckingham |publisher=Buckingham.ac.uk |date=1980-04-03 |accessdate=2013-01-18}}</ref> that led to a shift of emphasis in astronomy from inorganic dust models to organic grains. In 1960 he commenced work in Cambridge on his PhD degree under the supervision of the late ], and published his first scientific paper "On Graphite Particles as Interstellar Grains” in ''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'' in 1962.<ref name="garfield.library.upenn.edu">{{cite news|url=http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/classics1986/A1986C401400001.pdf |title=This Week’s Citation Classic |publisher=ISI Current Contents |date=1986-06-02 |accessdate=2013-01-18}}</ref> He was awarded a PhD degree in Mathematics in 1963 and was elected a Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge in the same year. In the following year he was appointed a Staff Member of the ]. Here he continued to work on the nature of interstellar dust, publishing many papers in this field<ref name="buckingham.ac.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/research/bcab/hrwarchive |title=Archive of key historical publications — University of Buckingham |publisher=Buckingham.ac.uk |date=1980-04-03 |accessdate=2013-01-18}}</ref> that led to a shift of emphasis in astronomy from inorganic dust models to organic grains.


{{cquote|My most significant astronomical contribution was to develop the theory of ] in comets and in the interstellar medium. This was done during the 1970s and 1980s, and it is now generally accepted! I feel I also played a part in the birth of the science of astrobiology.}} {{cquote|My most significant astronomical contribution was to develop the theory of ] in comets and in the interstellar medium. This was done during the 1970s and 1980s, and it is now accepted by everyone almost without remembering its origins! I feel I also played a part in the birth of the science of astrobiology.}}


He published the first definitive book on ''Interstellar Grains'' in 1967.<ref name="worldcat.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/407751 |title=Interstellar grains (Book, 1967) |publisher=<nowiki> </nowiki>|date=|accessdate=2013-01-18}}</ref> He has made many contributions to this field, publishing over 350 papers in peer-reviewed journals, over 75 in ]. In 1974 he first proposed the hypothesis that some dust in interstellar space was largely ] (contain carbon),<ref>''Nature'', vol: 252, 462, 1974; and ''Nature'',Vol 268, 610, 1977.</ref> which Wickramasinghe later proved to be correct.<ref> He published the first definitive book on ''Interstellar Grains'' in 1967.<ref name="worldcat.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/407751 |title=Interstellar grains (Book, 1967) |publisher=<nowiki> </nowiki>|date=|accessdate=2013-01-18}}</ref> He has made many contributions to this field, publishing over 350 papers in peer-reviewed journals, over 75 in ]. In 1974 he first proposed the hypothesis that some dust in interstellar space was largely ] (contain carbon),<ref>''Nature'', vol: 252, 462, 1974; and ''Nature'',Vol 268, 610, 1977.</ref> which Wickramasinghe later proved to be correct.<ref>
Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. Nature 287, 518−519 (1980). Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. Nature 287, 518−519 (1980).
Allen, D. A. & Wickramasinghe, D. T. Nature 294, 239−240 (1981). Allen, D. A. & Wickramasinghe, D. T. Nature 294, 239−240 (1981).
Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. Astrophys. Space Sci. 97, 369−378 (1983).</ref> Hoyle and Wickramasinghe further contended that extraterrestrial life forms continue to enter the Earth's atmosphere, and may be responsible for epidemic outbreaks, new diseases, and the genetic novelty necessary for ].<ref>{{cite book|author=Fred Hoyle, Chandra Wickramasinghe and John Watson| title=Viruses from Space and Related Matters| publisher=University College Cardiff Press| year=1986}}</ref> In a virtual presentation on April 7, 2009, physicist ] endorsed the hypothesis.<ref>{{cite news | first =Rheyanne Weaver | title =Ruminations on other worlds | date =April 7, 2009 | url =http://www.statepress.com/archive/node/5745 | work =StatePress.com | accessdate =2012-10-10}}</ref> Chandra Wickramasinghe had the longest running collaboration with Fred Hoyle and is responsible for forging a link between biology and astronomy in the late 1970s. Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. Astrophys. Space Sci. 97, 369−378 (1983).</ref> Hoyle and Wickramasinghe further contended that extraterrestrial life forms continue to enter the Earth's atmosphere, and may be responsible for epidemic outbreaks, new diseases, and the genetic novelty necessary for ].<ref>{{cite book|author=Fred Hoyle, Chandra Wickramasinghe and John Watson| title=Viruses from Space and Related Matters| publisher=University College Cardiff Press| year=1986}}</ref> In a virtual presentation on April 7, 2009, physicist ] endorsed the hypothesis.<ref>{{cite news | first =Rheyanne Weaver | title =Ruminations on other worlds | date =April 7, 2009 | url =http://www.statepress.com/archive/node/5745 | work =StatePress.com | accessdate =2012-10-10}}</ref> Chandra Wickramasinghe had the longest running collaboration with Fred Hoyle and is responsible for forging a link between biology and astronomy in the late 1970s. Their publications on books and papers<ref name="buckingham.ac.uk"/> arguing for panspermia and a cosmic hypothesis of life are nevertheless controversial.


Wickramasinghe was appointed a consultant and advisor to the ] in 1982-84, and played a key role in founding the ] in Sri Lanka. Wickramasinghe was appointed a consultant and advisor to the ] in 1982-84, and played a key role in founding the ] in Sri Lanka.
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==Detection of living cells in the stratosphere== ==Detection of living cells in the stratosphere==
] ]
On the 20 January 2001 the ] conducted a balloon flight from Hyderabad, India to collect stratospheric dust from a height of 41&nbsp;km with a view to testing for the presence of living cells. The collaborators on this project included a team of UK scientists led by Wickramasinghe. In a paper presented at a SPIE conference in San Diego in 2002 the detection of evidence for viable microorganisms from 41&nbsp;km was presented.<!--Melanie J. Harris, N.C. Wickramasinghe, David Lloyd ''et al.'', Proc SPIE, vol 4495, p192). On the 20 January 2001 the ] conducted a balloon flight from Hyderabad, India to collect stratospheric dust from a height of 41&nbsp;km with a view to testing for the presence of living cells. The collaborators on this project included a team of UK scientists led by Wickramasinghe. In a paper presented at a SPIE conference in San Diego in 2002 the detection of evidence for viable microorganisms from 41&nbsp;km was presented.<!--Melanie J. Harris, N.C. Wickramasinghe, David Lloyd ''et al.'', Proc SPIE, vol 4495, p192).--> However, the experiment did not present evidence as to whether the findings are incoming microbes from space rather than microbes carried up to 41&nbsp;km from the surface of the Earth.


In 2005 the ISRO group carried out a second stratospheric sampling experiment from 41&nbsp;km altitude and reported the isolation of three new species of bacteria including one that they named ''Janibacter hoylei'' sp.nov. in honour of Fred Hoyle.<ref>Shivaji, S., Chaturvedi, P., Begum, Z. et al, 2009. ''Janibacter hoylei'' sp.nov., ''Bacillus isronensis'' sp.nov. and ''Bacillus aryabhattai'' sp.nov. isolated from cryotubes used for collecting air from the upper atmosphere, ''Int.J.Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology'', 59, 2977-2986 ]</ref>. In 2005 the ISRO group carried out a second stratospheric sampling experiment from 41&nbsp;km altitude and reported the isolation of three new species of bacteria including one that they named ''Janibacter hoylei'' sp.nov. in honour of Fred Hoyle.<ref>Shivaji, S., Chaturvedi, P., Begum, Z. et al, 2009. ''Janibacter hoylei'' sp.nov., ''Bacillus isronensis'' sp.nov. and ''Bacillus aryabhattai'' sp.nov. isolated from cryotubes used for collecting air from the upper atmosphere, ''Int.J.Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology'', 59, 2977-2986 ]</ref> However, these facts do not prove that bacteria on Earth originated in the cosmic environment.


Samplings of the stratosphere have also been carried out by Yang et al. (2005,<ref>Yang, Y., Yokobori, S., Kawaguchi, J., et al, 2005. '''', JAXA Research Development Report, JAXA-RR-08-001, 35-42</ref> 2009<ref>{{cite journal | last1 =Yang | first1 =Y. | last2 =Yokobori | first2 =S. | last3 =Yamagishi | first3 =A. | year =2009 | title =Assessing panspermia hypothesis by microorganisms collected in the high altitude atmosphere | url =http://logos.ls.toyaku.ac.jp/~lcb-7/yamagishi/yang2009.pdf | format =PDF | journal =Biol. Sci. Space | volume =23 | issue =3| pages =151–163 }}</ref>). During the experiment strains of highly radiation-resistant '']'' bacterium were detected at heights up to 35&nbsp;km. Nevertheless these authors have abstained from linking these discoveries to panspermia. Samplings of the stratosphere have also been carried out by Yang et al. (2005,<ref>Yang, Y., Yokobori, S., Kawaguchi, J., et al, 2005. '''', JAXA Research Development Report, JAXA-RR-08-001, 35-42</ref> 2009<ref>{{cite journal | last1 =Yang | first1 =Y. | last2 =Yokobori | first2 =S. | last3 =Yamagishi | first3 =A. | year =2009 | title =Assessing panspermia hypothesis by microorganisms collected in the high altitude atmosphere | url =http://logos.ls.toyaku.ac.jp/~lcb-7/yamagishi/yang2009.pdf | format =PDF | journal =Biol. Sci. Space | volume =23 | issue =3| pages =151–163 }}</ref>). During the experiment strains of highly radiation-resistant '']'' bacterium were detected at heights up to 35&nbsp;km. Nevertheless these authors have abstained from linking these discoveries to panspermia.


==Extraterrestrial microbes== ==Extraterrestrial microbes==
On May 24, 2003 ] published a letter from Wickramasinghe,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wickramasinghe|first=C|coauthors=Wainwright, M; Narlikar, J|title=SARS--a clue to its origins?|journal=Lancet|date=2003 May 24|volume=361|issue=9371|pages=1832|pmid=12781581|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13440-X}}</ref> jointly signed by Milton Wainwright and ], in which they hypothesized that the ] that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (]) could be extraterrestrial in origin and not originated from chickens. On May 24, 2003 ] published a letter from Wickramasinghe,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wickramasinghe|first=C|coauthors=Wainwright, M; Narlikar, J|title=SARS--a clue to its origins?|journal=Lancet|date=2003 May 24|volume=361|issue=9371|pages=1832|pmid=12781581|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13440-X}}</ref> jointly signed by Milton Wainwright and ], in which they hypothesized that the ] that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (]) could be extraterrestrial in origin and not originated from chickens. ] subsequently published three responses to this letter, showing that the hypothesis was not evidence-based, and casting doubts on the quality of the experiments referenced by Wickramasinghe in his letter.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Willerslev|first=E|coauthors=Hansen, AJ; Rønn, R; Nielsen, OJ|title=Panspermia--true or false?|journal=Lancet|date=2003 Aug 2|volume=362|issue=9381|pages=406; author reply 407–8|pmid=12907025}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Bhargava|first=PM|title=Panspermia--true or false?|journal=Lancet|date=2003 Aug 2|volume=362|issue=9381|pages=407; author reply 407–8|pmid=12907028|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14041-X}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ponce de Leon|first=S|coauthors=Lazcano, A|title=Panspermia--true or false?|journal=Lancet|date=2003 Aug 2|volume=362|issue=9381|pages=406-7; author reply 407-8|pmid=12907026}}</ref>


Wickramasinghe was also involved in coordinating in collaborations with Godfrey Louis. Wickramasinghe was also involved in coordinating in collaborations with Godfrey Louis.

==Participation in the creation-evolution debate==
Wickramasinghe and his mentor ] have also used their data to argue in favor of ],
<ref>. Published in Darwinism, Design, and Public Education (2003)</ref><ref>. Authors: Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe. ISBN 0-671-49263-2</ref><ref>''Our Place in the Cosmos: The Unfinished Revolution'' by Wickramasinghe and Hoyle. (1993)</ref><ref>''Evolution From Space (The Omni Lecture) and Other Papers on the Origin of Life''. By Fred Hoyle (Enslow; Hillside, NJ; 1982)</ref><ref>. By Alec Grynspan ( 9 November 1997)</ref><ref name="121oC">{{cite journal || title =Growth and replication of red rain cells at 121°C and their red fluorescence | journal =ArXiv.org | date =29 Aug 2010 | authorlink =Rajkumar Gangappa | coauthors =Chandra Wickramasinghe, Milton Wainwright, A. Santhosh Kumar, Godfrey Louis| url =http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1008/1008.4960.pdf | accessdate =2011-07-29 | bibcode =2010SPIE.7819E..18G | last1 =Gangappa | first1 =Rajkumar | last2 =Wickramasinghe | last3 =Wainwright | last4 =Kumar | last5 =Louis | volume =7819 | page =18 | doi =10.1117/12.876393 | series =Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology XIII | editor1-last =Hoover | editor1-first =Richard B | editor2-last =Levin | editor2-first =Gilbert V | editor3-last =Rozanov | editor3-first =Alexei Y | editor4-last =Davies | editor4-first =Paul C. W}}</ref> and against ].<ref name="Archaeopteryx">{{cite book | author1 =Fred Hoyle | author2 =Chandra Wickramasinghe | title =Archaeopteryx, the Primordial Bird: A Case of Fossil Forgery | page =135 | url =http://www.amazon.com/Archaeopteryx-Primordial-Bird-Fossil-Forgery/dp/0715406655 | accessdate =2013-01-01 | isbn =0715406655 }}</ref>

{{cquote|Once again the Universe gives the appearance of being ''biologically constructed'', and on this occasion on a truly vast scale. Once again those who consider such thoughts to be too outlandish to be taken seriously will continue to do so. While we ourselves shall continue to take the view that those who believe they can match the complexities of the Universe by simple experiments in their laboratories will continue to be disappointed.}}
Wickramasinghe attempts to present scientific evidence to support the notion of cosmic ancestry and "the possibility of high intelligence in the Universe and of many increasing levels of intelligence converging toward a God as an ideal limit."
<ref> By Iris Fry. Rutgers University Press, Feb 1, 2000</ref>

During the 1981 scientific ], Wickramasinghe was the only scientist testifying for the defense of creationism and against evolution.<ref name=Archaeopteryx/><ref>''''. By Allene Phy-Olsen.</ref> In addition, he wrote that the '']'' fossil finding is a forgery, a charge that the expert scientific community considers an "absurd" and "ignorant" statement.<ref name="ACetal86">{{cite journal |last=Charig |first=A. J. |authorlink=Alan J. Charig |coauthors=Greenaway, F.; Milner, A. N.; Walker, C. A.; and Whybrow, P. J. |year=1986 |title=''Archaeopteryx'' is not a forgery |journal=Science |volume=232 |issue=4750 |pages=622–626 |doi=10.1126/science.232.4750.622 |pmid=17781413 |bibcode =1986Sci...232..622C }}</ref><ref name="Ask">{{cite news | title =A Case of Fossil Forgery? | date =18 November 2012 | url =http://askwhy.co.uk/dinosauroids/?p=42 | work =AskWhy | accessdate =2013-01-01}}</ref>


==Honours and awards== ==Honours and awards==

Revision as of 20:27, 13 July 2013

Chandra Wickramasinghe
Chandra Wickramasinghe at the University of Buckingham
BornNalin Chandra Wickramasinghe
(1939-01-20) 20 January 1939 (age 85)
Colombo, British Ceylon
Known forOrganic composition of cosmic dust
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy and mathematics

Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe (born 20 January 1939) is a Sri Lankan-born British mathematician. He is currently Director of the Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology, a private company and charity.

He was a student and collaborator of Fred Hoyle. Their joint work on the infrared spectra of interstellar grains led to developing the hypothesis of panspermia. It proposes that cosmic dust in the interstellar medium and in comets is partly organic, and that life on Earth was 'seeded' from space rather than arising through abiogenesis. His latest work attempts to extend the hypothesis of cometary panspermia to that of cosmic ancestry in collaboration with Carl H. Gibson, Rhawn Joseph and Rudolph Schild. He is also making further identifications of spectral features in comets and in the interstellar medium.

He has advocated that elementary living organisms like the lichen-forming alga spores present in the red rain in Kerala are of extraterrestrial origin and that pathogens as the SARS virus also arrived on Earth from deep space carried in asteroids and comets. He has attempted to generate controversies in both academic and public circles, by bringing his arguments into the discussion about creationism and evolutionism. Though Chandra Wickramasinghe's latest speculations have no support from the scientific community, he has fascinated some public media.

Education

Wickramasinghe studied at Royal College, Colombo, the University of Ceylon where he graduated in 1960 with a BSc First Class Honours degree in mathematics, and at Trinity College, Cambridge and Jesus College, Cambridge where he obtained his PhD and ScD degrees. He was previously Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge (1963-1973); Professor and Head of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Astronomy at University College Cardiff (1973-1988); Professor in the School of Mathematics, University of Wales College of Cardiff (1988-1998); and Professor and Director of the Cardiff Centre for Astrobiology (1999-2011), now a private company and charity.

Scientific career

In 1960 he commenced work in Cambridge on his PhD degree under the supervision of the late Sir Fred Hoyle, and published his first scientific paper "On Graphite Particles as Interstellar Grains” in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1962. He was awarded a PhD degree in Mathematics in 1963 and was elected a Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge in the same year. In the following year he was appointed a Staff Member of the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge. Here he continued to work on the nature of interstellar dust, publishing many papers in this field that led to a shift of emphasis in astronomy from inorganic dust models to organic grains.

My most significant astronomical contribution was to develop the theory of organic grains in comets and in the interstellar medium. This was done during the 1970s and 1980s, and it is now accepted by everyone almost without remembering its origins! I feel I also played a part in the birth of the science of astrobiology.

He published the first definitive book on Interstellar Grains in 1967. He has made many contributions to this field, publishing over 350 papers in peer-reviewed journals, over 75 in Nature (journal). In 1974 he first proposed the hypothesis that some dust in interstellar space was largely organic (contain carbon), which Wickramasinghe later proved to be correct. Hoyle and Wickramasinghe further contended that extraterrestrial life forms continue to enter the Earth's atmosphere, and may be responsible for epidemic outbreaks, new diseases, and the genetic novelty necessary for macroevolution. In a virtual presentation on April 7, 2009, physicist Stephen Hawking endorsed the hypothesis. Chandra Wickramasinghe had the longest running collaboration with Fred Hoyle and is responsible for forging a link between biology and astronomy in the late 1970s. Their publications on books and papers arguing for panspermia and a cosmic hypothesis of life are nevertheless controversial.

Wickramasinghe was appointed a consultant and advisor to the President of Sri Lanka in 1982-84, and played a key role in founding the Institute of Fundamental Studies in Sri Lanka.

Detection of living cells in the stratosphere

An image of a clump of microorganisms from 41 km fluorescing on application of a carbocyanine dye (indicating viability) is shown in the left panel, and scanning electron microscope image of a similar clump is shown on the right panel.

On the 20 January 2001 the Indian Space Research Organisation conducted a balloon flight from Hyderabad, India to collect stratospheric dust from a height of 41 km with a view to testing for the presence of living cells. The collaborators on this project included a team of UK scientists led by Wickramasinghe. In a paper presented at a SPIE conference in San Diego in 2002 the detection of evidence for viable microorganisms from 41 km was presented. However, the experiment did not present evidence as to whether the findings are incoming microbes from space rather than microbes carried up to 41 km from the surface of the Earth.

In 2005 the ISRO group carried out a second stratospheric sampling experiment from 41 km altitude and reported the isolation of three new species of bacteria including one that they named Janibacter hoylei sp.nov. in honour of Fred Hoyle. However, these facts do not prove that bacteria on Earth originated in the cosmic environment.

Samplings of the stratosphere have also been carried out by Yang et al. (2005, 2009). During the experiment strains of highly radiation-resistant Deinococcus bacterium were detected at heights up to 35 km. Nevertheless these authors have abstained from linking these discoveries to panspermia.

Extraterrestrial microbes

On May 24, 2003 The Lancet published a letter from Wickramasinghe, jointly signed by Milton Wainwright and Jayant Narlikar, in which they hypothesized that the virus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) could be extraterrestrial in origin and not originated from chickens. The Lancet subsequently published three responses to this letter, showing that the hypothesis was not evidence-based, and casting doubts on the quality of the experiments referenced by Wickramasinghe in his letter.

Wickramasinghe was also involved in coordinating analyses of the Red rain in Kerala in collaborations with Godfrey Louis.

Participation in the creation-evolution debate

Wickramasinghe and his mentor Fred Hoyle have also used their data to argue in favor of cosmic ancestry, and against evolution.

Once again the Universe gives the appearance of being biologically constructed, and on this occasion on a truly vast scale. Once again those who consider such thoughts to be too outlandish to be taken seriously will continue to do so. While we ourselves shall continue to take the view that those who believe they can match the complexities of the Universe by simple experiments in their laboratories will continue to be disappointed.

Wickramasinghe attempts to present scientific evidence to support the notion of cosmic ancestry and "the possibility of high intelligence in the Universe and of many increasing levels of intelligence converging toward a God as an ideal limit."

During the 1981 scientific creationist trial in Arkansas, Wickramasinghe was the only scientist testifying for the defense of creationism and against evolution. In addition, he wrote that the Archaeopteryx fossil finding is a forgery, a charge that the expert scientific community considers an "absurd" and "ignorant" statement.

Honours and awards

Books

  • Interstellar Grains (Chapman & Hall, London, 1967)
  • Light Scattering Functions for Small Particles with Applications in Astronomy (Wiley, New York, 1973)
  • Solid-State Astrophysics (ed. with D.J. Morgan) (D. Reidel, Boston, 1975)
  • Interstellar Matter (with F.D. Khan & P.G. Mezger) (Swiss Society of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 1974)
  • The Cosmic Laboratory (University College of Cardiff, 1975)
  • Lifecloud: The Origin of Life in the Universe (with Fred Hoyle) (J.M. Dent, London, 1978)
  • Diseases from Space (with Fred Hoyle) (J.M. Dent, London, 1979)
  • Origin of Life (with Fred Hoyle) (University College Cardiff Press, 1979)
  • Space Travellers: The Bringers of Life (with Fred Hoyle) (University College Cardiff Press, 1981)
  • Evolution from Space (with Fred Hoyle) (J.M. Dent, London, 1981) ISBN 978-0-460-04535-3
  • Is Life an Astronomical Phenomenon? (University College Cardiff Press, 1982) ISBN 9780906449493
  • Why Neo-Darwinism Does Not Work (with Fred Hoyle) (University College Cardiff Press, 1982) ISBN 9780906449509
  • Proofs that Life is Cosmic (with Fred Hoyle) (Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka, Memoirs no.1, 1982)
  • From Grains to Bacteria (with Fred Hoyle) (University College Cardiff Press, 1984) ISBN 9780906449646
  • Fundamental Studies and the Future of Science (ed.) (University College Cardiff Press, 1984) ISBN 9780906449578
  • Living Comets (with Fred Hoyle) (University College Cardiff Press, 1985) ISBN 9780906449790
  • Archaeopteryx, the Primordial Bird (with Fred Hoyle) (Christopher Davies, Swansea, 1986) ISBN 9780715406656
  • The Theory of Cosmic Grains (with Fred Hoyle) (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1991) ISBN 9780792311898
  • Life on Mars? The Case for a Cosmic Heritage (with Fred Hoyle) (Clinical Press, Bristol, 1997) ISBN 9781854570413
  • Astronomical Origins of Life: Steps towards Panspermia (with Fred Hoyle) (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 2000) ISBN 9780792360810
  • Cosmic Dragons: Life and Death on Our Planet (Souvenir Press, London, 2001) ISBN 9780285636064
  • Fred Hoyle’s Universe (ed. with G. Burbidge and J. Narlikar) (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 2003) ISBN 9781402014154
  • A Journey with Fred Hoyle (World Scientific, Singapore, 2005) ISBN 9789812565792
  • Comets and the Origin of Life (with J. Wickramasinghe and W. Napier) (World Scientific, Hackensack NJ, 2010) ISBN 9789812814005

Articles

  • Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1962. On graphite particles as interstellar grains, Mon.Not.Roy.Astr.Soc. 124, 417-433
  • Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1969. Interstellar Grains, Nature 223, 450-462 doi:10.1038/223459a0
  • Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1974. Formaldehyde polymers in interstellar space, Nature 252, 462-463
  • Wickramasinghe, N.C., Hoyle, F., Brooks, J. and Shaw, G., 1977. Prebiotic polymers and infrared spectra of galactic sources, Nature 269, 674-676 doi:10.1038/269674a0
  • Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1977. Identification of the λ2,200A interstellar absorption feature, Nature 270, 323-324
  • Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1977. Primitive grain clumps and organic compounds in carbonaceous chondrites, Nature, 264, 45-46
  • Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1977. Polysaccharides and infrared spectra of galactic sources, Nature 268, 610-612
  • Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1979. On the nature of interstellar grains, Astrophysics and Space Science 66, 77-90 doi:10.1007/BF00648361
  • Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1979. Biochemical chromophores and the interstellar extinction at ultraviolet wavelengths, Astrophysics and Space Science 65, 241-244 doi:10.1007/BF00643503
  • Hoyle, F., Wickramasinghe, N.C., S. Al-Mufti et al., 1982. Infrared spectroscopy over the 2.9-3.9μm waveband in biochemistry and astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Science 83, 405-409 doi:10.1023/A:1002417307802
  • Hoyle, F., Wickramasinghe, N.C., S. Al-Mufti, 1982. Organo-siliceous biomolecules and the infrared spectrum of the Trapezium nebula, Astrophysics and Space Science 86, 63-69 doi:10.1007/BF00651830
  • Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1983. Bacterial life in space, Nature 306, 420 doi:10.1038/306420a0
  • Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1986. The case for life as a cosmic phenomenon, Nature 322, 509-511
  • Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1990. Influenza – evidence against contagion, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 83. 258-261
  • Napier, W.M., Wickramasinghe, J.T, Wickramasinghe, N.C., 2007. The origin of life in comets, International Journal of Astrobiology 6(4), 321-323 doi:10.1017/S1473550407003941
  • Rauf, K. and Wickramasinghe, C., 2010. Evidence for biodegradation products in the interstellar medium, International Journal of Astrobiology 9(1), 29-34 doi:10.1017/S1473550409990334
  • Wickramasinghe, N. C., 2010. The astrobiological case for our cosmic ancestry, International Journal of Astrobiology 9(2), 119–129 doi:10.1017/S1473550409990413
  • Wickramasinghe, N.C., Wallis, J., Wallis, D.H., Schild, R.E. and Gibson, C.H., 2012. Life-bearing planets in the solar vicinity, Astrophysics and Space Science 341.2, 295-9 DOI: 10.1007/s10509-012-1092-8
  • Chandra Wickramasinghe, A Journey with Fred Hoyle: The Search for Cosmic Life, World Scientific Publishing, 2005, ISBN 981-238-912-1
  • Janaki Wickramasinghe, Chandra Wickramasinghe and William Napier, Comets and the Origin of Life, World Scientific Publishing, 2009, ISBN 981-256-635-X
  • Chandra Wickramasinghe and Daisaku Ikeda, Space and Eternal Life, Journeyman Press, 1998, ISBN 1-85172-060-X

References

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  3. Connor, Steve (2011-03-01). "We're all aliens... how humans began life in outer space". The Independent. The Independent.
  4. Jayawaradhana, Walter (2011-03-19). "Chandra Wickramasinghe dismissed from Cardiff University in Wales". LankaWeb. LankaWeb.
  5. "Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe — University of Buckingham". Buckingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
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  9. Nature, vol: 252, 462, 1974; and Nature,Vol 268, 610, 1977.
  10. Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. The 3.4-µm interstellar absorption feature. Nature 287, 518−519 (1980). Allen, D. A. & Wickramasinghe, D. T. Diffuse interstellar absorption bands between 2.9 and 4.0 µm. Nature 294, 239−240 (1981). Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. Three components of 3–4 μm absorption bands. Astrophys. Space Sci. 97, 369−378 (1983).
  11. Fred Hoyle, Chandra Wickramasinghe and John Watson (1986). Viruses from Space and Related Matters. University College Cardiff Press.
  12. "Ruminations on other worlds". StatePress.com. April 7, 2009. Retrieved 2012-10-10. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  13. Shivaji, S., Chaturvedi, P., Begum, Z. et al, 2009. Janibacter hoylei sp.nov., Bacillus isronensis sp.nov. and Bacillus aryabhattai sp.nov. isolated from cryotubes used for collecting air from the upper atmosphere, Int.J.Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 59, 2977-2986 doi:10.1099/ijs.0.002527-0
  14. Yang, Y., Yokobori, S., Kawaguchi, J., et al, 2005. Investigation of cultivable microorganisms in the stratosphere collected by using a balloon in 2005, JAXA Research Development Report, JAXA-RR-08-001, 35-42
  15. Yang, Y.; Yokobori, S.; Yamagishi, A. (2009). "Assessing panspermia hypothesis by microorganisms collected in the high altitude atmosphere" (PDF). Biol. Sci. Space. 23 (3): 151–163.
  16. Wickramasinghe, C (2003 May 24). "SARS--a clue to its origins?". Lancet. 361 (9371): 1832. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13440-X. PMID 12781581. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  17. Willerslev, E (2003 Aug 2). "Panspermia--true or false?". Lancet. 362 (9381): 406, author reply 407–8. PMID 12907025. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  18. Bhargava, PM (2003 Aug 2). "Panspermia--true or false?". Lancet. 362 (9381): 407, author reply 407–8. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14041-X. PMID 12907028. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. Ponce de Leon, S (2003 Aug 2). "Panspermia--true or false?". Lancet. 362 (9381): 406–7, author reply 407-8. PMID 12907026. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  20. Creationism versus Darwinism. Published in Darwinism, Design, and Public Education (2003)
  21. Evolution from Space: A Theory of Cosmic Creationism. Authors: Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe. ISBN 0-671-49263-2
  22. Our Place in the Cosmos: The Unfinished Revolution by Wickramasinghe and Hoyle. (1993)
  23. Evolution From Space (The Omni Lecture) and Other Papers on the Origin of Life. By Fred Hoyle (Enslow; Hillside, NJ; 1982)
  24. Figures don't Lie but Creationists Figure. By Alec Grynspan ( 9 November 1997)
  25. Gangappa, Rajkumar; Wickramasinghe; Wainwright; Kumar; Louis (29 Aug 2010). Hoover, Richard B; Levin, Gilbert V; Rozanov, Alexei Y; Davies, Paul C. W (eds.). "Growth and replication of red rain cells at 121°C and their red fluorescence" (PDF). ArXiv.org. Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology XIII. 7819: 18. Bibcode:2010SPIE.7819E..18G. doi:10.1117/12.876393. Retrieved 2011-07-29. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ Fred Hoyle; Chandra Wickramasinghe. Archaeopteryx, the Primordial Bird: A Case of Fossil Forgery. p. 135. ISBN 0715406655. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  27. By Iris Fry. Rutgers University Press, Feb 1, 2000
  28. Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design. By Allene Phy-Olsen.
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  38. F., Hoyle; N. C., Wickramasinghe (1976-11-04). "Primitive grain clumps and organic compounds in carbonaceous chondrites" (PDF). Nature. 264. Nature Publishing Group. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
  39. F., Hoyle; N. C., Wickramasinghe (1977-08-18). "Polysaccharides and infrared spectra of galactic sources" (PDF). Nature. 268. Nature Publishing Group. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
  40. F., Hoyle; N. C., Wickramasinghe (1986-08-07). "The case for life as a cosmic phenomenon" (PDF). Nature. 322. Nature Publishing Group. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
  41. Hoyle, F.; Wickramasinghe, N. C. (1990). "Influenza-evidence against contagion: discussion paper". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 83 (4). Royal Society of Medicine: 258–261. PMC 1292615. PMID 2342043. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

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