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[quote:935e3]Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe, from the University of Cardiff, says there is already evidence that the virus, which causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, is extraterrestrial.

He warned it could still be circulating high in the atmosphere, and might fall anywhere on Earth without warning.

The idea is may not be as fanciful as it sounds. A small group of respected astrobiologists, led by the professor, believe the idea of bugs and viruses arriving on Earth from space is perfectly plausible.

They point to ancient and modern major epidemics that appear suddenly and spread in a way that cannot easily be explained. Examples include the plague of Athens and the devastating influenza pandemic of 1917-19 that killed more people than the First World War.

Samples of air taken from 26 miles up in the stratosphere have yielded many microbes, but whether or not they are extraterrestrial is open to question.

The theory is that extraterrestrial micro-organisms and viruses are carried around the solar system by comets or meteorites.

In a letter to the Lancet medical journal, Professor Wickramasinghe and colleagues in the UK and India pointed out that Sars was unexpectedly novel and appeared suddenly in China.

"A small amount of the culprit virus introduced into the stratosphere could make a first tentative fall out east of the great mountain range of the Himalayas, where the stratosphere is thinnest, followed by sporadic deposits in neighbouring areas," they wrote.

Professor Wickramasinghe has previously suggested that BSE was extraterrestrial in origin.[/quote:935e3]

[quote:935e3]A Wales-based scientist says Sars maybe from outer space.

Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe, from the University of Cardiff, says the pattern of the outbreak indicates the bug may have fallen from the stratosphere.

Nasa has previously claimed to have found fossilised microbes in a lump of rock blown off the surface of Mars that landed as a meteorite on Earth.

In a letter to the Lancet medical journal, Professor Wickramasinghe and colleagues in the UK and India pointed out that Sars was unexpectedly novel and appeared suddenly in China.

They wrote: "A small amount of the culprit virus introduced into the stratosphere could make a first tentative fall out east of the great mountain range of the Himalayas, where the stratosphere is thinnest, followed by sporadic deposits in neighbouring areas."

The viral "fall out" would be likely to continue seasonally over a few years.

They added: "We should remain vigilant for the appearance of new sites almost anywhere on the planet. New cases might continue to appear until the stratospheric supply of the causative agent becomes exhausted."

According to figures updated yesterday by the World Health Organisation, a total of 7,956 Sars cases have now been confirmed, causing 666 deaths.

Professor Wickramasinghe has previously suggested that BSE was extraterrestrial in origin.[/quote:935e3]