Two British microbiologists say SARS may have come from
space, riding on a comet. Microbiologist Dr. Milton Wainwright
says, "Several aspects of the SARS outbreak appear to fit
this general scheme."
Debris from a comet, including the SARS virus, could have
arrived in the stratosphere. It would have reached the
Himalayas, whose high peaks are on the edge of the
stratosphere, where particles would then descend to Earth.
Then the Earth's rotation and prevailing winds could have
blown the virus into China. A recent study of the
atmosphere 25 miles into space shows that about a ton of
biological material arrives from space every day.
Wainwright says the evidence that SARS came from space is
the unique nature of the virus, the fact it was first detected
in China, the low rates of infection except through close
contact, and the failure to contain the epidemic.
Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe says, "We found huge
amounts of bacteria and possibly viruses (in space)." He
thinks there should be global monitoring of the upper
atmosphere to detect new viruses. He says, "If it is in the
upper atmosphere, it is only a matter of time before it
reaches the ground. The pattern of spread suggests this
could also occur over the Swiss Alps, but the way the Earth
turns means that regions to the east of the Alps, such as
Russia, will tend to be infected. We should keep a watch on
new cases of SARS. If they are not connected with known
cases, then there?s a real possibility that it has come from
space."
SARS from space? That's just as crazy as?Nazis with
flying saucers?
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