Have you ever had a conversation that completely transformed the way you look at life, the universe and everything?1 A conversation that prompted you to think deeply about the origins of life on earth, and the origins of life itself… and what life actually is? Well, I had such a conversation with modern-day Renaissance man, Dr Ted Steele, and of course I wanted to share it with you. Ted started his career as a molecular immunologist with a particular interest in mucosal immunology, and branched out from there into two fields that challenge mainstream evolutionary theory: panspermia and Lamarckian inheritance.
Whether you believe evolution is complete bunk, you’re a firm believer in the Darwinian model of evolution, or you have no fixed opinion on the matter but have, at some time, wondered how and where life as we know it began, you’re going to want to tune into this fascinating discussion.
Ted is what all scientists should be, but very few are: 100 per cent committed to the true scientific method; endlessly curious; fully committed to updating his model of life, the universe and everything as new data come in; and also humble enough to admit that there are some things that cannot possibly be known through his beloved scientific method. In other words, to Ted, there is no conflict between the scientific and the religious/spiritual worldviews.
I know this is a long interview, but I promise you, it’s worth the investment of your time. Really, really worth it.
If you want to learn more about panspermia, you can find a highly readable introduction to the topic - including photos of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, which Ted discussed in relation to his cosmic octopus hypothesis - here (original version here; I’ve included an archived version in case the original link goes dead).
Ted kindly provided an introductory reading list for those who want to dive deeper into the topics we discussed:
Books
Fred Hoyle & N. Chandra Wickramasinghe: Diseases from space; JM Dent & Sons, London 1979.
(Revised 2nd Edition of the above) Chandra Wickramasinghe: Diseases from Outer Space; World Scientific Publishers, Singapore 2020.
Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe: Our Place in the cosmos- the unfinished revolution; Orion Books, London 1996.
C. Wickramasinghe, R.M. Gorczynski, E.J. Steele (Editors): Understanding the Origin and Global Spread of COVID-19; World Scientific Publishers, Singapore, 2022.
Mai-Wan Ho: The Rainbow and the Worm- The physics of organisms 3rd Edition; World Scientific Publishers, Singapore 2008.
Recent Review Papers
Steele EJ, Al-Mufti S, Augustyn KK, Chandrajith R, Coghlan JP, Coulson SG, Ghosh S, Gillman M. et al 2018 "Cause of Cambrian Explosion: Terrestrial or Cosmic?” Prog. Biophys. Mol. Biol. 136: 3-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2018.03.004
Steele EJ, Gorczynski RM, Lindley RA, Liu Y, Temple R, Tokoro G, Wickramasinghe DT, Wickramasinghe NC. 2019 “Lamarck and Panspermia - On the Efficient Spread of Living Systems Throughout the Cosmos”. Prog. Biophys. Mol. Biol. 2019 149 : 10-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2019.08.010
Steele EJ, Gorczynski RM, Lindley RA, Carnegie PR, Rebhran H, et al. (2022) Overview SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic as January-February 2022: Likely Cometary Origin, Global Spread, Prospects for Future Vaccine Efficacy. Infect Dis Ther Volume 3(1): 1-16. DOI: 10.31038/IDT.2022311
I always welcome your comments and feedback to my articles, but I’m particularly keen to read your response to this interview. Did Ted challenge your worldview, or confirm it? Have your thoughts about evolution changed as a result of the evidence he presented? Do you have any questions or counterpoints that you’d like him to address, in a future interview?
Finally, if you feel you got value out of my conversation with Dr Ted Steele, please consider a paid subscription to help me continue to bring interesting people and important topics to broader public awareness.
For information on my private practice, please visit Empower Total Health. I am a Certified Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner, with an ND, GDCouns, BHSc(Hons) and Fellowship of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine.
Douglas Adams fans will, of course, instantly get the reference. For those not in the know, Life, the Universe and Everything is the third book in Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.
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