The Colour Out Of Space?

This month's Wired magazine (Jan '06) begins with a photographic representation of panspremia - the idea that the basic elements of life are floating around the universe and every once-in-a-while find themselves in the right conditions for life to form.

Panspermia is the hypothesis that the seeds of life are ubiquitous in the universe, that they may have delivered life to Earth, and that they may deliver or have delivered life to other habitable bodies; also the process of such delivery . . . There is as yet no compelling evidence to support or contradict it, although the majority view holds that panspermia — especially in its interstellar form — is unlikely given the challenges of survival and transport in space. Sir Fred Hoyle (1915–2001) and Chandra Wickramasinghe were important proponents of the hypothesis who further contended that lifeforms continue to enter the Earth's atmosphere, and may be responsible for epidemic outbreaks, new diseases, and the genetic novelty necessary for macroevolution. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panspermia

Sounds a like something from an H.P. Lovecraft story, eh?