Scientists have found a tiny metal orb they believe is extraterrestrial in origin, has evidence of life on its exterior, and also has “a gooey biological material oozing” out of it. The lead scientist of the team who discovered the object suggests that it may have been sent by an intelligent extraterrestrial civilization for the purpose of seeding life on Earth.

This revelation comes from the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology at the University of Buckingham and the University of Sheffield in England. The director of the center, Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe, is one of the leading proponents of a theory called panspermia.

Panspermia is the idea that life in space is abundant, and that biological material travels from planet to planet. For example, it may be ejected from a planet via a meteor strike, or volcanic explosion, and then many years later falls onto a barren planet seeding life. An even more controversial version of this theory is called “directed panspermia,” which is the purposeful seeding of life on other planets by an intelligent extraterrestrial civilization.

The findings by the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology in this area have been highly controversial. They claim to have several examples of microbial life from extraterrestrial sources. Their latest claim is regarding samples they received from a balloon they launched into the stratosphere. They gathered samples of material floating around up there. It is believed that the stratosphere is too high for microbes from Earth to reach, so any they find must be extraterrestrial.

Among these samples is one they have named the “Dragon Particle.” In October of last year, team lead Professor Milton Wainwright told the press that they believe this particle is a space fairing “biological entity.”

Their latest announcement is also in regards to a sample found during their sampling of the stratosphere. However, this sample was not found in the containment system used to collect samples, like the dragon particle, rather it was found on the balloon itself.

Their system worked by exposing their sample collector after the balloon had reached the stratosphere. It then closed before it returned. In this way they could be certain that the samples were obtained from the stratosphere. However, the orb was found on the balloon itself.

Although it was not found in the collector, Wainwright says the orb made a small crater in the balloon, indicating it hit the balloon at a very high velocity, which would not be the case with an object that came up from the Earth’s surface and was falling back down into the atmosphere.

When they analyzed the orb, Professor Wainwright told the Daily Express, “We were stunned when X-ray analysis showed that the sphere is made up mainly of titanium, with a trace of vanadium.”

The surprises did not stop there. Wainwright described the object: “It is a ball about the width of a human hair, which has filamentous life on the outside and a gooey biological material oozing from its centre.”

Wainwright went on to speculate on the object’s origin: “One theory is it was sent to Earth by some unknown civilization in order to continue seeding the planet with life.”

Wainwright admits that the idea of directed panspermia sounds like science fiction, but he also notes that the idea was “very seriously suggested by the Nobel Prize winner of DNA fame, Sir Francis Crick.”

Although Wainwright suggests the orb may have been sent here by aliens, he does admit, “Unless of course we can find details of the civilisation that is supposed to have sent it in this respect it is probably an unprovable theory.”

Many mainstream scientists have argued that the findings by Wainwright and his colleagues, while intriguing, have not proven definitively that they are not the result of contamination by terrestrial particles.

Wainwright notes that NASA is conducting a similar experiment as the one done by Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology by sending their own balloon into the stratosphere to look for life.

“Hopefully they will get the same results as we have, whether or not they acknowledge what the team have found, or claim the discovery for themselves remains to be seen,” says Wainwright.

Meanwhile, Wainwright and his colleagues at the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology will continue to further analyze their samples, and look for more evidence that supports their belief that life is abundant in space, and some if it falls to Earth on a regular basis.

Wainwright told the Daily Express: “Mainstream science and institutions have fought against theories which expound these beliefs but now evidence from meteorites, from samples of bacteria from space and from space observation is making resistance more difficult.

“Proving that the Earth is in a constant exchange of matter with the larger cosmos would have implications not only in terms of our identity, but could also give us insight into alien viruses which may be important for our group identity, evolution and survival itself.”

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