Is our world unique, how we smell and mysterious signals

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 – Astronomer Royal, Sir Martin Rees talks to Astrobiology Magazine about the conditions for life. How unique is our world? Is the universe itself just the byproduct of many failed, sterile or stillborn universes that might have preceded it? See article. For Part II, click here.
g Abodes – Geophysical forces deep in a world’s interior play a significant role in affecting the thin layer of mantle and atmosphere that life may evolve. What’s at our planet’s core? Check out “Naked Science” at 9 p.m. CST Thursday. The hour-long program is on the National Geographic cable channel.
g Life – Marine researchers have discovered the deepest coral reef ever found in the United States in about 250 feet of water off the Florida coast. The finding will give scientists insights into the evolution and ecosystems of marine life. See article.
g Intelligence – Immersed as we are in a sea of smells, how is it we're not continually overwhelmed with fair or foul odors until we actively inhale a rose or sniff the milk for a hint of sourness? University of California, Berkeley, neuroscientists have scanned the brains of people sniffing odors and found an answer. See article.
g Message – New Scientist magazine has named SETI’s detection of mysterious radio signals from a source light years away as its top science story of 2004. Here’s a copy of the New Scientist’s report when the story broke in September.
g Cosmicus – The covered barge ferrying the redesigned space shuttle external fuel tank to the Kennedy Space Center arrived at the spaceport today, pulling into unloading port just before 1 p.m. CST. The tank will be used by Discovery for the shuttle return-to-flight launch in May. Workers plan to offload the tank Thursday and transport it into the Vehicle Assembly Building for eventual mating with the solid rocket boosters. See article.
g Learning – One great way to get kids to look toward the stars is getting them involved in model rocketry. Here’s a nice introduction to the hobby.
g Imagining – While I do some research on our next sci-fi alien (Star Trek’s caretaker from “Shore Leave” of “The Original Series”), let me indulge you with this cool Web site that offers brief summaries of “Star Trek: Voyager” alien races. The text doesn’t go much into each race’s evolution, but it does list some basic features and usually provides a picture.
g Aftermath – Here’s another “old” piece worth reading: “Consequences of Success in SETI: Lessons from the History of Science”, given during a Bioastronomy Symposium in 1993.

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