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{{Short description|British astronomer (born 1939)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox scientist
{{Infobox scientist
|name =Chandra Wickramasinghe
| name = Chandra Wickramasinghe
| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MBE}}
| image =Chandra-Wickramasinghe.jpg
| image = Chandra-Wickramasinghe.jpg
| caption =Chandra Wickramasinghe at the University of Buckingham
| caption = Wickramasinghe at the University of Buckingham
| birth_name =
| birth_name =
| doctoral_advisor = Fred Hoyle
| doctoral_advisor = Fred Hoyle
| birth_date ={{birth date and age|1939|1|20|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1939|1|20|df=y}}
⚫
| field = {{ubl|[[Astrobiology]]|[[Astronomy]]|[[Mathematics]]}}
| birth_place =[[Colombo]], [[British Ceylon]]
⚫
| known_for = [[organic compound|Organic]] composition of [[cosmic dust]]
⚫
| field =[[Astrobiology]]<br />[[Astronomy]]<br />[[Mathematics]]
| nationality = British
⚫
| known_for =[[organic compound|Organic]] composition of [[cosmic dust]]
| workplaces = {{ubl|[[Cambridge University]]|[[University College Cardiff]]|[[University of Cardiff]]|[[University of Buckingham]]|[[University of Ruhuna]]}}
| citizenship = [[United Kingdom|British]]
| workplaces = [[Cambridge University]]<br />[[University College Cardiff]]<br />[[University of Cardiff]]<br />[[University of Buckingham]]<br />[[University of Ruhuna]]
| alma_mater = {{ubl|[[Royal College, Colombo]]|[[University of Ceylon]] (BSc)|Cambridge University (PhD, ScD)}}
| alma_mater =[[Royal College, Colombo]]<br />[[University of Ceylon]] (BSc)<br />Cambridge University (PhD, ScD)
| awards = [[Fellow]] of [[Jesus College, Cambridge|Jesus College]], [[Cambridge University]] (1963&ndash;1973)<br />[[Vidya Jyothi]] (1992)
| awards =[[Fellow]] of [[Jesus College, Cambridge|Jesus College]], [[Cambridge University]] (1963&ndash;1973)<br />[[Vidya Jyothi]] (1992)
}}
}}


'''Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe''' (born 20 January 1939) is a [[Sri Lanka]]n-born British mathematician, astronomer<ref name=NewScientist>{{cite news|last=Chown|first=Marcus|title=The Scientific Legacy of Fred Hoyle|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18624942.400-the-scientific-legacy-of-fred-hoyle-by-douglas-gough.html|accessdate=25 July 2013|newspaper=NewScientist|date=9 April 2005}}</ref> and astrobiologist of [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] ethnicity. His research interests include the [[interstellar medium]], [[infrared astronomy]], light scattering theory, applications of solid-state physics to astronomy, the early [[Solar System]], comets, [[astrochemistry]], the [[origin of life]] and [[astrobiology]]. A student and collaborator of [[Fred Hoyle]], the pair worked jointly for over 40 years<ref name="Journey with F. Hoyle">{{cite book|last=Wickramasinghe|first=Steve|title=A Journey with Fred Hoyle|year=2013|publisher=World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.|location=New York|isbn=978-981-4436-12-0}}</ref> as influential proponents of [[panspermia]].<ref name=Pollination>{{cite journal|last=Napier|first=W.M.|title=Pollination of exoplanets by nebulae|journal=Int. J. Astrobiol.|year=2007|volume=6|issue=3|pages=223–228|doi=10.1017/S1473550407003710|bibcode = 2007IJAsB...6..223N }}</ref><ref name=Panspermia>{{cite journal|last=Line|first=M.A.|title=Panspermia in the context of the timing of the origin of life and microbial phylogeny|journal=Int. J. Astrobiol.|year=2007|volume=6|issue=3|series=3|pages=249–254|doi=10.1017/S1473550407003813|bibcode = 2007IJAsB...6..249L }}</ref> In 1974 they proposed the hypothesis that some [[Cosmic dust|dust in interstellar space]] was largely [[Organic compound|organic]], later proven to be correct.<ref>Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v287/n5782/abs/287518a0.html ''The 3.4-µm interstellar absorption feature.''] ''Nature'' 287, 518−519 (1980).</ref><ref>Allen, D. A. & Wickramasinghe, D. T. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v294/n5838/abs/294239a0.html ''Diffuse interstellar absorption bands between 2.9 and 4.0 µm.''] ''Nature'' 294, 239−240 (1981).</ref><ref>Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00653492 ''Three components of 3–4 μm absorption bands.''] ''Astrophys. Space Sci.'' 97, 369−378 (1983).</ref>
'''Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MBE}} (born 20 January 1939) is a [[Sri Lanka]]n-born British mathematician, astronomer<ref name="NewScientist">{{cite news|last=Chown|first=Marcus|title=The Scientific Legacy of Fred Hoyle|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18624942.400-the-scientific-legacy-of-fred-hoyle-by-douglas-gough.html|access-date=25 July 2013|newspaper=NewScientist|date=9 April 2005}}</ref> and astrobiologist of [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] ethnicity. His research interests include the [[interstellar medium]], [[infrared astronomy]], light scattering theory, applications of solid-state physics to astronomy, the early [[Solar System]], comets, [[astrochemistry]], the [[origin of life]] and [[astrobiology]]. A student and collaborator of [[Fred Hoyle]], the pair worked jointly for over 40 years<ref name="Journey with F. Hoyle">{{cite book|last=Wickramasinghe|first=Steve|title=A Journey with Fred Hoyle|year=2013|publisher=World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.|location=New York|isbn=978-981-4436-12-0}}</ref> as influential proponents of [[panspermia]].<ref name="Pollination">{{cite journal|last=Napier|first=W.M.|title=Pollination of exoplanets by nebulae|journal=Int. J. Astrobiol.|year=2007|volume=6|issue=3|pages=223–228|doi=10.1017/S1473550407003710|bibcode = 2007IJAsB...6..223N |s2cid=122742509 }}</ref><ref name="Panspermia">{{cite journal|last=Line|first=M.A.|title=Panspermia in the context of the timing of the origin of life and microbial phylogeny|journal=Int. J. Astrobiol.|year=2007|volume=6|issue=3|series=3|pages=249–254|doi=10.1017/S1473550407003813|bibcode = 2007IJAsB...6..249L |s2cid=86569201 }}</ref> In 1974 they proposed the hypothesis that some [[Cosmic dust|dust in interstellar space]] was largely [[Organic compound|organic]], later proven to be correct.<ref>Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v287/n5782/abs/287518a0.html ''The 3.4-μm interstellar absorption feature.''] ''Nature'' 287, 518−519 (1980).</ref><ref>Allen, D. A. & Wickramasinghe, D. T. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v294/n5838/abs/294239a0.html ''Diffuse interstellar absorption bands between 2.9 and 4.0 μm.''] ''Nature'' 294, 239−240 (1981).</ref><ref>Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00653492 ''Three components of 3–4 μm absorption bands.''] ''Astrophys. Space Sci.'' 97, 369−378 (1983).</ref>


Hoyle and Wickramasinghe have advanced the argument that various outbreaks of illnesses on Earth are of extraterrestrial origins, including the [[1918 flu pandemic]] and certain outbreaks of [[polio]] and [[mad cow disease]]. For the 1918 flu pandemic they hypothesised that [[comet]]ary dust brought the virus to Earth simultaneously at multiple locations—a view almost universally dismissed by experts on this pandemic.<ref name="Byrne2008">{{cite book|author=Joseph Patrick Byrne|title=Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Pvi-ksuKFIC&pg=PA454|year=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-34102-1|pages=454–455}}</ref> Claims connecting terrestrial disease and extraterrestrial pathogens have been rejected by the scientific community.<ref name="Byrne2008"/>
Wickramasinghe has advanced numerous fringe claims, including the argument that various outbreaks of illnesses on Earth are of extraterrestrial origins, including the [[1918 flu pandemic]] and certain outbreaks of [[polio]] and [[mad cow disease]]. For the 1918 flu pandemic they hypothesised that [[comet]]ary dust brought the virus to Earth simultaneously at multiple locations—a view almost universally dismissed by experts on this pandemic.<ref name="Byrne2008">{{cite book|author=Joseph Patrick Byrne|title=Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues|url=https://www.academia.dk/MedHist/Sygdomme/PDF/Encyclopedia_of_Pestilence_Pandemics_and_Plagues.pdf|year=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-34102-1|pages=454–455}}</ref> Claims connecting terrestrial disease and extraterrestrial pathogens have been rejected by the scientific community.<ref name="Byrne2008"/>


Wickramasinghe has written more than 30 books about astrophysics and related topics;<ref name="profile">{{Cite web| title = Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe| author = University of Buckingham| accessdate = 2016-02-15| url = http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/directory/professor-chandra-wickramasinghe/}}</ref> he has made appearances on radio, television and film, and he writes online blogs and articles. He has appeared on [[BBC Horizon]], UK [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]] and the [[History (European TV channel)|History Channel]]. He appeared on the 2013 [[Discovery Channel]] program "Red Rain".<ref name="Red Rain">{{cite web|title=Altimatrix Consulting|url=http://altimatrix.com/archives/817|accessdate=16 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://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=[[The Independent]]|author=Connor, Steve|agency=The Independent|date=2011-03-01}}</ref> He has an association with [[Daisaku Ikeda]], president of the [[Buddhist]] sect [[Soka Gakkai International]], that led to the publication of a dialogue with him, first in Japanese and later in English, on the topic of ''Space and Eternal Life''.<ref name="Ikeda Book">{{cite book|last=Ikeda|first=Daisaku|title=Space and Eternal Life: A Dialogue Between Chandra Wickramasinghe and Daisaku Ikeda|year=1998|publisher=Journeyman Press|isbn=9781851720613|url=https://books.google.com/?id=hFvYAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>
Wickramasinghe has written more than 40 books about astrophysics and related topics;<ref name="profile">{{Cite web| title = Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe| author = University of Buckingham| access-date = 2016-02-15| url = http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/directory/professor-chandra-wickramasinghe/}}</ref> he has made appearances on radio, television and film, and he writes online blogs and articles. He has appeared on [[BBC Horizon]], UK [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]] and the [[History (European TV channel)|History Channel]]. He appeared on the 2013 [[Discovery Channel]] program "Red Rain".<ref name="Red Rain">{{cite web|title=Altimatrix Consulting|url=http://altimatrix.com/archives/817|access-date=16 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612163146/http://altimatrix.com/archives/817|archive-date=12 June 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://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=[[The Independent]]|author=Connor, Steve|agency=The Independent|date=2011-03-01}}</ref> He has an association with [[Daisaku Ikeda]], president of the [[Buddhist]] sect [[Soka Gakkai International]], that led to the publication of a dialogue with him, first in Japanese and later in English, on the topic of ''Space and Eternal Life''.<ref name="Ikeda Book">{{cite book|last=Ikeda|first=Daisaku|title=Space and Eternal Life: A Dialogue Between Chandra Wickramasinghe and Daisaku Ikeda|year=1998|publisher=Journeyman Press|isbn=9781851720613|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hFvYAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>


==Education and career==
==Education and career==
Wickramasinghe studied at [[Royal College, Colombo]], the [[University of Ceylon]] (where he graduated in 1960 with a [[BSc]] [[First Class Honours]] in mathematics), and at [[Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity College]] 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 |accessdate=2013-01-18}}</ref> Following his education, Wickramasinghe was a Fellow of [[Jesus College, Cambridge]] from 1963 to 1973, until he became professor of applied mathematics and astronomy at [[University College Cardiff]]. Wickramasinghe was a consultant and advisor to the [[President of Sri Lanka]] from 1982 to 1984, and played a key role in founding the [[Institute of Fundamental Studies]] in Sri Lanka.
Wickramasinghe studied at [[Royal College, Colombo]], the [[University of Ceylon]] (where he graduated in 1960 with a [[BSc]] [[First Class Honours]] in mathematics), and at [[Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity College]] 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 |access-date=2013-01-18}}</ref> Following his education, Wickramasinghe was a Fellow of [[Jesus College, Cambridge]] from 1963 to 1973, until he became professor of applied mathematics and astronomy at [[University College Cardiff]]. Wickramasinghe was a consultant and advisor to the [[President of Sri Lanka]] from 1982 to 1984, and played a key role in founding the [[Institute of Fundamental Studies]] in Sri Lanka.


After fifteen years at University College Cardiff, Wickramasinghe took an equivalent position in the [[University of Cardiff]], a post he held from 1990 until 2006.<ref name="BBC group">{{cite news|title=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/5320658.stm|accessdate=16 July 2013|newspaper=UK National News Service|date=7 September 2006}}</ref> After retirement in 2006, he incubated the Cardiff Center for Astrobiology as a special project reporting to the President of the University. In 2011 the project closed down, losing its funding in a series of UK educational cut backs. After this event, Wickramasinghe was offered the opportunity to move to the [[University of Buckingham]] as Director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, University of Buckingham where he has been since 2011. He maintains his part-time position as a UK Professor at Cardiff University. In 2015 he was elected [[Visiting scholar]], [[Churchill College, Cambridge]], England 2015/16.<ref name="Fellowship Secretary"/>
After fifteen years at University College Cardiff, Wickramasinghe took an equivalent position in the [[University of Cardiff]], a post he held from 1990 until 2006.<ref name="BBC group">{{cite news|title=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/5320658.stm|access-date=16 July 2013|newspaper=UK National News Service|date=7 September 2006}}</ref> After retirement in 2006, he incubated the Cardiff Center for Astrobiology as a special project reporting to the president of the university. In 2011 the project closed down, losing its funding in a series of UK educational cut backs. After this event, Wickramasinghe was offered the opportunity to move to the [[University of Buckingham]] as Director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, University of Buckingham where he has been since 2011. He maintains his part-time position as a UK Professor at Cardiff University. In 2015 he was elected [[Visiting scholar]], [[Churchill College, Cambridge]], England 2015/16.<ref name="Fellowship Secretary"/>


He is a co-founder and Board member of the Institute for the Study of Panspermia and Astroeconomics, set up in Japan in 2014,<ref>[http://www.ispajapan.com/page/about-us ISPA - About us].</ref> and the Editor-in-Chief of the ''[[Journal of Astrobiology & Outreach]]''. He was a Visiting By-Fellow, [[Churchill College, Cambridge]], England 2015/16;<ref name="Fellowship Secretary">{{cite web|last1=Caulfield|first1=Noelle|title=Fellowship Secretary|url=http://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/people/view/nalin-chandra-wickramasinghe/|website=Churchill College, Cambridge|publisher=Churchill College, Cambridge|accessdate=27 April 2015|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016170859/https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/people/view/nalin-chandra-wickramasinghe/|archivedate=16 October 2015}}</ref> Professor and Director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology at the [[University of Buckingham]], a post he has held since 2011;<ref name=profile/> Affiliated Visiting Professor, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka;<ref name="Abrecon 2015">{{cite web|last1=Senaratne|first1=Atula|title=Prof.|url=http://www.pdn.ac.lk/uop/inrc/Uploads/AstroBiologyConfefnce.pdf|website=Abrecon 2015|publisher=University of Peradeniya|accessdate=10 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518103037/http://www.pdn.ac.lk/uop/inrc/Uploads/AstroBiologyConfefnce.pdf|archive-date=18 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> and a Board Member and Research Director at the Institute for the Study of Panspermia and Astroeconomics, Ogaki-City, Gifu, Japan.<ref name=ISPA>{{cite web|last1=Tokoro|first1=Gensuke|title=Professor|url=http://www.ispajapan.com/page/ispa-news|website=www.ispajapan.com/|publisher=Institute for the Study of Panspermia and Astroeconomics|accessdate=12 May 2015}}</ref>
He is a co-founder and board member of the Institute for the Study of Panspermia and Astroeconomics, set up in Japan in 2014,<ref>[http://www.ispajapan.com/page/about-us ISPA - About us] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150521233234/http://www.ispajapan.com/page/about-us |date=2015-05-21 }}.</ref> and the Editor-in-Chief of the ''[[Journal of Astrobiology & Outreach]]''. He was a Visiting By-Fellow, [[Churchill College, Cambridge]], England 2015/16;<ref name="Fellowship Secretary">{{cite web|last1=Caulfield|first1=Noelle|title=Fellowship Secretary|url=http://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/people/view/nalin-chandra-wickramasinghe/|website=Churchill College, Cambridge|publisher=Churchill College, Cambridge|access-date=27 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016170859/https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/people/view/nalin-chandra-wickramasinghe/|archive-date=16 October 2015}}</ref> Professor and Director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology at the [[University of Buckingham]], a post he has held since 2011;<ref name=profile/> Affiliated Visiting Professor, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka;<ref name="Abrecon 2015">{{cite web|last1=Senaratne|first1=Atula|title=Prof.|url=http://www.pdn.ac.lk/uop/inrc/Uploads/AstroBiologyConfefnce.pdf|website=Abrecon 2015|publisher=University of Peradeniya|access-date=10 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518103037/http://www.pdn.ac.lk/uop/inrc/Uploads/AstroBiologyConfefnce.pdf|archive-date=18 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> and a board member and research director at the Institute for the Study of Panspermia and Astroeconomics, Ogaki-City, Gifu, Japan.<ref name=ISPA>{{cite web|last1=Tokoro|first1=Gensuke|title=Professor|url=http://www.ispajapan.com/page/ispa-news|website=www.ispajapan.com/|publisher=Institute for the Study of Panspermia and Astroeconomics|access-date=12 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518195617/http://www.ispajapan.com/page/ispa-news|archive-date=18 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>


In 2017, Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe was appointed Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics, at the [[University of Ruhuna]], Matara, Sri Lanka.<ref name="CW-Resume">{{cite web|url=http://physics.ruh.ac.lk/academic/ap_c_wickramasinghe.php|title=Prof. Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe|date=|website=Department of Physics at University of Ruhuna|publisher=Department of Physics at University of Ruhuna|last1=Smith|first1=William|accessdate=27 February 2017}}</ref>
In 2017, Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe was appointed adjunct professor in the Department of Physics, at the [[University of Ruhuna]], Matara, Sri Lanka.<ref name="CW-Resume">{{cite web|url=http://physics.ruh.ac.lk/academic/ap_c_wickramasinghe.php|title=Prof. Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe|website=Department of Physics at University of Ruhuna|publisher=Department of Physics at University of Ruhuna|last1=Smith|first1=William|access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref>


==Research==
==Research==
In 1960 he commenced work in Cambridge on his PhD degree under the supervision of [[Fred Hoyle]], 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 [[Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge]]. 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 consideration of carbon-containing grains as well as the older silicate models.
In 1960 he commenced work in Cambridge on his PhD degree under the supervision of [[Fred Hoyle]], 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 |access-date=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 [[Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge]]. 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 |access-date=2013-01-18}}</ref> that led to a consideration of carbon-containing grains as well as the older silicate models.


Wickramasinghe published the first definitive book on ''Interstellar Grains'' in 1967.<ref name="worldcat.org">{{cite book|title=Interstellar grains (Book, 1967) |publisher=<nowiki>[WorldCat.org] </nowiki>|oclc = 407751}}</ref> He has made many contributions to this field, publishing over 350 papers in peer-reviewed journals, over 75 of which are in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]''. Hoyle and Wickramasinghe further proposed a radical kind of [[panspermia]] that included the claim that extraterrestrial life forms enter the Earth's atmosphere and were possibly responsible for epidemic outbreaks, new diseases, and genetic novelty that Hoyle and Wickramasinghe contended was necessary for [[macroevolution]].<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>
Wickramasinghe published the first definitive book on ''Interstellar Grains'' in 1967.<ref name="worldcat.org">{{cite book|title=Interstellar grains (Book, 1967) |publisher=<nowiki>[WorldCat.org] </nowiki>|oclc = 407751}}</ref> He has made many contributions to this field, publishing over 350 papers in peer-reviewed journals, over 75 of which are in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]''. Hoyle and Wickramasinghe further proposed a radical kind of [[panspermia]] that included the claim that extraterrestrial life forms enter the Earth's atmosphere and were possibly responsible for epidemic outbreaks, new diseases, and genetic novelty that Hoyle and Wickramasinghe contended was necessary for [[macroevolution]].<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>


Chandra Wickramasinghe had the longest-running collaboration with Fred Hoyle. Their publications on books and papers<ref name="buckingham.ac.uk"/> arguing for panspermia and a [[Cosmic ancestry|cosmic hypothesis of life]] are controversial and, in particular detail, essentially contra the [[scientific consensus]] in both [[astrophysics]] and [[biology]]. Several claims made by Hoyle and Wickramasinghe between 1977 and 1981, such as a report of having detected interstellar [[cellulose]], were criticised by one author as [[pseudoscience]].<ref name="Silver1998">{{cite book|author=Brian L. Silver Professor of Physical Chemistry Technion Israel Institute of Technology|title=The Ascent of Science|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j3t1AoCXYDEC|date=26 February 1998|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=978-0-19-802769-0|pages=341–2}}</ref>
Chandra Wickramasinghe had the longest-running collaboration with Fred Hoyle. Their publications on books and papers<ref name="buckingham.ac.uk"/> arguing for panspermia and a cosmic hypothesis of life are controversial and, in particular detail, essentially contra the [[scientific consensus]] in both [[astrophysics]] and [[biology]]. Several claims made by Hoyle and Wickramasinghe between 1977 and 1981, such as a report of having detected interstellar [[cellulose]], were criticised by one author as [[pseudoscience]].<ref name="Silver1998">{{cite book|author=Brian L. Silver Professor of Physical Chemistry Technion Israel Institute of Technology|title=The Ascent of Science|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j3t1AoCXYDEC|date=26 February 1998|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=978-0-19-802769-0|pages=341–2}}</ref> [[Phil Plait]] has described Wickramasinghe as a "[[Fringe science|fringe scientist]]" who "jumps on everything, with little or no evidence, and says it's from outer space".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Plait|first=Phil|date=2013-01-15|title=Claims of Life in a Meteorite are Meteorwrong|url=https://slate.com/technology/2013/01/life-in-a-meteorite-claims-by-n-c-wickramasinghe-of-diatoms-in-a-meteorite-are-almost-certainly-wrong.html|access-date=2021-08-14|website=Slate Magazine|language=en}}</ref>


===Organic molecules in space===
===Organic molecules in space===
In 1974 Wickramasinghe first proposed the hypothesis that some dust in interstellar space was largely [[Organic compound|organic]],<ref>''Nature'', vol: 252, 462, 1974; and ''Nature'', Vol 268, 610, 1977.</ref> and followed this up with other research confirming the hypothesis.<ref>Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v287/n5782/abs/287518a0.html ''The 3.4-µm interstellar absorption feature.''] Nature 287, 518−519 (1980). Allen, D. A. & Wickramasinghe, D. T. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v294/n5838/abs/294239a0.html ''Diffuse interstellar absorption bands between 2.9 and 4.0 µm.''] Nature 294, 239−240 (1981). Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00653492 ''Three components of 3–4 μm absorption bands.''] Astrophys. Space Sci. 97, 369−378 (1983).</ref> Wickramasinghe also proposed and confirmed the existence of polymeric compounds based on the molecule [[formaldehyde]] (H<sub>2</sub>CO).<ref>N.C. Wickramasinghe, Formaldehyde Polymers in Interstellar Space, Nature, 252, 462, 1974</ref> [[Fred Hoyle]] and Wickramasinghe later proposed the identification of bicyclic aromatic compounds from an analysis of the ultraviolet extinction absorption at 2175A.,<ref>F. Hoyle and N.C. Wickramasinghe, Identification of the lambda 2200A interstellar absorption feature, Nature, 270, 323, 1977</ref> thus demonstrating the existence of [[polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon]] molecules in space.
In 1974 Wickramasinghe first proposed the hypothesis that some dust in interstellar space was largely [[Organic compound|organic]],<ref>''Nature'', vol: 252, 462, 1974; and ''Nature'', Vol 268, 610, 1977.</ref> and followed this up with other research confirming the hypothesis.<ref>Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v287/n5782/abs/287518a0.html ''The 3.4-μm interstellar absorption feature.''] Nature 287, 518−519 (1980). Allen, D. A. & Wickramasinghe, D. T. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v294/n5838/abs/294239a0.html ''Diffuse interstellar absorption bands between 2.9 and 4.0 μm.''] Nature 294, 239−240 (1981). Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00653492 ''Three components of 3–4 μm absorption bands.''] Astrophys. Space Sci. 97, 369−378 (1983).</ref> Wickramasinghe also proposed and confirmed the existence of polymeric compounds based on the molecule [[formaldehyde]] (H<sub>2</sub>CO).<ref>N.C. Wickramasinghe, Formaldehyde Polymers in Interstellar Space, Nature, 252, 462, 1974</ref> [[Fred Hoyle]] and Wickramasinghe later proposed the identification of bicyclic aromatic compounds from an analysis of the ultraviolet extinction absorption at 2175A.,<ref>F. Hoyle and N.C. Wickramasinghe, Identification of the lambda 2200A interstellar absorption feature, Nature, 270, 323, 1977</ref> thus demonstrating the existence of [[polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon]] molecules in space.


===Hoyle&ndash;Wickramasinghe model of panspermia===
===Hoyle&ndash;Wickramasinghe model of panspermia===
Throughout his career, Wickramasinghe, along with his collaborator Fred Hoyle, has advanced the [[panspermia]] hypothesis, that proposes that life on Earth is, at least in part, of extraterrestrial origin.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wickramasinghe|first=C.|title=The astrobiological case for our cosmic ancestry|journal=International Journal of Astrobiology|year=2010|volume=9|issue=2|pages=119–129|bibcode = 2010IJAsB...9..119W |doi = 10.1017/S1473550409990413 }}</ref><ref name=Bacteria>{{cite journal|last=Wickramasinghe|first=C.|title=Bacterial morphologies supporting cometary panspermia: a reappraisal|journal=International Journal of Astrobiology|year=2011|volume=10|issue=1|pages=25–30|bibcode = 2011IJAsB..10...25W |doi = 10.1017/S1473550410000157 |citeseerx=10.1.1.368.4449}}</ref> The Hoyle&ndash;Wickramasinghe model of panspermia include the assumptions that dormant viruses and desiccated [[DNA]] and [[RNA]] can survive unprotected in space;<ref name=Radiopanspermia>{{cite journal|last=Secker|first=Jeff|author2=Paul S. Wesson|author3=James R. Lepock|title=Astrophysical and Biological Constraints on Radiopanspermia|journal=The Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada |date=26 Jul 1996|pmid=11540166|url=http://cds.cern.ch/record/307658/files/9607139.pdf|accessdate=3 August 2013|volume=90|issue=4|pages=184–92|bibcode=1996JRASC..90..184S|arxiv = astro-ph/9607139 }}</ref> that small bodies such as [[asteroids]] and [[comets]] can protect the "seeds of life", including DNA and RNA,<ref name=Living/><ref name=Viva>{{cite news|last=Wickramasinghe|first=Chandra|title=Viva Panspermia|newspaper=The Observatory|date=June 2011}}</ref><ref name=Past>{{cite journal|last=Wesson|first=P|title=Panspermia, Past and Present: Astrophysical and Biophysical Conditions for the Dissemination of Life in Space|journal=Space Sci. Rev.|year=2010|volume=156|issue=1–4|series=1-4|pages=239–252|doi=10.1007/s11214-010-9671-x|arxiv = 1011.0101 |bibcode = 2010SSRv..156..239W }}</ref> living, fossilized, or dormant life, cellular<ref name=Proofs/><ref name=Case>{{cite journal|last=Hoyle|first=Fred|author2=Wickramasinghe, C.|title=The case for life as a cosmic phenomenon| journal=Nature|year=1986| volume=322|issue=6079| pages=509–511|doi=10.1038/322509a0|bibcode = 1986Natur.322..509H }}</ref> or non-cellular;<ref name=Living>{{cite book| last=Hoyle| first=Fred| title=Living Comets| year=1985| publisher=University College, Cardiff Press| location=Cardiff}}</ref><ref name=Viva/><ref name=Past/><ref name=Proofs>{{cite journal| last=Hoyle| first=Fred| author2=Wickramasinghe, N.C.| title=Proofs that Life is Cosmic| journal=Mem. Inst. Fund. Studies Sri Lanka| year=1982| url=http://www.panspermia.org/proofslifeiscosmic.pdf| accessdate=3 August 2013| bibcode=1982ptli.book.....H}}</ref><ref name=mechanism/><ref name=Evolution>{{cite book| last=Hoyle| first=Fred| title=Evolution from Space|year=1981|publisher=J.M. Dent & Sons| location=London}}</ref><ref name=Comets>{{cite book| last=Hoyle| first=Fred| title=Comets - a vehicle for panspermia|year=1981|publisher=D. Reidel Publishing Co.| location=Dordrecht|page=227}}</ref><ref name=microbiota>{{cite journal| last=Wallis| first=M.K.| author2=Wickramasinghe N.C.|title=Interstellar transfer of planetary microbiota| journal=Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.|year=2004|volume=348| issue=1|pages=52–57|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.07355.x|bibcode=2004MNRAS.348...52W}}</ref> and that the collisions of asteroids, comets, and moons have the potential to spread these "seeds of life" throughout an individual star system and then onward to others.<ref name=mechanism>{{cite journal|last=Napier|first=W.M.|title=A mechanism for interstellar panspermia| journal=Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.|year=2004|volume=348|issue=1|pages=46–51|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.07287.x|bibcode=2004MNRAS.348...46N}}</ref><ref name=microbiota/> The most contentious issue around the Hoyle&ndash;Wickramasinghe model of the panspermia hypothesis is the corollary of their first two propositions that viruses and bacteria continue to enter the Earth's atmosphere from space, and are hence responsible for many major epidemics throughout history.<ref name=Diseases>{{cite book|last=Hoyle|first=Fred|title=Diseases from Space|year=1979|publisher=J.M. Dent & Sons|location=London}}</ref><ref name=Flu>{{cite journal|last=Hoyle|first=Fred|author2=Wickramasinghe, N.C.|title=Influenza – evidence against contagion|journal=[[Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine]]|year=1990|volume=83|issue=4|pages=258–261|doi=10.1177/014107689008300417|pmid=2342043|pmc=1292615}}</ref><ref name=Astro>{{cite book|last=Hoyle|first=Fred|title=Astronomical Origins of Life: Steps towards Panspermia.|year=2000|publisher=Kluwer Academic Press|location=Dordrecht}}</ref>
Throughout his career, Wickramasinghe, along with his collaborator Fred Hoyle, has advanced the [[panspermia]] hypothesis, that proposes that life on Earth is, at least in part, of extraterrestrial origin.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wickramasinghe|first=C.|title=The astrobiological case for our cosmic ancestry|journal=International Journal of Astrobiology|year=2010|volume=9|issue=2|pages=119–129|bibcode = 2010IJAsB...9..119W |doi = 10.1017/S1473550409990413 |s2cid=13978227 }}</ref><ref name=Bacteria>{{cite journal|last=Wickramasinghe|first=C.|title=Bacterial morphologies supporting cometary panspermia: a reappraisal|journal=International Journal of Astrobiology|year=2011|volume=10|issue=1|pages=25–30|bibcode = 2011IJAsB..10...25W |doi = 10.1017/S1473550410000157 |citeseerx=10.1.1.368.4449|s2cid=7262449 }}</ref> The Hoyle&ndash;Wickramasinghe model of panspermia include the assumptions that dormant viruses and desiccated [[DNA]] and [[RNA]] can survive unprotected in space;<ref name=Radiopanspermia>{{cite journal|last=Secker|first=Jeff|author2=Paul S. Wesson|author3=James R. Lepock|title=Astrophysical and Biological Constraints on Radiopanspermia|journal=The Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada |date=26 Jul 1996|pmid=11540166|url=https://cds.cern.ch/record/307658/files/9607139.pdf|access-date=3 August 2013|volume=90|issue=4|pages=184–92|bibcode=1996JRASC..90..184S|arxiv = astro-ph/9607139 }}</ref> that small bodies such as [[asteroids]] and [[comets]] can protect the "seeds of life", including DNA and RNA,<ref name=Living/><ref name=Viva>{{cite news|last=Wickramasinghe|first=Chandra|title=Viva Panspermia|newspaper=The Observatory|date=June 2011 |bibcode=2011Obs...131..130W}}</ref><ref name=Past>{{cite journal|last=Wesson|first=P|title=Panspermia, Past and Present: Astrophysical and Biophysical Conditions for the Dissemination of Life in Space|journal=Space Sci. Rev.|year=2010|volume=156|issue=1–4|series=1-4|pages=239–252|doi=10.1007/s11214-010-9671-x|arxiv = 1011.0101 |bibcode = 2010SSRv..156..239W |s2cid=119236576}}</ref> living, fossilized, or dormant life, cellular<ref name=Proofs/><ref name=Case>{{cite journal|last=Hoyle|first=Fred|author2=Wickramasinghe, C.|title=The case for life as a cosmic phenomenon| journal=Nature|year=1986| volume=322|issue=6079| pages=509–511|doi=10.1038/322509a0|bibcode = 1986Natur.322..509H |s2cid=4248740 }}</ref> or non-cellular;<ref name=Living>{{cite book| last=Hoyle| first=Fred| title=Living Comets| year=1985| publisher=University College, Cardiff Press| location=Cardiff}}</ref><ref name=Viva/><ref name=Past/><ref name=Proofs>{{cite journal| last=Hoyle| first=Fred| author2=Wickramasinghe, N.C.| title=Proofs that Life is Cosmic| journal=Mem. Inst. Fund. Studies Sri Lanka| year=1982| url=http://www.panspermia.org/proofslifeiscosmic.pdf| access-date=3 August 2013| bibcode=1982ptli.book.....H}}</ref><ref name=mechanism/><ref name=Evolution>{{cite book| last=Hoyle| first=Fred| title=Evolution from Space|year=1981|publisher=J.M. Dent & Sons| location=London}}</ref><ref name=Comets>{{cite book| last=Hoyle| first=Fred| title=Comets - a vehicle for panspermia|year=1981|publisher=D. Reidel Publishing Co.| location=Dordrecht|page=227}}</ref><ref name=microbiota>{{cite journal| last=Wallis| first=M.K.| author2=Wickramasinghe N.C.|title=Interstellar transfer of planetary microbiota| journal=Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.|year=2004|volume=348| issue=1|pages=52–57|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.07355.x|bibcode=2004MNRAS.348...52W|doi-access=free}}</ref> and that the collisions of asteroids, comets, and moons have the potential to spread these "seeds of life" throughout an individual star system and then onward to others.<ref name=mechanism>{{cite journal|last=Napier|first=W.M.|title=A mechanism for interstellar panspermia| journal=Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.|year=2004|volume=348|issue=1|pages=46–51|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.07287.x|bibcode=2004MNRAS.348...46N|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=microbiota/> The most contentious issue around the Hoyle&ndash;Wickramasinghe model of the panspermia hypothesis is the corollary of their first two propositions that viruses and bacteria continue to enter the Earth's atmosphere from space, and are hence responsible for many major epidemics throughout history.<ref name=Diseases>{{cite book|last=Hoyle|first=Fred|title=Diseases from Space|year=1979|publisher=J.M. Dent & Sons|location=London}}</ref><ref name=Flu>{{cite journal|last=Hoyle|first=Fred|author2=Wickramasinghe, N.C.|title=Influenza – evidence against contagion|journal=[[Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine]]|year=1990|volume=83|issue=4|pages=258–261|doi=10.1177/014107689008300417|pmid=2342043|pmc=1292615}}</ref><ref name=Astro>{{cite book|last=Hoyle|first=Fred|title=Astronomical Origins of Life: Steps towards Panspermia.|year=2000|publisher=Kluwer Academic Press|location=Dordrecht}}</ref>


Towards the end of their collaboration, Wickramasinghe and Hoyle hypothesised that [[abiogenesis]] occurred close to the [[Galactic Center]] before panspermia carried life throughout the Milky Way,<ref name=miller-urey>{{cite journal|last=Wickramasinghe|first=Chandra|author2=Hoyle, Fred|title=Miller-Urey Synthesis in the Nuclei of Galaxies|journal=Astrophys. Space Sci.|year=1998|volume=259|issue=1|pages=99–103|bibcode=1998Ap&SS.259...99W|doi=10.1023/A:1001579504620}}</ref> and stated a belief that such a process could occur in many galaxies throughout the Universe.<ref name=Origins>{{cite book|last=Hoyle|first=Fred|title=Astronomical Origins of Life; Steps Towards Panspermia|year=1999|publisher=Kluwer Academic Press|isbn=978-0-7923-6081-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Life is a cosmic phenomenon; Wickramasinghe – Hoyle theories vindicated by Piyavi Wijewardene|url=http://newsfirst.lk/english/2017/06/life-cosmic-phenomenon-wickramasinghe-hoyle-theories-vindicated-piyavi-wijewardene/168328|date=2017-06-05}}</ref>
Towards the end of their collaboration, Wickramasinghe and Hoyle hypothesised that [[abiogenesis]] occurred close to the [[Galactic Center]] before panspermia carried life throughout the Milky Way,<ref name=miller-urey>{{cite journal|last=Wickramasinghe|first=Chandra|author2=Hoyle, Fred|title=Miller-Urey Synthesis in the Nuclei of Galaxies|journal=Astrophys. Space Sci.|year=1998|volume=259|issue=1|pages=99–103|bibcode=1998Ap&SS.259...99W|doi=10.1023/A:1001579504620|s2cid=189822129 }}</ref> and stated a belief that such a process could occur in many galaxies throughout the Universe.<ref name=Origins>{{cite book|last=Hoyle|first=Fred|title=Astronomical Origins of Life; Steps Towards Panspermia|year=1999|publisher=Kluwer Academic Press|isbn=978-0-7923-6081-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Life is a cosmic phenomenon; Wickramasinghe – Hoyle theories vindicated by Piyavi Wijewardene|url=http://newsfirst.lk/english/2017/06/life-cosmic-phenomenon-wickramasinghe-hoyle-theories-vindicated-piyavi-wijewardene/168328|date=2017-06-05}}</ref>

Scientists in North America, Europe, Russia, and Japan are testing many aspects of panspermia.<ref>{{cite journal | title = The origin of life, panspermia and a proposal to seed the Universe | journal = Plant Science | date = December 2008 | first = David Tepfer | volume = 175 | issue = 6 | pages = 756–760 | doi = 10.1016/j.plantsci.2008.08.007 | last1 = Tepfer}}</ref> (Further information at [[Panspermia#Research in outer space]].)


===Detection of living cells in the stratosphere===
===Detection of living cells in the stratosphere===
[[File:Microorganisms.jpg|250px|left|thumb|An image of a clump of microorganisms from 41&nbsp;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.]]
[[File:Microorganisms.jpg|250px|left|thumb|An image of a clump of microorganisms from 41&nbsp;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 20 January 2001 the [[Indian Space Research Organisation]] (ISRO) conducted a balloon flight from [[Hyderabad, India]] to collect stratospheric dust from a height of 41&nbsp;km (135,000&nbsp;ft) 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 above the Earth's surface was presented.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Harris | first1 = Melanie J. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = N.C. | last3 = Lloyd | first3 = David | display-authors = etal | year = 2002| issue = Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology IV | doi = 10.1117/12.454758 | journal = Proc. SPIE | volume = 4495 | title = Detection of living cells in stratospheric samples | page = 192 | series = Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology IV }}</ref> 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.
On 20 January 2001 the [[Indian Space Research Organisation]] (ISRO) conducted a balloon flight from [[Hyderabad, India]] to collect stratospheric dust from a height of 41&nbsp;km (135,000&nbsp;ft) 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 above the Earth's surface was presented.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Harris | first1 = Melanie J. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = N.C. | last3 = Lloyd | first3 = David | display-authors = etal | year = 2002| issue = Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology IV | doi = 10.1117/12.454758 | journal = Proc. SPIE | volume = 4495 | title = Detection of living cells in stratospheric samples | page = 192 | series = Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology IV | bibcode = 2002SPIE.4495..192H | s2cid = 129736236 }}</ref> 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>{{cite journal | last1 = Shivaji | first1 = S. | last2 = Chaturvedi | first2 = P. | last3 = Begum | first3 = Z. | display-authors = etal | year = 2009 | title = ''Janibacter hoylei'' sp.nov., ''Bacillus isronensis'' sp.nov. and ''Bacillus aryabhattai'' sp.nov. isolated from cryotubes used for collecting air from the upper atmosphere | url =http://repository.iucaa.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/11007/1672/1/329A_2009.pdf | journal = International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology | volume = 59 | issue = 12| pages = 2977–2986 | doi = 10.1099/ijs.0.002527-0 | pmid=19643890}}</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. ''[http://repository.tksc.jaxa.jp/dr/prc/japan/contents/AA0064301002/64301002.pdf Investigation of cultivable microorganisms in the stratosphere collected by using a balloon in 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 | journal =Biol. Sci. Space | volume =23 | issue =3| pages =151–163 | doi=10.2187/bss.23.151}}</ref>). During the experiment strains of highly radiation-resistant ''[[Deinococcus]]'' bacterium were detected at heights up to 35&nbsp;km. Nevertheless, these authors have abstained from linking these discoveries to panspermia.
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>{{cite journal | last1 = Shivaji | first1 = S. | last2 = Chaturvedi | first2 = P. | last3 = Begum | first3 = Z. | display-authors = etal | year = 2009 | title = ''Janibacter hoylei'' sp.nov., ''Bacillus isronensis'' sp. nov. and ''Bacillus aryabhattai'' sp.nov. isolated from cryotubes used for collecting air from the upper atmosphere | url = http://repository.iucaa.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/11007/1672/1/329A_2009.pdf | journal = International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology | volume = 59 | issue = 12 | pages = 2977–2986 | doi = 10.1099/ijs.0.002527-0 | pmid = 19643890 | doi-access = free | access-date = 5 September 2019 | archive-date = 21 September 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170921224313/http://repository.iucaa.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/11007/1672/1/329A_2009.pdf | url-status = dead }}</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. ''[http://repository.tksc.jaxa.jp/dr/prc/japan/contents/AA0064301002/64301002.pdf Investigation of cultivable microorganisms in the stratosphere collected by using a balloon in 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 | journal =Biol. Sci. Space | volume =23 | issue =3| pages =151–163 | doi=10.2187/bss.23.151| doi-access =free }}</ref>). During the experiment strains of highly radiation-resistant ''[[Deinococcus]]'' bacterium were detected at heights up to 35&nbsp;km. Nevertheless, these authors have abstained from linking these discoveries to panspermia.
Wickramasinghe was also involved in coordinating analyses of the [[red rain in Kerala]] in collaborations with Godfrey Louis.<ref>[http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/orange.pdf Red rain in Kerala]</ref>
Wickramasinghe was also involved in coordinating analyses of the [[red rain in Kerala]] in collaborations with Godfrey Louis.<ref>[http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/orange.pdf Red rain in Kerala]</ref>


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Hoyle and Wickramasinghe have advanced the argument that various outbreaks of illnesses on Earth are of extraterrestrial origins, including the [[1918 flu pandemic]] and certain outbreaks of [[polio]] and [[mad cow disease]]. For the 1918 flu pandemic they hypothesised that [[comet]]ary dust brought the virus to Earth simultaneously at multiple locations—a view almost universally dismissed by external experts on this pandemic.<ref name="Byrne2008"/>
Hoyle and Wickramasinghe have advanced the argument that various outbreaks of illnesses on Earth are of extraterrestrial origins, including the [[1918 flu pandemic]] and certain outbreaks of [[polio]] and [[mad cow disease]]. For the 1918 flu pandemic they hypothesised that [[comet]]ary dust brought the virus to Earth simultaneously at multiple locations—a view almost universally dismissed by external experts on this pandemic.<ref name="Byrne2008"/>


On 24 May 2003 ''[[The Lancet]]'' published a letter from Wickramasinghe,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wickramasinghe|first=C|author2=Wainwright, M |author3=Narlikar, J |title=SARS&mdash;a clue to its origins?|journal=Lancet|date=May 24, 2003|volume=361|issue=9371|pages=1832|pmid=12781581|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13440-X}}</ref> jointly signed by Milton Wainwright and [[Jayant Narlikar]], in which they hypothesised that the [[virus]] that causes [[severe acute respiratory syndrome]] (SARS) could be extraterrestrial in origin instead of originating 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.<ref name=Willerslev>{{cite journal|last=Willerslev|first=E|author2=Hansen, AJ |author3=Rønn, R |author4= Nielsen, OJ |title=Panspermia--true or false?|journal=Lancet|date=Aug 2, 2003|volume=362|issue=9381|pages=406; author reply 407–8|pmid=12907025|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14039-1}}</ref><ref name=Bhargava>{{cite journal|last=Bhargava|first=PM|title=Panspermia--true or false?|journal=Lancet|date=Aug 2, 2003|volume=362|issue=9381|pages=407; author reply 407–8|pmid=12907028|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14041-X}}</ref><ref name=PdL>{{cite journal|last=Ponce de Leon|first=S|author2=Lazcano, A|title=Panspermia--true or false?|journal=Lancet|date=Aug 2, 2003|volume=362|issue=9381|pages=406–7; author reply 407–8|pmid=12907026|doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(03)14040-8}}</ref> Claims connecting terrestrial disease and extraterrestrial pathogens have been rejected by the scientific community.<ref name="Byrne2008"/>
On 24 May 2003 ''[[The Lancet]]'' published a letter from Wickramasinghe,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wickramasinghe|first=C|author2=Wainwright, M |author3=Narlikar, J |title=SARS&mdash;a clue to its origins?|journal=Lancet|date=May 24, 2003|volume=361|issue=9371|pages=1832|pmid=12781581|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13440-X|s2cid=43843273}}</ref> jointly signed by [[Milton Wainwright]] and [[Jayant Narlikar]], in which they hypothesised that the [[virus]] that causes [[severe acute respiratory syndrome]] (SARS) could be extraterrestrial in origin instead of originating 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.<ref name=Willerslev>{{cite journal|last=Willerslev|first=E|author2=Hansen, AJ |author3=Rønn, R |author4= Nielsen, OJ |title=Panspermia--true or false?|journal=Lancet|date=Aug 2, 2003|volume=362|issue=9381|pages=406; author reply 407–8|pmid=12907025|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14039-1|s2cid=43529100}}</ref><ref name=Bhargava>{{cite journal|last=Bhargava|first=PM|title=Panspermia--true or false?|journal=Lancet|date=Aug 2, 2003|volume=362|issue=9381|pages=407; author reply 407–8|pmid=12907028|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14041-X|pmc=7134934}}</ref><ref name=PdL>{{cite journal|last=Ponce de Leon|first=S|author2=Lazcano, A|title=Panspermia--true or false?|journal=Lancet|date=Aug 2, 2003|volume=362|issue=9381|pages=406–7; author reply 407–8|pmid=12907026|doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(03)14040-8|pmc=7135165}}</ref> Claims connecting terrestrial disease and extraterrestrial pathogens have been rejected by the scientific community.<ref name="Byrne2008"/>


In 2020, Wickramasinghe and colleagues published a paper claiming that [[Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2]], the virus responsible for the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] was also of extraterrestrial origin, the claim was criticised for lacking evidence.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 31, 2020|title=Wild theory suggests COVID-19 came to Earth aboard a space rock|url=https://astronomy.com/news/2020/08/wild-theory-suggests-covid-19-came-to-earth-aboard-a-space-rock|access-date=2021-08-14|website=Astronomy.com|language=en}}</ref>
Wickramasinghe suggests that the 2019 [[coronavirus]], [[SARS-CoV-2]], came from outer space.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/no-coronavirus-didnt-come-from-space/|title=No, Coronavirus Didn't Come From Space|date=19 February 2020|website=iflscience.com}}</ref> He says:
<blockquote>The sudden outbreak of a new coronavirus is very likely to have a space connection, the strong localisation of the virus within China is the most remarkable aspect of the disease. In October last year a fragment of a comet exploded in a brief flash in North East China. We think it probable that this contained embedded within it a monoculture of infective 2019-nCoV virus particles that survived in the interior of the incandescent meteor. We consider the seemingly outrageous possibility that hundreds of trillions of infective viral particles were then released embedded in the form of fine carbonaceous dust. We believe infectious agents are prevalent in space, carried on comets, and can fall towards Earth through the troposphere. These, we think, can and have in the past gone on to bring about human disease epidemics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.screengeek.net/2020/02/20/coronavirus-outer-space-scientist-claims/|title=Scientist Claims The Coronavirus Came From Outer Space|date=20 February 2020|website=screengeek.net}}</ref></blockquote>


===Polonnaruwa===
===Polonnaruwa===
⚫
On 29 December 2012 a green fireball was observed in [[Polonnaruwa]], Sri Lanka.<ref name="Fossils">{{cite journal | title = Fossil Diatoms in a New Carbonaceous Meteorite | journal = [[Journal of Cosmology]] | date = 10 January 2013 | first1 = Chandra | last1 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = J. |last2=Wallis |first3=D.H. |last3=Wallis |first4=Anil |last4=Samaranayake | volume = 21|issue=37|pages=9560–71 | url = http://journalofcosmology.com/JOC21/PoloaruwaERR.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190806034701/http://journalofcosmology.com/JOC21/PoloaruwaERR.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-date = August 6, 2019 |arxiv=1303.2398| access-date = 2015-02-24|bibcode = 2013JCos...21.9560W }}</ref><ref name="cometary origin">{{cite journal | title = On the cometary origin of the Polonnaruwa meteorite | journal = [[Journal of Cosmology]] | date = 13 January 2013 | first1 = Chandra | last1 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = J. |last2=Wallis |first3=D.H. |last3=Wallis |first4=M.K. |last4=Wallis |first5=S. |last5=Al-Mufti |first6=J.T. |last6=Wickramasinghe |first7=Anil |last7=Samaranayake |first8=K. |last8=Wickramarathne | volume = 21 | issue = 38 | pages = 9572 | url = http://journalofcosmology.com/JOC21/Polonn2.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190806034705/http://journalofcosmology.com/JOC21/Polonn2.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-date = August 6, 2019 | access-date = 2013-01-16| bibcode = 2013JCos...21.9572W }}</ref> It disintegrated into fragments that fell to the Earth near the villages of Aralaganwila and Dimbulagala and in a rice field near [[Dalukkane]]. Rock samples were submitted to the Medical Research Institute of the [[Cabinet of Sri Lanka|Ministry of Health]] in [[Colombo]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}
{{Main|Polonnaruwa (meteorite)}}
⚫
On 29 December 2012 a green fireball was observed in [[Polonnaruwa|Polonnaruwa Province]], Sri Lanka.<ref name="Fossils">{{cite journal | title = Fossil Diatoms in a New Carbonaceous Meteorite | journal = [[Journal of Cosmology]] | date = 10 January 2013 | first = Chandra | last = Wickramasinghe | first2 = J. |last2=Wallis |first3=D.H. |last3=Wallis |first4=Anil |last4=Samaranayake | volume = 21|issue=37|pages=9560–71 | url = http://journalofcosmology.com/JOC21/PoloaruwaERR.pdf |arxiv=1303.2398| accessdate = 2015-02-24|bibcode = 2013JCos...21.9560W }}</ref><ref name="cometary origin">{{cite journal | title = On the cometary origin of the Polonnaruwa meteorite | journal = [[Journal of Cosmology]] | date = 13 January 2013 | first = Chandra | last = Wickramasinghe | first2 = J. |last2=Wallis |first3=D.H. |last3=Wallis |first4=M.K. |last4=Wallis |first5=S. |last5=Al-Mufti |first6=J.T. |last6=Wickramasinghe |first7=Anil |last7=Samaranayake |first8=K. |last8=Wickramarathne | volume = 21 | issue = 38 | pages = 9572 | url = http://journalofcosmology.com/JOC21/Polonn2.pdf | accessdate = 2013-01-16| bibcode = 2013JCos...21.9572W }}</ref> It disintegrated into fragments that fell to the Earth near the villages of Aralaganwila and Dimbulagala and in a rice field near [[Dalukkane]]. Rock samples were submitted to the Medical Research Institute of the [[Cabinet of Sri Lanka|Ministry of Health]] in [[Colombo]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}


The rocks were sent to the University of Cardiff in Wales for analysis, where Chandra Wickramasinghe's team analyzed them and claimed that they contained extraterrestrial [[diatom]]s. From January to March 2013, five papers were published in the fringe ''[[Journal of Cosmology]]'' outlining various results from teams in the United Kingdom, United States and Germany.<ref name="Walter">{{cite news | author = Walter Jayawardhana | title = Polonnaruwa meteorite with evidence of life from outer space described the most important find in 500 years | date = 13 January 2013 | url = http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2013/01/13/polonnaruwa-meteorite-with-evidence-of-life-from-outer-space-described-the-most-important-find-in-500-years/ | work = LankaWeb | accessdate = 2013-01-15}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=August 2013}}<ref name="authenticity">{{cite journal | title = Authenticity of the life-bearing Polonnaruwa meteorite | journal = [[Journal of Cosmology]] | volume = 21 | pages = 9772 | date = 4 February 2013 | first = N.C. |last=Wickramasinghe | first2 = J. |last2=Wallis |first3=N. |last3=Miyake |first4=Anthony |last4=Oldroyd |first5=D.H. |last5=Wallis |first6=Anil |last6=Samaranayake |first7=K. |last7=Wickramarathne |first8=Richard B. |last8=Hoover |first9=M.K. |last9=Wallis | url = http://journalofcosmology.com/JOC21/Polonnaruwa5R.pdf | accessdate = 2013-02-04| bibcode = 2013JCos...21.9772W }}</ref>{{failed verification|date=August 2013}}<!--No mention of 5 papers, or these international teams, in either ref--> However, independent experts in [[meteoritics]] stated that the object analyzed by Wickramasinghe's team was of terrestrial origin,<ref name="Slate">{{cite news | author = Phil Plait |authorlink=Phil Plait | title = No, Diatoms Have Not Been Found in a Meteorite | date = 15 January 2013 | url = http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/01/15/life_in_a_meteorite_claims_by_n_c_wickramasinghe_of_diatoms_in_a_meteorite.html | work = Slate.com - Astronomy | accessdate = 2013-01-16}}</ref><ref name=Huru>{{cite news | title = Meteors from outer space made definitive land fall in Aralaganwila says Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe | date = 29 April 2013 | url = http://www.hirunews.lk/58032 | work = Hiru News | accessdate = 2013-04-30 | quote= When our news team contacted Professor of Geology Athula Senarathna of University of Peradeniya who carried out a research on the meteorite fall in Aralaganvila, said that there could not be any truth in Prof.Chandra Wickramasinghe claim.}}</ref> a [[fulgurite]] created by lightning strikes on Earth.<ref name="Peradeniya University">{{cite news | title = Aralaganwila stones are not meteors; says Peradeniya University | date = 14 January 2013 | url = http://www.hirunews.lk/51379/aralaganwila-stones-are-meteors-says-peradeniya-university | work = Hiru News | accessdate = 2015-02-24}}</ref> Experts in diatoms complemented the statement, saying that the organisms found in the rock represented a wide range of extant terrestrial taxa, confirming their earthly origin.<ref name="Slate"/>
The rocks were sent to the University of Cardiff in Wales for analysis, where Chandra Wickramasinghe's team analyzed them and claimed that they contained extraterrestrial [[diatom]]s. From January to March 2013, five papers were published in the fringe ''[[Journal of Cosmology]]'' outlining various results from teams in the United Kingdom, United States and Germany.<ref name="Walter">{{cite news | author = Walter Jayawardhana | title = Polonnaruwa meteorite with evidence of life from outer space described the most important find in 500 years | date = 13 January 2013 | url = http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2013/01/13/polonnaruwa-meteorite-with-evidence-of-life-from-outer-space-described-the-most-important-find-in-500-years/ | work = LankaWeb | access-date = 2013-01-15}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=August 2013}}<ref name="authenticity">{{cite journal | title = Authenticity of the life-bearing Polonnaruwa meteorite | journal = [[Journal of Cosmology]] | volume = 21 | pages = 9772 | date = 4 February 2013 | first1 = N.C. |last1=Wickramasinghe | first2 = J. |last2=Wallis |first3=N. |last3=Miyake |first4=Anthony |last4=Oldroyd |first5=D.H. |last5=Wallis |first6=Anil |last6=Samaranayake |first7=K. |last7=Wickramarathne |first8=Richard B. |last8=Hoover |first9=M.K. |last9=Wallis | url = http://journalofcosmology.com/JOC21/Polonnaruwa5R.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130705172655/http://journalofcosmology.com/JOC21/Polonnaruwa5R.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-date = July 5, 2013 | access-date = 2013-02-04| bibcode = 2013JCos...21.9772W }}</ref>{{failed verification|date=August 2013}}<!--No mention of 5 papers, or these international teams, in either ref--> However, independent experts in [[meteoritics]] stated that the object analyzed by Wickramasinghe's team was of terrestrial origin,<ref name="Slate">{{cite news | author = Phil Plait |author-link=Phil Plait | title = No, Diatoms Have Not Been Found in a Meteorite | date = 15 January 2013 | url = http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/01/15/life_in_a_meteorite_claims_by_n_c_wickramasinghe_of_diatoms_in_a_meteorite.html | work = Slate.com - Astronomy | access-date = 2013-01-16}}</ref><ref name=Huru>{{cite news | title = Meteors from outer space made definitive land fall in Aralaganwila says Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe | date = 29 April 2013 | url = http://www.hirunews.lk/58032 | work = Hiru News | access-date = 2013-04-30 | quote= When our news team contacted Professor of Geology Athula Senarathna of University of Peradeniya who carried out a research on the meteorite fall in Aralaganvila, said that there could not be any truth in Prof. Chandra Wickramasinghe claim.}}</ref> a [[fulgurite]] created by lightning strikes on Earth.<ref name="Peradeniya University">{{cite news | title = Aralaganwila stones are not meteors; says Peradeniya University | date = 14 January 2013 | url = http://www.hirunews.lk/51379/aralaganwila-stones-are-meteors-says-peradeniya-university | work = Hiru News | access-date = 2015-02-24}}</ref> Experts in diatoms complemented the statement, saying that the organisms found in the rock represented a wide range of extant terrestrial taxa, confirming their earthly origin.<ref name="Slate"/>
Wickramasinghe and collaborators responded, using [[X-ray diffraction]], [[oxygen]] [[isotope analysis]], and [[scanning electron microscope]] observations, in a March 2013 paper asserting that the rocks they found were indeed meteorites,<ref name=22-2>{{cite journal|last=Wallis|first=Jamie|first2=Nori |last2=Miyake |first3=Richard B. |last3=Hoover |first4=Andrew |last4=Oldroyd |first5=Darryl H. |last5=Wallis |first6=Anil |last6=Samaranayake |first7=K. |last7=Wickramasinghe |first8=M.K. |last8=Wallis |first9=Carl H. |last9=Gibson |first10=N.C. |last10=Wickramasinghe|title=The Polonnaruwa Meteorite - Oxygen Isotope, Crystalline and Biological Composition|journal=Journal of Cosmology|date=5 March 2013|volume=22|issue=2|pages=10004|url=http://journalofcosmology.com/JOC22/Paper22(2).pdf|accessdate=6 August 2013|bibcode=2013JCos...2210004W|arxiv = 1303.1845 }}</ref> instead of being created by lightning strikes on Earth as stated by scientists from the University of Peradeniya.<ref name="Peradeniya University"/><ref name=P-Meteorite>{{cite journal|last=Wallis|first=Jamie|first2=Nori |last2=Miyake |first3=Richard B. |last3=Hoover |first4=Andrew |last4=Oldroyd |first5=Daryl H. |last5=Wallis |first6=Anil |last6=Samaranayake |first7=K. |last7=Wickramarathne |first8=M.K. |last8=Wallis |first9=Carl H. |last9=Gibson |first10=N. C. |last10=Wickramasinghe|title=The Polonnaruwa Meteorite : Oxygen Isotope, Crystalline and Biological Composition|journal=Journal of Cosmology|date=5 March 2013|volume=22|issue=2|pages=10004|bibcode=2013JCos...2210004W|arxiv = 1303.1845 }}</ref>
Wickramasinghe and collaborators responded, using [[X-ray diffraction]], [[oxygen]] [[isotope analysis]], and [[scanning electron microscope]] observations, in a March 2013 paper asserting that the rocks they found were indeed meteorites,<ref name=22-2>{{cite journal|last1=Wallis|first1=Jamie|first2=Nori |last2=Miyake |first3=Richard B. |last3=Hoover |first4=Andrew |last4=Oldroyd |first5=Darryl H. |last5=Wallis |first6=Anil |last6=Samaranayake |first7=K. |last7=Wickramasinghe |first8=M.K. |last8=Wallis |first9=Carl H. |last9=Gibson |first10=N.C. |last10=Wickramasinghe|title=The Polonnaruwa Meteorite - Oxygen Isotope, Crystalline and Biological Composition|journal=Journal of Cosmology|date=5 March 2013|volume=22|issue=2|pages=10004|url=http://journalofcosmology.com/JOC22/Paper22(2).pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705172643/http://journalofcosmology.com/JOC22/Paper22%282%29.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 5, 2013|access-date=6 August 2013|bibcode=2013JCos...2210004W|arxiv = 1303.1845 }}</ref> instead of being created by lightning strikes on Earth as stated by scientists from the University of Peradeniya.<ref name="Peradeniya University"/><ref name=P-Meteorite>{{cite journal|last1=Wallis|first1=Jamie|first2=Nori |last2=Miyake |first3=Richard B. |last3=Hoover |first4=Andrew |last4=Oldroyd |first5=Daryl H. |last5=Wallis |first6=Anil |last6=Samaranayake |first7=K. |last7=Wickramarathne |first8=M.K. |last8=Wallis |first9=Carl H. |last9=Gibson |first10=N. C. |last10=Wickramasinghe|title=The Polonnaruwa Meteorite : Oxygen Isotope, Crystalline and Biological Composition|journal=Journal of Cosmology|date=5 March 2013|volume=22|issue=2|pages=10004|bibcode=2013JCos...2210004W|arxiv = 1303.1845 }}</ref> However, these claims were also criticised for not providing evidence that the rocks were actually meteorites.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Plait|first=Phil|date=2013-03-11|title=UPDATE: No, Life Has Still Not Been Found in a Meteorite|url=https://slate.com/technology/2013/03/meteorite-life-claims-of-fossils-in-a-meteorite-are-still-wrong.html|access-date=2021-08-14|website=Slate Magazine|language=en}}</ref>

=== Cephalopod alien origin ===
In 2018, Wickramasinghe and over 30 other authors published a paper in ''[[Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology]]'' entitled "Cause of Cambrian Explosion - Terrestrial or Cosmic?" which argued in favour of panspermia as the origin of the [[Cambrian explosion]], and posited that [[cephalopod]]s are alien lifeforms that originated from frozen eggs that were transported to earth via meteor.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Steele|first1=Edward J.|last2=Al-Mufti|first2=Shirwan|last3=Augustyn|first3=Kenneth A.|last4=Chandrajith|first4=Rohana|last5=Coghlan|first5=John P.|last6=Coulson|first6=S.G.|last7=Ghosh|first7=Sudipto|last8=Gillman|first8=Mark|last9=Gorczynski|first9=Reginald M.|last10=Klyce|first10=Brig|last11=Louis|first11=Godfrey|display-authors=1|date=August 2018|title=Cause of Cambrian Explosion - Terrestrial or Cosmic?|journal=Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology|language=en|volume=136|pages=3–23|doi=10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2018.03.004|pmid=29544820 |s2cid=4486796 |quote=Thus the possibility that cryopreserved Squid and/or Octopus eggs, arrived in icy bolides several hundred million years ago should not be discounted (below) as that would be a parsimonious cosmic explanation for the Octopus' sudden emergence on Earth ca. 270 million years ago.|doi-access=free|hdl=1885/143614|hdl-access=free}}</ref> The claims gained widespread press coverage.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-05-18|title=Are octopuses aliens from outer space that were brought to Earth by meteors?|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/octopus-aliens-scientists-theory-meteors-space-earth-cambrian-explosion-a8358631.html|access-date=2021-08-14|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Brandon Specktor - Senior Writer 17 May 2018|date=2018-05-17|title=No, Octopuses Don't Come From Outer Space|url=https://www.livescience.com/62594-octopuses-are-not-aliens-panspermia.html|access-date=2021-08-14|website=livescience.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Livni|first=Ephrat|title=A controversial study has a new spin on the otherworldliness of the octopus|url=https://qz.com/1281064/a-controversial-study-has-a-new-spin-on-the-otherworldliness-of-the-octopus/|access-date=2021-08-14|website=Quartz|date=19 May 2018 |language=en}}</ref> Virologist [[Karin Mölling]], in a companion commentary published in the same journal, stated that the claims "cannot be taken seriously".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Moelling|first=Karin|date=August 2018|title=Commentary to: Cause of Cambrian explosion - Terrestrial or cosmic? Steele, E.J. et al.|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0079610718300804|journal=Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology|language=en|volume=136|pages=24|doi=10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2018.03.005|pmid=29571770 }}</ref>


==Participation in the creation-evolution debate==
==Participation in the creation-evolution debate==
Wickramasinghe and his mentor [[Fred Hoyle]] have also used their data to argue in favor of [[cosmic ancestry]],<ref>[http://www.panspermia.org/thirdalt.htm ''Creationism versus Darwinism'']. Published in ''Darwinism, Design, and Public Education,'' Michigan State University Press, 2003 {{ISBN|978-0870136757}}</ref><ref>Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe. ''Evolution from Space: A Theory of Cosmic Creationism,'' Touchstone, 1984 {{ISBN|0-671-49263-2}}</ref><ref>Wickramasinghe and Hoyle, ''Our Place in the Cosmos: The Unfinished Revolution,'' J.M. Dent & Sons, 1993 {{ISBN|978-0460860840}}</ref><ref>Fred Hoyle, ''Evolution From Space (The Omni Lecture) and Other Papers on the Origin of Life,'' (Enslow; Hillside, NJ; 1982 {{ISBN|978-0894900839}}</ref><ref>[http://www.skeptictank.org/figlie.htm Figures don't Lie but Creationists Figure]. By Alec Grynspan ( 9 November 1997)</ref><ref name="121oC">{{cite journal | journal = Proceedings of the SPIE| date =29 Aug 2010| bibcode =2010SPIE.7819E..0NG | last1 =Gangappa | first1 =Rajkumar | last2 =Wickramasinghe|title = Growth and replication of red rain cells at 121°C and their red fluorescence|first2=Chandra | last3 =Wainwright|first3=Milton | last4 =Kumar|first4=A. Santhosh | last5 =Louis|first5=Godfrey | 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.|arxiv = 1008.4960}}</ref> and against the idea of life emerging from inanimate objects by [[abiogenesis]].<ref name="Archaeopteryx">{{cite book | author1 =Fred Hoyle | author2 =Chandra Wickramasinghe | title =Archaeopteryx, the Primordial Bird: A Case of Fossil Forgery | page =[https://archive.org/details/archaeopteryxpri0000hoyl/page/135 135] | year =1986 | publisher =Christopher Davies | isbn =978-0715406656 | url =https://archive.org/details/archaeopteryxpri0000hoyl/page/135 }}</ref>
Wickramasinghe and his mentor [[Fred Hoyle]] have also used their data to argue in favor of cosmic ancestry,<ref>[http://www.panspermia.org/thirdalt.htm ''Creationism versus Darwinism'']. Published in ''Darwinism, Design, and Public Education,'' Michigan State University Press, 2003 {{ISBN|978-0870136757}}</ref><ref>Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe. ''Evolution from Space: A Theory of Cosmic Creationism,'' Touchstone, 1984 {{ISBN|0-671-49263-2}}</ref><ref>Wickramasinghe and Hoyle, ''Our Place in the Cosmos: The Unfinished Revolution,'' J.M. Dent & Sons, 1993 {{ISBN|978-0460860840}}</ref><ref>Fred Hoyle, ''Evolution From Space (The Omni Lecture) and Other Papers on the Origin of Life,'' (Enslow; Hillside, NJ; 1982 {{ISBN|978-0894900839}}</ref><ref>[http://www.skeptictank.org/figlie.htm Figures don't Lie but Creationists Figure] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092535/http://www.skeptictank.org/figlie.htm |date=2016-03-04 }}. By Alec Grynspan ( 9 November 1997)</ref><ref name="121oC">{{cite journal | journal = Proceedings of the SPIE| date =29 Aug 2010| bibcode =2010SPIE.7819E..0NG | last1 =Gangappa | first1 =Rajkumar | last2 =Wickramasinghe|title = Growth and replication of red rain cells at 121&nbsp;°C and their red fluorescence|first2=Chandra | last3 =Wainwright|first3=Milton | last4 =Kumar|first4=A. Santhosh | last5 =Louis|first5=Godfrey | 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.|arxiv = 1008.4960| s2cid =118437731}}</ref> and against the idea of life emerging from inanimate objects by [[abiogenesis]].<ref name="Archaeopteryx">{{cite book | author1 =Fred Hoyle | author2 =Chandra Wickramasinghe | title =Archaeopteryx, the Primordial Bird: A Case of Fossil Forgery | page =[https://archive.org/details/archaeopteryxpri0000hoyl/page/135 135] | year =1986 | publisher =Christopher Davies | isbn =978-0715406656 | url =https://archive.org/details/archaeopteryxpri0000hoyl/page/135 }}</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.}}
{{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>Fry, Iris, ''Emergence of Life on Earth: A Historical and Scientific Overview,'' Rutgers University Press, 2000 {{ISBN|978-0813527406}}</ref>
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>Fry, Iris, ''Emergence of Life on Earth: A Historical and Scientific Overview,'' Rutgers University Press, 2000 {{ISBN|978-0813527406}}</ref>


During the 1981 scientific [[McLean v. Arkansas|creationist trial in Arkansas]], Wickramasinghe was the only scientist testifying for the defense, which in turn was supporting creationism.<ref name=Archaeopteryx/><ref>Phy-Olsen, Allene, ''Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design,'' Greenwood, 2010, pp 74-75 {{ISBN|978-0313378416}}</ref> In addition, he wrote that the ''[[Archaeopteryx#Authenticity|Archaeopteryx]]'' 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 |author2=Greenaway, F. |author3=Milner, A. N. |author4=Walker, C. A. |author5= 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>
During the 1981 scientific [[McLean v. Arkansas|creationist trial in Arkansas]], Wickramasinghe was the only scientist testifying for the defense, which in turn was supporting creationism.<ref name=Archaeopteryx/><ref>Phy-Olsen, Allene, ''Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design,'' Greenwood, 2010, pp 74-75 {{ISBN|978-0313378416}}</ref> In addition, he wrote that the ''[[Archaeopteryx#Authenticity|Archaeopteryx]]'' fossil finding is a forgery, a charge that the scientific community considers an "absurd" and "ignorant" statement.<ref name="ACetal86">{{cite journal |last=Charig |first=A. J. |author-link=Alan J. Charig |author2=Greenaway, F. |author3=Milner, A. N. |author4=Walker, C. A. |author5= 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 |s2cid=39554239 }}</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 | access-date =2013-01-01}}</ref>


==Honours and awards==
==Honours and awards==
Line 84: Line 85:
*Honorary [[DLitt]], [[Sōka University (Japan)]], 1996
*Honorary [[DLitt]], [[Sōka University (Japan)]], 1996
*[[Doctor of Science]] (honoris causa), [[University of Ruhuna]], Sri Lanka, 2004
*[[Doctor of Science]] (honoris causa), [[University of Ruhuna]], Sri Lanka, 2004
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20151016170859/https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/people/view/nalin-chandra-wickramasinghe/ Visiting By-Fellowship], [[Visiting scholar]], [[Churchill College, Cambridge]], England 2015/16
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20151016170859/https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/people/view/nalin-chandra-wickramasinghe/ Visiting By-Fellowship], [[visiting scholar]], [[Churchill College, Cambridge]], England 2015/16
*[http://profchandra.org/2017/10/2017-9-27-ada-derana-sri-lankan-year-2017/ Ada Derana Sri Lankan of the Year 2017 - Global Scientist]
*[http://profchandra.org/2017/10/2017-9-27-ada-derana-sri-lankan-year-2017/ Ada Derana Sri Lankan of the Year 2017 - Global Scientist]

Wickramasinghe was appointed [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in the [[2022 New Year Honours]] for services to science, astronomy and astrobiology.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=63571|supp=y|page=N26|date=1 January 2022}}</ref>


==Books==
==Books==
Line 104: Line 107:
*''Fundamental Studies and the Future of Science'' (ed.) (University College Cardiff Press, 1984) {{ISBN|9780906449578}}
*''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}}
*''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}}
*''Archaeopteryx, the Primordial Bird: A Case of Fossil Forgery'' (with Fred Hoyle) (Christopher Davies, Swansea, 1986) {{ISBN|9780715406656}}
*''The Theory of Cosmic Grains'' (with Fred Hoyle) (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1991) {{ISBN|9780792311898}}
*''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}}
*''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}}
*''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}}
*''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}}
*''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}}
*''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}}
*''Comets and the Origin of Life'' (with J. Wickramasinghe and W. Napier) (World Scientific, Hackensack NJ, 2010) {{ISBN|9789812814005}}
*''[http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/8622 A Journey with Fred Hoyle, Second Edition]'' (World Scientific, Singapore, April 2013) {{ISBN|9789814436120}}
*''[http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/8622 A Journey with Fred Hoyle, Second Edition]'' (World Scientific, Singapore, April 2013) {{ISBN|9789814436120}}
*''The search for our cosmic ancestry'', World Scientific, New Jersey 2015, {{ISBN|978-981-461696-6}}.
*''The search for our cosmic ancestry'', World Scientific, New Jersey 2015, {{ISBN|978-981-461696-6}}.
*{{cite book |last=Walker |first1=Theodore |last2=Wickramasinghe |first2=Chandra |title=The Big Bang and God An Astro-Theology |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-349-57419-3 |doi=10.1057/9781137535030 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=Theodore |last2=Wickramasinghe |first2=Chandra |title=The Big Bang and God: An [[Astro-Theology]] |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-349-57419-3 |doi=10.1057/9781137535030 }}


==Articles==
==Articles==
*Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1962. On graphite particles as interstellar grains, ''Mon.Not.Roy.Astr.Soc.'' 124, 417-433<ref name="garfield.library.upenn.edu"/>
*Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1962. On graphite particles as interstellar grains, ''Mon.Not.Roy.Astr.Soc.'' 124, 417-433<ref name="garfield.library.upenn.edu"/>
*{{cite journal | last1 = Hoyle | first1 = F. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = N.C. | year = 1969 | title = Interstellar Grains | url = | journal = Nature | volume = 223 | issue = 5205| pages = 450–462 | doi = 10.1038/223459a0 |bibcode = 1969Natur.223..459H }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Hoyle | first1 = F. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = N.C. | year = 1969 | title = Interstellar Grains | journal = Nature | volume = 223 | issue = 5205| pages = 450–462 | doi = 10.1038/223459a0 |bibcode = 1969Natur.223..459H | s2cid = 4209522 }}
*Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1974. Formaldehyde polymers in interstellar space, ''Nature'' 252, 462-463<ref name="journalofcosmology">{{cite journal|url=http://journalofcosmology.com/JoC16pdfs/Wick_2R%20-%20Copy.pdf |author=Wickramasinghe, N. C. |title=Formaldehyde polymers in interstellar Space |publisher=Cosmology Science Publishers |accessdate=2013-01-18}}</ref>
*Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1974. Formaldehyde polymers in interstellar space, ''Nature'' 252, 462-463<ref name="journalofcosmology">{{cite journal|url=http://journalofcosmology.com/JoC16pdfs/Wick_2R%20-%20Copy.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713060647/http://journalofcosmology.com/JoC16pdfs/Wick_2R%20-%20Copy.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 13, 2020 |author=Wickramasinghe, N. C. |title=Formaldehyde polymers in interstellar Space |publisher=Cosmology Science Publishers |access-date=2013-01-18}}</ref>
*{{cite journal | last1 = Wickramasinghe | first1 = N.C. | last2 = Hoyle | first2 = F. | last3 = Brooks | first3 = J. | last4 = Shaw | first4 = G. | year = 1977 | title = Prebiotic polymers and infrared spectra of galactic sources | url = | journal = Nature | volume = 269 | issue = 5630| pages = 674–676 | doi = 10.1038/269674a0 |bibcode = 1977Natur.269..674W }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Wickramasinghe | first1 = N.C. | last2 = Hoyle | first2 = F. | last3 = Brooks | first3 = J. | last4 = Shaw | first4 = G. | year = 1977 | title = Prebiotic polymers and infrared spectra of galactic sources | journal = Nature | volume = 269 | issue = 5630| pages = 674–676 | doi = 10.1038/269674a0 |bibcode = 1977Natur.269..674W | s2cid = 4266722 }}
*Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1977. Identification of the λ2,200A interstellar absorption feature, ''Nature'' 270, 323-324<ref name=journalofcosmology />
*Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1977. Identification of the λ2,200A interstellar absorption feature, ''Nature'' 270, 323-324<ref name=journalofcosmology />
*{{cite journal|url=http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/RefA1.pdf |first1=Hoyle |last1=F. |first2=Wickramasinghe |last2=N. C. |title=Primitive grain clumps and organic compounds in carbonaceous chondrites |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=264 |issue=5581 |date=1976-11-04 |accessdate=2013-01-18|doi= 10.1038/264045a0 |pages=45–46|bibcode = 1976Natur.264...45H }}
*{{cite journal|url=http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/RefA1.pdf |first1=Hoyle |last1=F. |first2=Wickramasinghe |last2=N. C. |title=Primitive grain clumps and organic compounds in carbonaceous chondrites |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=264 |issue=5581 |date=1976-11-04 |access-date=2013-01-18|doi= 10.1038/264045a0 |pages=45–46|bibcode = 1976Natur.264...45H }}
*Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1977. Polysaccharides and infrared spectra of galactic sources, ''Nature'' 268, 610-612<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/RefA2.pdf |first1=Hoyle |last1=F. |first2=Wickramasinghe |last2=N. C. |title=Polysaccharides and infrared spectra of galactic sources |journal=Nature |volume=268 |issue=5621 |date=1977-08-18 |accessdate=2013-01-18|pages=610–612|doi=10.1038/268610a0 |bibcode = 1977Natur.268..610H }}</ref>
*Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1977. Polysaccharides and infrared spectra of galactic sources, ''Nature'' 268, 610-612<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/RefA2.pdf |first1=Hoyle |last1=F. |first2=Wickramasinghe |last2=N. C. |title=Polysaccharides and infrared spectra of galactic sources |journal=Nature |volume=268 |issue=5621 |date=1977-08-18 |access-date=2013-01-18|pages=610–612|doi=10.1038/268610a0 |bibcode = 1977Natur.268..610H |s2cid=4170736 }}</ref>
*{{cite journal | last1 = Hoyle | first1 = F. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = N.C. | year = 1979 | title = On the nature of interstellar grains | url = | journal = Astrophysics and Space Science | volume = 66 | issue = | pages = 77–90 | doi = 10.1023/A:1002462602776|bibcode = 1999Ap&SS.268..249H }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Hoyle | first1 = F. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = N.C. | year = 1979 | title = On the nature of interstellar grains | journal = Astrophysics and Space Science | volume = 66 | pages = 77–90 | doi = 10.1023/A:1002462602776|bibcode = 1999Ap&SS.268..249H | s2cid = 189820472 }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Hoyle | first1 = F. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = N.C. | year = 1979 | title = Biochemical chromophores and the interstellar extinction at ultraviolet wavelengths | url = | journal = Astrophysics and Space Science | volume = 65 | issue = 1| pages = 241–244 | doi = 10.1007/BF00643503 | bibcode=1979Ap&SS..65..241H}}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Hoyle | first1 = F. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = N.C. | year = 1979 | title = Biochemical chromophores and the interstellar extinction at ultraviolet wavelengths | journal = Astrophysics and Space Science | volume = 65 | issue = 1| pages = 241–244 | doi = 10.1007/BF00643503 | bibcode=1979Ap&SS..65..241H| s2cid = 120184918 }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Hoyle | first1 = F. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = N.C. | last3 = Al-Mufti | first3 = S. | display-authors = etal | year = 1982 | title = Infrared spectroscopy over the 2.9-3.9μm waveband in biochemistry and astronomy | url = | journal = Astrophysics and Space Science | volume = 83 | issue = | pages = 405–409 | doi = 10.1023/A:1002417307802 |bibcode = 1999Ap&SS.268..161H }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Hoyle | first1 = F. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = N.C. | last3 = Al-Mufti | first3 = S. | display-authors = etal | year = 1982 | title = Infrared spectroscopy over the 2.9-3.9&nbsp;μm waveband in biochemistry and astronomy | journal = Astrophysics and Space Science | volume = 83 | pages = 405–409 | doi = 10.1023/A:1002417307802 |bibcode = 1999Ap&SS.268..161H }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Hoyle | first1 = F. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = N.C. | last3 = Al-Mufti | first3 = S. | year = 1982 | title = Organo-siliceous biomolecules and the infrared spectrum of the Trapezium nebula | url = | journal = Astrophysics and Space Science | volume = 86 | issue = 1| pages = 63–69 | doi = 10.1007/BF00651830 | bibcode=1982Ap&SS..86...63H}}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Hoyle | first1 = F. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = N.C. | last3 = Al-Mufti | first3 = S. | year = 1982 | title = Organo-siliceous biomolecules and the infrared spectrum of the Trapezium nebula | journal = Astrophysics and Space Science | volume = 86 | issue = 1| pages = 63–69 | doi = 10.1007/BF00651830 | bibcode=1982Ap&SS..86...63H| s2cid = 120249547 }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Hoyle | first1 = F. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = N.C. | year = 1983 | title = Bacterial life in space | url = | journal = Nature | volume = 306 | issue = 5942| page = 420 | doi = 10.1038/306420a0 |bibcode = 1983Natur.306..420H }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Hoyle | first1 = F. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = N.C. | year = 1983 | title = Bacterial life in space | journal = Nature | volume = 306 | issue = 5942| page = 420 | doi = 10.1038/306420a0 | pmid = 6646221 |bibcode = 1983Natur.306..420H | doi-access = free }}
*Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1986. The case for life as a cosmic phenomenon, ''Nature'' 322, 509-511<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/nature.pdf |first1=Hoyle |last1=F. |first2=Wickramasinghe |last2=N. C. |title=The case for life as a cosmic phenomenon |journal=Nature |volume=322 |issue=6079 |pages=509–511|doi=10.1038/322509a0 |date=1986-08-07 |accessdate=2013-01-18|bibcode = 1986Natur.322..509H }}</ref>
*Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1986. The case for life as a cosmic phenomenon, ''Nature'' 322, 509-511<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/nature.pdf |first1=Hoyle |last1=F. |first2=Wickramasinghe |last2=N. C. |title=The case for life as a cosmic phenomenon |journal=Nature |volume=322 |issue=6079 |pages=509–511|doi=10.1038/322509a0 |date=1986-08-07 |access-date=2013-01-18|bibcode = 1986Natur.322..509H |s2cid=4248740 }}</ref>
*Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1990. Influenza – evidence against contagion, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 83. 258-261<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hoyle |first1=F. |last2=Wickramasinghe |first2=N. C. |title=Influenza-evidence against contagion: discussion paper |pages=258–261 |volume=83 |issue=4 |date=April 1990 |pmc=1292615 |pmid=2342043 |journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine|doi=10.1177/014107689008300417 }}</ref>
*Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1990. Influenza – evidence against contagion, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 83. 258-261<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hoyle |first1=F. |last2=Wickramasinghe |first2=N. C. |title=Influenza-evidence against contagion: discussion paper |pages=258–261 |volume=83 |issue=4 |date=April 1990 |pmc=1292615 |pmid=2342043 |journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine|doi=10.1177/014107689008300417 }}</ref>
*{{cite journal | last1 = Napier | first1 = W.M. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = J.T | last3 = Wickramasinghe | first3 = N.C. | year = 2007 | title = The origin of life in comets | url = | journal = International Journal of Astrobiology | volume = 6 | issue = 4| pages = 321–323 | doi = 10.1017/S1473550407003941 |bibcode = 2007IJAsB...6..321N }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Napier | first1 = W.M. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = J.T | last3 = Wickramasinghe | first3 = N.C. | year = 2007 | title = The origin of life in comets | journal = International Journal of Astrobiology | volume = 6 | issue = 4| pages = 321–323 | doi = 10.1017/S1473550407003941 |bibcode = 2007IJAsB...6..321N | s2cid = 121008660 }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Rauf | first1 = K. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = C. | year = 2010 | title = Evidence for biodegradation products in the interstellar medium | url = | journal = International Journal of Astrobiology | volume = 9 | issue = 1| pages = 29–34 | doi = 10.1017/S1473550409990334 |bibcode = 2010IJAsB...9...29R | citeseerx = 10.1.1.643.9541 }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Rauf | first1 = K. | last2 = Wickramasinghe | first2 = C. | year = 2010 | title = Evidence for biodegradation products in the interstellar medium | journal = International Journal of Astrobiology | volume = 9 | issue = 1| pages = 29–34 | doi = 10.1017/S1473550409990334 |bibcode = 2010IJAsB...9...29R | citeseerx = 10.1.1.643.9541 | s2cid = 17336375 }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Wickramasinghe | first1 = N. C. | year = 2010 | title = The astrobiological case for our cosmic ancestry | url = | journal = International Journal of Astrobiology | volume = 9 | issue = 2| pages = 119–129 | doi = 10.1017/S1473550409990413 | bibcode=2010IJAsB...9..119W}}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Wickramasinghe | first1 = N. C. | year = 2010 | title = The astrobiological case for our cosmic ancestry | journal = International Journal of Astrobiology | volume = 9 | issue = 2| pages = 119–129 | doi = 10.1017/S1473550409990413 | bibcode=2010IJAsB...9..119W| s2cid = 13978227 }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Wickramasinghe | first1 = N.C. | last2 = Wallis | first2 = J. | last3 = Wallis | first3 = D.H. | last4 = Schild | first4 = R.E. | last5 = Gibson | first5 = C.H. | year = 2012 | title = Life-bearing planets in the solar vicinity | url = | journal = Astrophysics and Space Science | volume = 341 | issue = 2| pages = 295–9 | doi = 10.1007/s10509-012-1092-8 |bibcode = 2012Ap&SS.341..295W }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Wickramasinghe | first1 = N.C. | last2 = Wallis | first2 = J. | last3 = Wallis | first3 = D.H. | last4 = Schild | first4 = R.E. | last5 = Gibson | first5 = C.H. | year = 2012 | title = Life-bearing planets in the solar vicinity | journal = Astrophysics and Space Science | volume = 341 | issue = 2| pages = 295–9 | doi = 10.1007/s10509-012-1092-8 |bibcode = 2012Ap&SS.341..295W | s2cid = 120484953 }}
*Chandra Wickramasinghe, ''A Journey with Fred Hoyle: The Search for Cosmic Life'', World Scientific Publishing, 2005, {{ISBN|981-238-912-1}}
*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}}
*Janaki Wickramasinghe, Chandra Wickramasinghe and William Napier, ''Comets and the Origin of Life'', World Scientific Publishing, 2009, {{ISBN|981-256-635-X}}
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==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/research/bcab Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology (BCAB)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20030502125210/http://www.sokagakkai.info/html3/news3/publications3/space_eternal3.html Review of ''Space and Eternal Life'']
*[http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1725/17250800.htm A panspermic view of life Interview with N. Chandra Wickramasinghe]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070311053452/http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/newsevents/5446.html Star treatment for astronomer]
*[http://www.cf.ac.uk/maths/wickramasinghe/chand1.html Professor Wickramasinghe Bio]
*[http://skymania.com/wp/2011/03/life-from-space-expert-loses-funding.html 'Life from space' expert loses funding]
*[http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/directory/professor-chandra-wickramasinghe/ Professor Wickramasinghe's profile at the University of Buckingham]
*[http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/directory/professor-chandra-wickramasinghe/ Professor Wickramasinghe's profile at the University of Buckingham]
*[http://www.debretts.com/people/biographies/search/results/6607/(Nalin)%20Chandra+WICKRAMASINGHE.aspx Biography in ''Debrett's People of Today'']
*[http://www.cf.ac.uk/encap/scintilla/issues/issue01.html Scintilla Issue 1(1997)] ‘Speech’; ‘Monsoon’; ‘The Chase’; ‘Evening’
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071011005648/http://www.mail-archive.com/mythfolk@yahoogroups.com/msg00167.html Interviews]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071011005648/http://www.mail-archive.com/mythfolk@yahoogroups.com/msg00167.html Interviews]
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/basic_connect?qsearch=Chandra+Wickramasinghe&version=1 Publication List Chandra Wickramasinghe]@ [[Astrophysics Data System]]
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/basic_connect?qsearch=Chandra+Wickramasinghe&version=1 Publication List Chandra Wickramasinghe]@ [[Astrophysics Data System]]
* [https://rwm.macba.cat/en/research/undead-matter-1-emergent-interstellar-dust Prof Chandra Wickramasinghe in conversation with artist and poet, Himali Singh Soin, podcast, 2022]
*[https://www.siyalla.com/professor-chandra-wickramasinghe/ Biography of Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe]


{{Extraterrestrial life}}
{{Extraterrestrial life}}
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[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Astrobiologists]]
[[Category:Astrobiologists]]
[[Category:British astronomers]]
[[Category:20th-century British astronomers]]
[[Category:Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Panspermia]]
[[Category:Panspermia]]
[[Category:People from Colombo]]
[[Category:People from Colombo]]
[[Category:People of British Ceylon]]
[[Category:People from British Ceylon]]
[[Category:Sinhalese academics]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan mathematicians]]
[[Category:Vidya Jyothi]]
[[Category:Vidya Jyothi]]
[[Category:Welsh people of Sri Lankan descent]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Sinhalese mathematicians]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British mathematicians]]
[[Category:21st-century British astronomers]]
[[Category:Indian Space Research Organisation people]]

Latest revision as of 23:53, 28 August 2024

Chandra Wickramasinghe
MBE
Wickramasinghe at the University of Buckingham
Born (1939-01-20) 20 January 1939 (age 85)
NationalityBritish
Alma mater
Known forOrganic composition of cosmic dust
AwardsFellow of Jesus College, Cambridge University (1963–1973)
Vidya Jyothi (1992)
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
Doctoral advisorFred Hoyle

Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe MBE (born 20 January 1939) is a Sri Lankan-born British mathematician, astronomer[1] and astrobiologist of Sinhalese ethnicity. His research interests include the interstellar medium, infrared astronomy, light scattering theory, applications of solid-state physics to astronomy, the early Solar System, comets, astrochemistry, the origin of life and astrobiology. A student and collaborator of Fred Hoyle, the pair worked jointly for over 40 years[2] as influential proponents of panspermia.[3][4] In 1974 they proposed the hypothesis that some dust in interstellar space was largely organic, later proven to be correct.[5][6][7]

Wickramasinghe has advanced numerous fringe claims, including the argument that various outbreaks of illnesses on Earth are of extraterrestrial origins, including the 1918 flu pandemic and certain outbreaks of polio and mad cow disease. For the 1918 flu pandemic they hypothesised that cometary dust brought the virus to Earth simultaneously at multiple locations—a view almost universally dismissed by experts on this pandemic.[8] Claims connecting terrestrial disease and extraterrestrial pathogens have been rejected by the scientific community.[8]

Wickramasinghe has written more than 40 books about astrophysics and related topics;[9] he has made appearances on radio, television and film, and he writes online blogs and articles. He has appeared on BBC Horizon, UK Channel 5 and the History Channel. He appeared on the 2013 Discovery Channel program "Red Rain".[10][11] He has an association with Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Buddhist sect Soka Gakkai International, that led to the publication of a dialogue with him, first in Japanese and later in English, on the topic of Space and Eternal Life.[12]

Education and career

[edit]

Wickramasinghe studied at Royal College, Colombo, the University of Ceylon (where he graduated in 1960 with a BSc First Class Honours in mathematics), and at Trinity College and Jesus College, Cambridge, where he obtained his PhD and ScD degrees.[13] Following his education, Wickramasinghe was a Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge from 1963 to 1973, until he became professor of applied mathematics and astronomy at University College Cardiff. Wickramasinghe was a consultant and advisor to the President of Sri Lanka from 1982 to 1984, and played a key role in founding the Institute of Fundamental Studies in Sri Lanka.

After fifteen years at University College Cardiff, Wickramasinghe took an equivalent position in the University of Cardiff, a post he held from 1990 until 2006.[14] After retirement in 2006, he incubated the Cardiff Center for Astrobiology as a special project reporting to the president of the university. In 2011 the project closed down, losing its funding in a series of UK educational cut backs. After this event, Wickramasinghe was offered the opportunity to move to the University of Buckingham as Director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, University of Buckingham where he has been since 2011. He maintains his part-time position as a UK Professor at Cardiff University. In 2015 he was elected Visiting scholar, Churchill College, Cambridge, England 2015/16.[15]

He is a co-founder and board member of the Institute for the Study of Panspermia and Astroeconomics, set up in Japan in 2014,[16] and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Astrobiology & Outreach. He was a Visiting By-Fellow, Churchill College, Cambridge, England 2015/16;[15] Professor and Director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology at the University of Buckingham, a post he has held since 2011;[9] Affiliated Visiting Professor, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka;[17] and a board member and research director at the Institute for the Study of Panspermia and Astroeconomics, Ogaki-City, Gifu, Japan.[18]

In 2017, Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe was appointed adjunct professor in the Department of Physics, at the University of Ruhuna, Matara, Sri Lanka.[19]

Research

[edit]

In 1960 he commenced work in Cambridge on his PhD degree under the supervision of Fred Hoyle, and published his first scientific paper "On Graphite Particles as Interstellar Grains" in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1962.[20] 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,[21] that led to a consideration of carbon-containing grains as well as the older silicate models.

Wickramasinghe published the first definitive book on Interstellar Grains in 1967.[22] He has made many contributions to this field, publishing over 350 papers in peer-reviewed journals, over 75 of which are in Nature. Hoyle and Wickramasinghe further proposed a radical kind of panspermia that included the claim that extraterrestrial life forms enter the Earth's atmosphere and were possibly responsible for epidemic outbreaks, new diseases, and genetic novelty that Hoyle and Wickramasinghe contended was necessary for macroevolution.[23]

Chandra Wickramasinghe had the longest-running collaboration with Fred Hoyle. Their publications on books and papers[21] arguing for panspermia and a cosmic hypothesis of life are controversial and, in particular detail, essentially contra the scientific consensus in both astrophysics and biology. Several claims made by Hoyle and Wickramasinghe between 1977 and 1981, such as a report of having detected interstellar cellulose, were criticised by one author as pseudoscience.[24] Phil Plait has described Wickramasinghe as a "fringe scientist" who "jumps on everything, with little or no evidence, and says it's from outer space".[25]

Organic molecules in space

[edit]

In 1974 Wickramasinghe first proposed the hypothesis that some dust in interstellar space was largely organic,[26] and followed this up with other research confirming the hypothesis.[27] Wickramasinghe also proposed and confirmed the existence of polymeric compounds based on the molecule formaldehyde (H2CO).[28] Fred Hoyle and Wickramasinghe later proposed the identification of bicyclic aromatic compounds from an analysis of the ultraviolet extinction absorption at 2175A.,[29] thus demonstrating the existence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules in space.

Hoyle–Wickramasinghe model of panspermia

[edit]

Throughout his career, Wickramasinghe, along with his collaborator Fred Hoyle, has advanced the panspermia hypothesis, that proposes that life on Earth is, at least in part, of extraterrestrial origin.[30][31] The Hoyle–Wickramasinghe model of panspermia include the assumptions that dormant viruses and desiccated DNA and RNA can survive unprotected in space;[32] that small bodies such as asteroids and comets can protect the "seeds of life", including DNA and RNA,[33][34][35] living, fossilized, or dormant life, cellular[36][37] or non-cellular;[33][34][35][36][38][39][40][41] and that the collisions of asteroids, comets, and moons have the potential to spread these "seeds of life" throughout an individual star system and then onward to others.[38][41] The most contentious issue around the Hoyle–Wickramasinghe model of the panspermia hypothesis is the corollary of their first two propositions that viruses and bacteria continue to enter the Earth's atmosphere from space, and are hence responsible for many major epidemics throughout history.[42][43][44]

Towards the end of their collaboration, Wickramasinghe and Hoyle hypothesised that abiogenesis occurred close to the Galactic Center before panspermia carried life throughout the Milky Way,[45] and stated a belief that such a process could occur in many galaxies throughout the Universe.[46][47]

Detection of living cells in the stratosphere

[edit]
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 20 January 2001 the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) conducted a balloon flight from Hyderabad, India to collect stratospheric dust from a height of 41 km (135,000 ft) 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 above the Earth's surface was presented.[48] 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.[49] 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,[50] 2009[51]). 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. Wickramasinghe was also involved in coordinating analyses of the red rain in Kerala in collaborations with Godfrey Louis.[52]

Extraterrestrial pathogens

[edit]

Hoyle and Wickramasinghe have advanced the argument that various outbreaks of illnesses on Earth are of extraterrestrial origins, including the 1918 flu pandemic and certain outbreaks of polio and mad cow disease. For the 1918 flu pandemic they hypothesised that cometary dust brought the virus to Earth simultaneously at multiple locations—a view almost universally dismissed by external experts on this pandemic.[8]

On 24 May 2003 The Lancet published a letter from Wickramasinghe,[53] jointly signed by Milton Wainwright and Jayant Narlikar, in which they hypothesised that the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) could be extraterrestrial in origin instead of originating 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.[54][55][56] Claims connecting terrestrial disease and extraterrestrial pathogens have been rejected by the scientific community.[8]

In 2020, Wickramasinghe and colleagues published a paper claiming that Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic was also of extraterrestrial origin, the claim was criticised for lacking evidence.[57]

Polonnaruwa

[edit]

On 29 December 2012 a green fireball was observed in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.[58][59] It disintegrated into fragments that fell to the Earth near the villages of Aralaganwila and Dimbulagala and in a rice field near Dalukkane. Rock samples were submitted to the Medical Research Institute of the Ministry of Health in Colombo.[citation needed]

The rocks were sent to the University of Cardiff in Wales for analysis, where Chandra Wickramasinghe's team analyzed them and claimed that they contained extraterrestrial diatoms. From January to March 2013, five papers were published in the fringe Journal of Cosmology outlining various results from teams in the United Kingdom, United States and Germany.[60][failed verification][61][failed verification] However, independent experts in meteoritics stated that the object analyzed by Wickramasinghe's team was of terrestrial origin,[62][63] a fulgurite created by lightning strikes on Earth.[64] Experts in diatoms complemented the statement, saying that the organisms found in the rock represented a wide range of extant terrestrial taxa, confirming their earthly origin.[62]

Wickramasinghe and collaborators responded, using X-ray diffraction, oxygen isotope analysis, and scanning electron microscope observations, in a March 2013 paper asserting that the rocks they found were indeed meteorites,[65] instead of being created by lightning strikes on Earth as stated by scientists from the University of Peradeniya.[64][66] However, these claims were also criticised for not providing evidence that the rocks were actually meteorites.[67]

Cephalopod alien origin

[edit]

In 2018, Wickramasinghe and over 30 other authors published a paper in Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology entitled "Cause of Cambrian Explosion - Terrestrial or Cosmic?" which argued in favour of panspermia as the origin of the Cambrian explosion, and posited that cephalopods are alien lifeforms that originated from frozen eggs that were transported to earth via meteor.[68] The claims gained widespread press coverage.[69][70][71] Virologist Karin Mölling, in a companion commentary published in the same journal, stated that the claims "cannot be taken seriously".[72]

Participation in the creation-evolution debate

[edit]

Wickramasinghe and his mentor Fred Hoyle have also used their data to argue in favor of cosmic ancestry,[73][74][75][76][77][78] and against the idea of life emerging from inanimate objects by abiogenesis.[79]

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."[80]

During the 1981 scientific creationist trial in Arkansas, Wickramasinghe was the only scientist testifying for the defense, which in turn was supporting creationism.[79][81] In addition, he wrote that the Archaeopteryx fossil finding is a forgery, a charge that the scientific community considers an "absurd" and "ignorant" statement.[82][83]

Honours and awards

[edit]

Wickramasinghe was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to science, astronomy and astrobiology.[84]

Books

[edit]
  • Interstellar Grains (Chapman & Hall, London, 1967)[22]
  • Light Scattering Functions for Small Particles with Applications in Astronomy (Wiley, New York, 1973)[85]
  • 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)[86]
  • The Cosmic Laboratory (University College of Cardiff, 1975)[87]
  • 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)[88]
  • Origin of Life (with Fred Hoyle) (University College Cardiff Press, 1979)[89]
  • 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)[90]
  • 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: A Case of Fossil Forgery (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
  • A Journey with Fred Hoyle, Second Edition (World Scientific, Singapore, April 2013) ISBN 9789814436120
  • The search for our cosmic ancestry, World Scientific, New Jersey 2015, ISBN 978-981-461696-6.
  • Walker, Theodore; Wickramasinghe, Chandra (2015). The Big Bang and God: An Astro-Theology. Palgrave Macmillan US. doi:10.1057/9781137535030. ISBN 978-1-349-57419-3.

Articles

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Chown, Marcus (9 April 2005). "The Scientific Legacy of Fred Hoyle". NewScientist. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  2. ^ Wickramasinghe, Steve (2013). A Journey with Fred Hoyle. New York: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. ISBN 978-981-4436-12-0.
  3. ^ Napier, W.M. (2007). "Pollination of exoplanets by nebulae". Int. J. Astrobiol. 6 (3): 223–228. Bibcode:2007IJAsB...6..223N. doi:10.1017/S1473550407003710. S2CID 122742509.
  4. ^ Line, M.A. (2007). "Panspermia in the context of the timing of the origin of life and microbial phylogeny". Int. J. Astrobiol. 3. 6 (3): 249–254. Bibcode:2007IJAsB...6..249L. doi:10.1017/S1473550407003813. S2CID 86569201.
  5. ^ Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. The 3.4-μm interstellar absorption feature. Nature 287, 518−519 (1980).
  6. ^ Allen, D. A. & Wickramasinghe, D. T. Diffuse interstellar absorption bands between 2.9 and 4.0 μm. Nature 294, 239−240 (1981).
  7. ^ Wickramasinghe, D. T. & Allen, D. A. Three components of 3–4 μm absorption bands. Astrophys. Space Sci. 97, 369−378 (1983).
  8. ^ a b c d Joseph Patrick Byrne (2008). Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues (PDF). ABC-CLIO. pp. 454–455. ISBN 978-0-313-34102-1.
  9. ^ a b University of Buckingham. "Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe". Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Altimatrix Consulting". Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  11. ^ Connor, Steve (1 March 2011). "We're all aliens... how humans began life in outer space". The Independent. The Independent.
  12. ^ Ikeda, Daisaku (1998). Space and Eternal Life: A Dialogue Between Chandra Wickramasinghe and Daisaku Ikeda. Journeyman Press. ISBN 9781851720613.
  13. ^ "Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe — University of Buckingham". Buckingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  14. ^ "BBC News". UK National News Service. 7 September 2006. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  15. ^ a b Caulfield, Noelle. "Fellowship Secretary". Churchill College, Cambridge. Churchill College, Cambridge. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  16. ^ ISPA - About us Archived 2015-05-21 at the Wayback Machine.
  17. ^ Senaratne, Atula. "Prof" (PDF). Abrecon 2015. University of Peradeniya. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  18. ^ Tokoro, Gensuke. "Professor". www.ispajapan.com/. Institute for the Study of Panspermia and Astroeconomics. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  19. ^ Smith, William. "Prof. Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe". Department of Physics at University of Ruhuna. Department of Physics at University of Ruhuna. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  20. ^ a b "This Week's Citation Classic" (PDF). ISI Current Contents. 2 June 1986. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  21. ^ a b "Archive of key historical publications — University of Buckingham". Buckingham.ac.uk. 3 April 1980. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  22. ^ a b Interstellar grains (Book, 1967). [WorldCat.org] . OCLC 407751.
  23. ^ Fred Hoyle, Chandra Wickramasinghe and John Watson (1986). Viruses from Space and Related Matters. University College Cardiff Press.
  24. ^ Brian L. Silver Professor of Physical Chemistry Technion Israel Institute of Technology (26 February 1998). The Ascent of Science. Oxford University Press, USA. pp. 341–2. ISBN 978-0-19-802769-0.
  25. ^ Plait, Phil (15 January 2013). "Claims of Life in a Meteorite are Meteorwrong". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  26. ^ Nature, vol: 252, 462, 1974; and Nature, Vol 268, 610, 1977.
  27. ^ 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).
  28. ^ N.C. Wickramasinghe, Formaldehyde Polymers in Interstellar Space, Nature, 252, 462, 1974
  29. ^ F. Hoyle and N.C. Wickramasinghe, Identification of the lambda 2200A interstellar absorption feature, Nature, 270, 323, 1977
  30. ^ Wickramasinghe, C. (2010). "The astrobiological case for our cosmic ancestry". International Journal of Astrobiology. 9 (2): 119–129. Bibcode:2010IJAsB...9..119W. doi:10.1017/S1473550409990413. S2CID 13978227.
  31. ^ Wickramasinghe, C. (2011). "Bacterial morphologies supporting cometary panspermia: a reappraisal". International Journal of Astrobiology. 10 (1): 25–30. Bibcode:2011IJAsB..10...25W. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.368.4449. doi:10.1017/S1473550410000157. S2CID 7262449.
  32. ^ Secker, Jeff; Paul S. Wesson; James R. Lepock (26 July 1996). "Astrophysical and Biological Constraints on Radiopanspermia" (PDF). The Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 90 (4): 184–92. arXiv:astro-ph/9607139. Bibcode:1996JRASC..90..184S. PMID 11540166. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  33. ^ a b Hoyle, Fred (1985). Living Comets. Cardiff: University College, Cardiff Press.
  34. ^ a b Wickramasinghe, Chandra (June 2011). "Viva Panspermia". The Observatory. Bibcode:2011Obs...131..130W.
  35. ^ a b Wesson, P (2010). "Panspermia, Past and Present: Astrophysical and Biophysical Conditions for the Dissemination of Life in Space". Space Sci. Rev. 1-4. 156 (1–4): 239–252. arXiv:1011.0101. Bibcode:2010SSRv..156..239W. doi:10.1007/s11214-010-9671-x. S2CID 119236576.
  36. ^ a b Hoyle, Fred; Wickramasinghe, N.C. (1982). "Proofs that Life is Cosmic" (PDF). Mem. Inst. Fund. Studies Sri Lanka. Bibcode:1982ptli.book.....H. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  37. ^ Hoyle, Fred; Wickramasinghe, C. (1986). "The case for life as a cosmic phenomenon". Nature. 322 (6079): 509–511. Bibcode:1986Natur.322..509H. doi:10.1038/322509a0. S2CID 4248740.
  38. ^ a b Napier, W.M. (2004). "A mechanism for interstellar panspermia". Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 348 (1): 46–51. Bibcode:2004MNRAS.348...46N. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.07287.x.
  39. ^ Hoyle, Fred (1981). Evolution from Space. London: J.M. Dent & Sons.
  40. ^ Hoyle, Fred (1981). Comets - a vehicle for panspermia. Dordrecht: D. Reidel Publishing Co. p. 227.
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  47. ^ "Life is a cosmic phenomenon; Wickramasinghe – Hoyle theories vindicated by Piyavi Wijewardene". 5 June 2017.
  48. ^ Harris, Melanie J.; Wickramasinghe, N.C.; Lloyd, David; et al. (2002). "Detection of living cells in stratospheric samples". Proc. SPIE. Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology IV. 4495 (Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology IV): 192. Bibcode:2002SPIE.4495..192H. doi:10.1117/12.454758. S2CID 129736236.
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  52. ^ Red rain in Kerala
  53. ^ Wickramasinghe, C; Wainwright, M; Narlikar, J (24 May 2003). "SARS—a clue to its origins?". Lancet. 361 (9371): 1832. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13440-X. PMID 12781581. S2CID 43843273.
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  56. ^ Ponce de Leon, S; Lazcano, A (2 August 2003). "Panspermia--true or false?". Lancet. 362 (9381): 406–7, author reply 407–8. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(03)14040-8. PMC 7135165. PMID 12907026.
  57. ^ "Wild theory suggests COVID-19 came to Earth aboard a space rock". Astronomy.com. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  58. ^ Wickramasinghe, Chandra; Wallis, J.; Wallis, D.H.; Samaranayake, Anil (10 January 2013). "Fossil Diatoms in a New Carbonaceous Meteorite" (PDF). Journal of Cosmology. 21 (37): 9560–71. arXiv:1303.2398. Bibcode:2013JCos...21.9560W. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  59. ^ Wickramasinghe, Chandra; Wallis, J.; Wallis, D.H.; Wallis, M.K.; Al-Mufti, S.; Wickramasinghe, J.T.; Samaranayake, Anil; Wickramarathne, K. (13 January 2013). "On the cometary origin of the Polonnaruwa meteorite" (PDF). Journal of Cosmology. 21 (38): 9572. Bibcode:2013JCos...21.9572W. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  60. ^ Walter Jayawardhana (13 January 2013). "Polonnaruwa meteorite with evidence of life from outer space described the most important find in 500 years". LankaWeb. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  61. ^ Wickramasinghe, N.C.; Wallis, J.; Miyake, N.; Oldroyd, Anthony; Wallis, D.H.; Samaranayake, Anil; Wickramarathne, K.; Hoover, Richard B.; Wallis, M.K. (4 February 2013). "Authenticity of the life-bearing Polonnaruwa meteorite" (PDF). Journal of Cosmology. 21: 9772. Bibcode:2013JCos...21.9772W. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  62. ^ a b Phil Plait (15 January 2013). "No, Diatoms Have Not Been Found in a Meteorite". Slate.com - Astronomy. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  63. ^ "Meteors from outer space made definitive land fall in Aralaganwila says Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe". Hiru News. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2013. When our news team contacted Professor of Geology Athula Senarathna of University of Peradeniya who carried out a research on the meteorite fall in Aralaganvila, said that there could not be any truth in Prof. Chandra Wickramasinghe claim.
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  67. ^ Plait, Phil (11 March 2013). "UPDATE: No, Life Has Still Not Been Found in a Meteorite". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  68. ^ Steele, Edward J.; et al. (August 2018). "Cause of Cambrian Explosion - Terrestrial or Cosmic?". Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology. 136: 3–23. doi:10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2018.03.004. hdl:1885/143614. PMID 29544820. S2CID 4486796. Thus the possibility that cryopreserved Squid and/or Octopus eggs, arrived in icy bolides several hundred million years ago should not be discounted (below) as that would be a parsimonious cosmic explanation for the Octopus' sudden emergence on Earth ca. 270 million years ago.
  69. ^ "Are octopuses aliens from outer space that were brought to Earth by meteors?". The Independent. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  70. ^ Brandon Specktor - Senior Writer 17 May 2018 (17 May 2018). "No, Octopuses Don't Come From Outer Space". livescience.com. Retrieved 14 August 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  71. ^ Livni, Ephrat (19 May 2018). "A controversial study has a new spin on the otherworldliness of the octopus". Quartz. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
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  73. ^ Creationism versus Darwinism. Published in Darwinism, Design, and Public Education, Michigan State University Press, 2003 ISBN 978-0870136757
  74. ^ Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe. Evolution from Space: A Theory of Cosmic Creationism, Touchstone, 1984 ISBN 0-671-49263-2
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  77. ^ Figures don't Lie but Creationists Figure Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. By Alec Grynspan ( 9 November 1997)
  78. ^ Gangappa, Rajkumar; Wickramasinghe, Chandra; Wainwright, Milton; Kumar, A. Santhosh; Louis, Godfrey (29 August 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". Proceedings of the SPIE. Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology XIII. 7819: 18. arXiv:1008.4960. Bibcode:2010SPIE.7819E..0NG. doi:10.1117/12.876393. S2CID 118437731.
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  80. ^ Fry, Iris, Emergence of Life on Earth: A Historical and Scientific Overview, Rutgers University Press, 2000 ISBN 978-0813527406
  81. ^ Phy-Olsen, Allene, Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design, Greenwood, 2010, pp 74-75 ISBN 978-0313378416
  82. ^ Charig, A. J.; Greenaway, F.; Milner, A. N.; Walker, C. A.; Whybrow, P. J. (1986). "Archaeopteryx is not a forgery". Science. 232 (4750): 622–626. Bibcode:1986Sci...232..622C. doi:10.1126/science.232.4750.622. PMID 17781413. S2CID 39554239.
  83. ^ "A Case of Fossil Forgery?". AskWhy. 18 November 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  84. ^ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N26.
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  86. ^ Interstellar matter (Book, 1972). [WorldCat.org] . OCLC 744949.
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  92. ^ F., Hoyle; N. C., Wickramasinghe (18 August 1977). "Polysaccharides and infrared spectra of galactic sources" (PDF). Nature. 268 (5621): 610–612. Bibcode:1977Natur.268..610H. doi:10.1038/268610a0. S2CID 4170736. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
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  94. ^ Hoyle, F.; Wickramasinghe, N. C. (April 1990). "Influenza-evidence against contagion: discussion paper". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 83 (4): 258–261. doi:10.1177/014107689008300417. PMC 1292615. PMID 2342043.
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