Monday, March 03, 2008

Wet but unsuitable and detecting alien artifacts

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 Abodes - Data from NASA's Opportunity rover suggests that although early Mars may have been wet, the environment might not have been suitable for life. High concentrations of dissolved minerals in liquid water on early Mars could have prevented microbes from developing. See article.
g Life - The remains of the largest frog ever seen have been discovered in Madagascar. The finding links a group of frogs that lived 65 to 70 million years ago with modern frogs in South America, and are helping scientists understand how the landmasses of Earth have shifted over time. See article.
g Message - If extraterrestrial life and intelligence exist, and if these ETI have ever engaged in, or presently are engaging in, interstellar exploration or communication, this most likely will involve the transmission of material artifacts. Some evidence of this activity may be apparent from within the confines of the solar system and thus could be detected by a suitable observational effort. See article.
g Imagining - Could the Pak of Larry Niven's Ringworld universe possibly evolve? They've got a homepage to discuss that and other questions about the intriguing fiction alien race. See article.

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