The Great Dying, Big Ear and Aliens of the Deep

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 – Although mass ranks as the most important property of stars, it has proved very hard to measure for the lowest mass objects in the universe. Thanks to a powerful new camera, a very rare, low mass companion has finally been photographed. See article.
g Abodes – Most scientists are convinced that what killed the dinosaurs, and the majority of their biological brethren 65 million years ago, was a rock from space. But there was an even larger wipe out nearly 200 million years earlier — the Permian extinction. Some researchers believe that a stone from the sky caused this, too. But now two teams of scientists are suggesting another cause: global warming. This Sunday’s installment of SETI’s “Are We Alone?” broadcast talks to researchers of extinction distinction about "The Great Dying," the biggest catastrophe life on Earth has ever experienced. Peter Ward, paleontologist at the University of Washington, Seattle, and Luann Becker, geochemist at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Click here for station listings and times.
g Life – A genetically unusual population of ants is changing some of the fundamental ways researchers think about insect colonies. See article.
g Intelligence – Harvard Medical School researchers have applied a new microscopy technique in a living animal brain that for the first time reveals highly sophisticated time-lapse images of many neurons coordinating to produce complex patterns of activity. The approach will open up new avenues for analyzing neurodegenerative diseases and other aspects of the brain. See article.
g Message – In late 1997, after almost 40 years of operation, the Ohio State University Radio Observatory and its "Big Ear" radio telescope — which picked up the famous “Wow!” signal — ceased operation. The land on which the observatory was sitting (owned by the Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio) was sold in 1983 to land developers who later claimed their rights to develop the property. The telescope was destroyed in early 1998. Here's a Web page memorial to Big Ear.
g Cosmicus – Like Earth and Venus, the night side of Mars emits a subtle glow. In this interview with Astrobiology Magazine, Jean-Loup Bertaux, principal investigator for the Mars Express SPICAM instrument, explains what lights up the Martian evening sky, and why our understanding of that process could aid future missions to Mars. See Sector 001, that reviews the appearance of dozens of Star Trek aliens. It also includes some speculations about each one, particularly why so many are humanoid.
g Learning – Looking for a way this weekend to keep the kids entertained yet prepare them for our future? Then find this movie at the nearest IMAX theater — “Aliens of the Deep.” In the film, director James Cameron plunges into the depths of the sea for a 3-D documentary of the exotic life on the ocean floor and the potential for even more extreme creatures on other worlds. See article.
g Aftermath – Scientists and governments are vigorously searching for signs of life in the universe. Will their efforts meet with success? Award-winning author Paul Davies, an eminent scientist who writes like a science fiction novelist, explores the ramifications of that success in his fascinating book, “Are We Alone? Philosophical Implications of the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life.” "The discovery of a single extraterrestrial microbe," he writes, "would drastically alter our world view and change our society as profoundly as the Copernican and Darwinian revolutions. It could truly be described as the greatest scientific discovery of all time." Though a decade old, the book still is a great read. For more about it, see article.

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