Are super-smart #octopuses really out of this world? #Cambridge scientist talks ...

OctopusOctopuses are thought to be the most intelligent invertebrates (Image: GETTY)

Dr Helen Scales is due to deliver a talk at the Cambridge Science Festival tomorrow at which she will consider the theory, as well looking at the reasons why they are so clever. The 2018 study, entitled Cause of Cambrian Explosion – Terrestrial or Cosmic? was co-authored by a group of 33 scientists and published in the Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology journal. The paper suggests that the explanation for the sudden flourishing of life during the Cambrian era – often referred to as the Cambrian Explosion – lies in the stars, as a result of the Earth being bombarded by clouds of organic molecules.

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The paper states: “The genome of the Octopus shows a staggering level of complexity with 33,000 protein-coding genes more than is present in Homo sapiens.

“One plausible explanation, in our view, is that the new genes are likely new extraterrestrial imports to Earth - most plausibly as an already coherent group of functioning genes within (say) cryopreserved and matrix protected fertilised Octopus eggs.”

Dr Scales, whose new book, Octopuses: A Ladybird Expert Book, is published on Thursday, March 21, does not actually buy the idea herself, saying: “They claim they have evidence to support their theory that extra terrestrial viruses came to earth around 500 million years ago and kick starting the Cambrian explosion.

“But there really is no proof that this is where viruses came from, and this doesn’t explain how they formed in the first place.

“Genetic evidence tells us that octopuses evolved from squid ancestors around 135 million years ago.

“The authors of the study argue that other unconventional ideas in the history of science have later turned out to be true. But that really doesn’t prove anything. 

“There are plenty of other outlandish theories that aren’t true.

“Really, this paper just poses an interesting idea, which is perhaps worth thinking about, but there's no proof backing it up.”

OctopusesThere have been suggestions that octopuses have extraterrestrial origins (Image: GETTY)

“Every time I've met an octopus in the wild I've had a strong sense that they're watching me and contemplating what I'm up to

Dr Helen Scales

Nevertheless, she emphasised the uniqueness of the remarkable cephalopods, often regarded as the most intelligent of all invertebrates.

She said: “There's something instantly captivating about

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