panspermia
English edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
panspermia (uncountable)
- (biology) The hypothesis that microorganisms may transmit life from outer space to habitable bodies; or the process of such transmission.
- 2020, Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life, page 88:
- Lederberg's ideas were tinged with Cold War paranoia. In his hands, panspermia came to resemble horizontal gene transfer on a cosmic scale.
Derived terms edit
- panspermial
- panspermic
- panspermically
- lithopanspermia
- necropanspermia
- radiopanspermia
- directed panspermia