Clockwork orange planet, chicken’s missing link and how to build an alien

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars – Clockwork orange planet: As the Mars rovers blow out the candle on their one-year anniversary, they continue to make new discoveries on the Red Planet. How long they'll keep running is an open question, but NASA has several programs in the works for an encore. See article.
g Life – Chicken’s missing link: Newly published North Carolina State University research into the evolution of birds shows the first definitive fossil proof linking close relatives of living birds to a time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. See article.
g Intelligence – The importance of stars to our psyches: Though many prefer the big city's bright lights, those of us in Midwest who actually can see the night sky know we've got something that those bathed in the neon glow are missing. We realize that without the stars, we lose a little of our humanity. See my column on the importance of stars.
g Message – SETI research isn’t limited to a single facility listening to radio signals. A significant dimension of the program is SERENDIP, or the Search for Extraterrestrial Radio Emissions from Nearby Developed Intelligent Populations. To learn more about it, see article.
g Cosmicus – Shanghai plans to build a "space city" to assist China's ambitious astronaut program, which includes a space walk within the next few years. The country's largest city will invest more than $120 million in the research facility, the China News Service reported. See article.
g Learning – Some good news: After a 1998 high, the number of science and engineering doctorates awarded by U.S. institutions has been declining, but according to new data from the National Science Foundation, the 25,258 S&E doctorates awarded during the 2002-2003 academic year represent a 2.8 percent upward tick. Now the bad news: Despite that increase, the number of S&E doctorates awarded remains 7.4 percent below the 1998 peak. See article.
g Imagining – Many science fiction story lines involve alien life forms. From a literary prospective, aliens often serve as metaphors for something more familiar. From a practical prospective, they make stories more interesting and TV more eye-catching. But what of scientific accuracy? A professor offers his advice about “How to Build an Alien”.
g Aftermath – What would be the affect on humanity following contact with alien life? Portions of a Brookings Institute report offer some insights. Click here for either the entire report or the relevant excerpts.

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