Darwin's Contribution to the Development of the Panspermia Theory

2012/10/01 by René Demets · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Medicine · Immunology and Microbiology · #Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life #Spaceflight effects on biology #Alexander von Humboldt Studies

paper · doi:10.1089/ast.2011.0790

openalex publication_date 2012/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/12/23

Abstract

The contributions of Svante Arrhenius, William Thomson, Hermann von Helmholtz, Hermann Richter, and Ferdinand Cohn to the development of the Panspermia theory have extensively been reviewed by Arrhenius himself (1908), Oparin ( 1938 ), and Kamminga ( 1982 ). Reading the original publications reveals the pivotal role that Charles Darwin must have played in shaping their ideas-an aspect that has not been highlighted before. It is argued that The Origin of Species not only kick-started the scientific development of the Panspermia theory in the 19(th) century but that biological evolution was an integral building block of it.

Citations

• Untersuchungen über die Druckkräfte des Lichtes
• Common ancestry put to the test
• A formal test of the theory of universal common ancestry

Cited by

• Extraterrestrial life [wikipedia]

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