Orphan stars, sophisticated encoding schemes, and alternatives to DNA or RNA

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Astronomers have found evidence that stars have been forming in a long tail of gas that extends well outside its parent galaxy. This discovery suggests that such "orphan" stars may be much more prevalent than previously thought. See article.
g Abodes - NASA spacecraft have detected entrances to seven possible caves near a Martian volcano, increasing interest in that planet's possible underground habitats. See article.
g Message - Is it more likely for an advanced civilization to resort to some sophisticated encoding scheme than we would? See article.
g Cosmicus - The reentry capsule for the Foton-M3 spacecraft, which has been in low-Earth orbit for the last 12 days, successfully landed Sept. 26. See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity that examines if yeast, a common yet tenacious microbe, can survive boiling water, salt, UV radiation and citric acid? Students find out for themselves by creating "Planets in a Bottle" which illustrate extreme conditions on other worlds. See article.
g Imagining - Are there any alternatives to DNA or RNA, as an “X-Files” episode said there was? See article.
g Aftermath - How might explorers determine what happened to an extinct alien race based on the clues they left behind on their home planet? See article.
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