Designer ecosystems, hibernation and the Oankali

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 – Astronomers have numerous technical terms and numbering systems for describing the universe, but one type of mysterious object has yet to be classified. For now, these oddities are named for their strange appearance. They are called blobs. See article.
g Abodes – If ecosystem and city seem like oxymorons, just go to Phoenix, Ariz., and look at all the lakes and canals, the year-round greenery, the multitude of birds, or listen to the coyotes howling at night. A cutting-edge seven-year study by more than 50 scientists from different fields has concluded that the profusion of bugs, birds and larger creatures roaming this one-time desert outpost represent a unique realm of nature. It is designed and built by humans but surprisingly green and prolifically populated by creatures that wouldn't last a week outside its confines. It is, the scientists say, a designer ecosystem. See article.
g Life – If you wish you could hibernate for the winter instead of facing minus-20 wind chills every day, blame our distant ancestors. Really distant. According to new research, our reptilian forebears, like reptiles today, would have been able to experience large fluctuations in their body temperatures, a key trait for a hibernating species. As humans evolved, however, we were selected for the ability to maintain our temperatures. See article.
g Intelligence – Scientists in Iceland have uncovered a genetic variation whose female carriers tend to have more children, a discovery that shows Charles Darwin's concept of natural selection at work in modern humans. See article.
g Message – In 1961 astronomer Frank Drake wrote the equation that put the search for alien civilizations on a scientific footing and launched the modern SETI movement. How do the equation's numbers look today? See this online article adapted from the December 1998 Sky & Telescope (It was updated and expanded by Sky and Telescope in May 1999.).
g Cosmicus – Just a year ago, the Vision for Space Exploration re-energized the nation's space program and charted long-term plans for sending humans and robot probes exploring beyond Earth orbit and into the Solar System. Interested in helping see that vision become a reality? Then consider joining the Coalition for Space Exploration. See article.
g Learning – Evolutionary change is a powerful framework for studying our world and our place therein. It is a recurring theme in every realm of science: over time, the universe, the planet Earth, life and human technologies all change, albeit on vastly different scales. This story is the basis of the new Voyages Through Time classroom materials. The SETI Institute, the California Academy of Sciences, NASA Ames Research Center and San Francisco State University have developed standards-based curriculum materials for a one-year high school integrated science course centered on the unifying theme of evolution and delivered on CD-ROM. Click here for more.
g Imagining – Could the Oankali of Octavia E. Butler’s “Xenogenesis” trilogy really use human genes to continue their species? For a biologist’s analysis, click here. The answers may surprise you.
g Aftermath – Visitors from other worlds – should any appear – would be enormously ahead of us from a technological viewpoint. The same is true for any aliens we might tune in with our SETI experiments. See article. Note: This article is a couple of years old.

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