What Earth would look like to alien astronomers and building bacteria capable of surviving on other planets

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star LP 010-066?
g Abodes -What would Earth look like to alien astronomers? If they had access to telescopes far more powerful than our own, it might look a lot like what the Deep Impact spacecraft recently saw from its vantage point 50 million kilometers away. See article.
g Life - A new infrared image has revealed the distribution of important organic molecules in a distant galaxy. The finding is providing information about molecules in space that could have played a role in the origin of life. See article.
g Intelligence -An ancient Greek mechanical device regarded by some experts as the world's first computer may have foresaw solar eclipses, studies indicate. See article.
g Message -The chances are there's life out there, but any messages could be thousands of years old and indecipherable. See article. Note: This article is from May 2005.
g Cosmicus -Synthetic biology and microbial insights will soon allow scientists to custom-build bacteria capable of surviving on other planets, says extremophile expert John Baross. See article.
g Aftermath - If we encountered an intelligent species on another planet, could we understand them? In turn, could extrasolar species decipher one of our 8,000 terrestrial languages in use today? See article. Note: This article is from June 2004.

Microbes that played a key role in Earth’s early biosphere and new SETI strategies

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star system Wolf 498 AB?
g Abodes -Evidence of acid rain in 1908 supports the theory that a meteorite impact was responsible for the Tunguska catastrophe. The study is uncovering important clues about how impact events can affect life on Earth. See article.
g Life - Microbes with acetylene hydratase may have played a key role in the evolution of Earth’s
early biosphere by exploiting an available source of carbon from the atmosphere and in so
doing formed protective niches that allowed for other microbial processes to flourish. See article.
g Message -Interstellar transmissions via energy-markers (photons) or matter-markers (probes) appear to be energetically indistinguishable alternatives for advanced technical societies. Since only Type II and Type III civilizations realistically can afford beacons or star probe technology, alternative distinguishability criteria suggest the possible superiority of intelligent artifacts for contact and communication missions among extraterrestrial cultures. A balanced, more cost-effective Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence strategy is needed. See article.
g Learning - Throughout her educational experience in Rockport schools, high school senior Mariah Dunn has noticed higher level math and science classes are missing one important piece — girls. See article.
g Imagining - A United Kingdom professor says living to a 1,000-years-old may be imminently possible. See article.
g Aftermath - In our everyday lives, we sometimes emulate computers, though typically without their full precision. When we do a favor for someone, more often than we’d like to admit, we keep an informal tally of who owes us, and how much. According to sociobiologists, who attempt to explain behavior in terms of its value for survival, such calculations might have a biological basis. And as we will see, they may also provide some clues to communicating with life beyond Earth. See article.

Jupiter-less solar systems and analyzing biosignatures from the beginning of life

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star GJ 445?
g Abodes -Astronomers have found that fewer than 10 percent of the stars in the Orion Nebula have enough dust to make giant planets. The study suggests that our solar system may have been lucky to form a planet like Jupiter. See article.
g Life - A high-precision atom-counter called NanoSIMS produces maps of key biological atoms and suggests new way to analyze possible biosignatures from the beginning of life. See article.
g Message -The search for extraterrestrial intelligence could be taking the wrong approach. Instead of listening for alien radio broadcasts, a better strategy may be to look for giant structures placed in orbit around nearby stars by alien civilizations. See article.
g Learning -Book alert: Beginning with the Big Bang and formation of the universe, the richly illustrated “Astrobiology” discusses the emergence of life on Earth and beyond. Monica Grady discusses the factors necessary for the development of microorganisms on Earth, including chemical building blocks like carbon and water as well as an atmosphere that protects from ultraviolet radiation. She considers the possibility of life on other planets in the solar system, describing the conditions and diverse habitats that make Mars as well as some of Jupiter's and Saturn's moons ideal candidates for research. In a final chapter she looks beyond the solar system, searching for Earth-like planets or dusty disks of preplanetary material surrounding stars. See reviews.
g Aftermath - We humans are familiar with the back-and-forth of face-to-face contact — something we likely will not have in an interstellar conversation. The timescale of a human life may well not be enough for a meaningful dialogue with another species. Interstellar dialogue may make sense only across generations. See article.

Alaska—Mars analog and interstellar messaging

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star G 099-049?
g Abodes -Two geology professors have hypothesized that landscape features in Alaska are also seen on Mars, and the processes that formed those features are the same on both planets. See article.
g Life - Scientists have shown evidence that microbes living deep below the oceans of Earth make up a carbon reserve of about 90 billion tons. The study highlights the abundance and importance of microbes on Earth. See article.
g Message - Here’s a neat Web site: “Interstellar Messaging.” You’ll find discussion, history and real-world examples of mankind's methods and ongoing attempts to communicate with extraterrestrials. See article.
g Learning -Book alert: Astrobiology - which studies the intimate relationship between life and the cosmos - is a fast-growing field that touches on aspects of cosmology, astrophysics, and chemistry. In the first scholarly overview of this dynamic field, biochemists Kevin W. Plaxco and Michael Gross tell the story of life from the Big Bang to the present. Emphasizing the biochemical nature of astrobiology, Plaxco and Gross examine the origin of the chemical elements, the events behind the developments that made our Universe habitable, and the ongoing sustenance of life. They discuss the formation of first galaxies and stars, the diverse chemistry of the primordial planet, the origins of metabolism, the evolution of complex organisms, and the feedback regulation of Earth's climate. They also explore life in extreme habitats, potential extraterrestrial habitats, and the search for extraterrestrial life. This broadly accessible introduction captures the excitement, controversy, and evolution of the dynamic young field of astrobiology. It shows clearly how scientists from different disciplines can combine their special knowledge to enhance our understanding of the Universe that we inhabit. See book excerpt.
g Aftermath - Douglas Vakoch is one of a relatively small collection of scientists addressing the question of how to talk back to extraterrestrials. While most researchers involved in the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence come from physics and engineering backgrounds, Vakoch draws on a background in linguistics, sociology and psychology to explore SETI-related issues. Here’s an interview with him from Aug. 2003 about communicating with ET. See article.

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Life blown in from Venus and human exploration of the Moon

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star EI Cancri AB?
g Abodes -For the first time, scientists have mapped an elaborate maze of magma chambers beneath the volcanoes of Iceland. The unique view into a complex subterranean world could provide important information about earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. See article.
g Life - Life on Venus could be blown to Earth by powerful winds, scientists claim. See article.
g Message -The Fermi paradox is the apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and the lack of evidence for, or contact with, such civilizations. See article.
g Cosmicus -Technology being used to help rovers navigate on Mars is now being adapted to aid in human exploration of the moon. The new system will help human explorers explore the lunar surface to collect samples and perform experiments. See article.
g Learning -Three years after the president of Harvard, Lawrence H. Summers, got into trouble for questioning women’s “intrinsic aptitude” for science and engineering — and 16 years after the talking Barbie doll proclaimed that “math class is tough” — a study paid for by the National Science Foundation has found that girls perform as well as boys on standardized math tests. See article.
g Aftermath - What if we did contact another intelligent life form in the universe? Should we respond? What should we say? What traits best represent our humanity? Douglas Vakoch, the SETI Institute’s director of Interstellar Message Composition, is working with scientists, artists, linguists, composers, and others to imagine how to speak for our planet. Here’s a Webcast in which Vakoch describes his work; scroll to “Talking with ET.”

Habitable zone for Altair and looking for alien radio waves

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star Altair?
g Abodes - Precise dating of zircon crystals suggests that Earth may have been conducive to life even before an epic influx of asteroids pummeled our planet 4 billion years ago. See article.
g Life - A new study indicates that undersea volcanic activity may have triggered an extinction event in the Earth's oceans. The extinction occurred 93 million years ago and is responsible for creating some of today's major oil reserves. See article.
g Message -While advanced civilizations might be tempted to use optical means such as lasers to send information between the stars, there are some good reasons that nearly all the major Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence experiments are looking for radio waves instead. See article.
g Aftermath - Decades after Hollywood first made the leap between alien life and the threat of contamination, a scientist has issued a similar warning. U.S. Geological Survey geologist Jeffrey Kargel says convincing evidence uncovered by NASA's robotic rover Opportunity that water once flowed on Mars means scientists should proceed cautiously in bringing back potentially germ-laden samples of the Red Planet. See article.

Water inside Moon rocks and new tools for astrobiologists

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star 70 Ophiuchi AB?
g Abodes -Scientists have discovered water inside beads of volcanic glass from Moon rocks collected by the Apollo missions. The finding could alter our understanding of how the moon formed and evolved. See article.
g Life - A UCLA "world summit" will bring together internationally renowned scientists from 12 countries — including the U.S., Russia, China, Japan, Australia and India — to address ancient microscopic fossils, from July 27 to Aug. 2. See article.
g Message - In the coming months, two new tools will greatly expand astrobiologists' capacity to hear and see other promising signs of life. See article.
g Aftermath - the “generic” evolutionary pathway of advanced technological civilizations is more likely to be optimization-driven than expansion-driven, in contrast to the prevailing opinions and attitudes in both future studies on one side and astrobiology/SETI studies on the other. See article. See article.

Super Earths with life and bacteria ‘stars’

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star system EV Lacertae AB?
g Abodes -Massive, rocky worlds called 'super-Earths' – even those orbiting searingly close to their stars – may provide the right conditions for life, new research suggests. See article.
g Life - Researchers studying life deep beneath the Earth's surface in a South African platinum mine have discovered microbes with a unique appearance. In fact, these tiny bacteria are the 'stars' of their community. See article.
g Message -Just how does SETI work? Here’s a good primer for those looking to get a basic overview. See article.
g Cosmicus -NASA scientists are suggesting that before sending humans to the moon, we should launch plants there and watch them grow. See article.
g Aftermath - - Book alert: “Many Worlds: The New Universe, Extraterrestrial Life, and the Theological Implications, by Steven J. Dick (editor), is a provocative collection examining science's impact on theology. Based on a 1998 conference sponsored by the Templeton Foundation, this collection of essays opens with the observation that the Copernican revolution looks insignificant when compared to the discoveries made about the earth and the universe in the last century: we now know, for example, that the universe is billions (not thousands) of light-years big; that it is expanding, not static; that our galaxy is just one of many, not the entirety of the universe. But from looking at modern theology, you wouldn't think anything had changed. The contributors (who include physicists, philosophers, historians of science, and theologians) suggest that cosmological advances might reshape the very fundamentals of theology. See article.

Formation of binary asteroids and long-term moon base

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star system 40 Eridani ABC?
g Abodes -Astronomers have found that sunlight affects the formation of binary asteroids. The study sheds light on asteroid structure and could aid in the design of future sample-return missions. See article.
g Message -How might we detect an extraterrestrial messenger probe already in the solar system? See article. Note: This article is from 1983.
g Cosmicus -NASA has the vision of not only returning astronauts back to the orbital dustball in 2020, but establishing a long-term moon base there. Needless to say, there's plenty of arrangements to be made before the moonbuggy pulls into 555 South Pole-Aitken Basin Avenue. See article.
g Aftermath - If we hear from ET, not only can we expect his civilization to be an old one with a great time lag in correspondence, a SETI astronomer says. Could this limit the impact of extraterrestrial contact upon humanity? See article. Note: This article is from December 2001.

Microbes distinct from known biomass and neural network behind sound production in vertebrates traced back to marine organisms

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star GJ 682?
g Abodes -The Phoenix Mars Lander is continuing to dig into the Martian soil. A fork-like probe will help determine how much frozen or unfrozen water is in the soil, while a microscope examines the shapes of tiny soil particles. See article.
g Life - Tiny microbes beneath the sea floor, distinct from life on the Earth's surface, may account for one-tenth of the Earth's living biomass, according to an interdisciplinary team of researchers, but many of these minute creatures are living on a geologic timescale. See article.
g Intelligence -Scientists have discovered that the neural network behind sound production in vertebrates can be traced back to marine organisms. The finding provides a unique perspective on life's evolutionary mechanisms. See article.
g Message -If you've ever seen the movie “Contact”, you'll know the alien-hunter stereotype: quirky, visionary loners who sit up all night listening to static, hoping for the signal that will change the world. That's probably not far off from real life, except that SETI (that's Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) scientists are getting creative. At the recent Astrobiology Science Conference, 2008, they're presenting new ways of looking for little green men, including watching for signs of alien lasers, infrared signals, and even gravity waves. See article.
g Cosmicus -Few believe that the discovery of extraterrestrial life is imminent. However, just as scientists long theorized that there were planets orbiting other stars - but could not prove it until new technologies and insights broke the field wide open - many astrobiologists now see their job as to develop new ways to search for the life they are sure is out there. See article.
g Imagining -The Global Catastrophic Risks conference started yesterday morning and death by asteroids, comets and gamma ray bursts was on the agenda as experts discussed the statistical likelihood of these types of global catastrophes. See article.
g Aftermath - Is SETI—the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence—a religion? See article.

Spotting Earth’s twin and automating studies of RNA evolution

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star DEN 0255-4700?
g Abodes -Spotting Earth's twin is tantalizingly close - perhaps a year or two away - a conference of the world's top space scientists was told yesterday. See article.
g Life - Many scientists believe that life started out as nothing more than strands of proto-genetic material known as RNA. A new device automates studies of RNA evolution and could lend insights into the origin of life on Earth. See article.
g Message -In 2001, California astronomers broadened the search for extraterrestrial intelligence with a new experiment to look for powerful light pulses beamed our way from other star systems. Scientists from the University of California's Lick Observatory, the SETI Institute, UC-Santa Cruz, and UC-Berkeley used the Lick Observatory's 40-inch Nickel Telescope with a new pulse-detection system capable of finding laser beacons from civilizations many light-years distant. Unlike other optical SETI searches, this new experiment is largely immune to false alarms that slow the reconnaissance of target stars. See article.
g Cosmicus - Death by asteroids, comets and gamma ray bursts was on the agenda of the conference on Global Catastrophic Risks this past weekend. See article.
g Aftermath - Book Alert: Science fiction writers have given us many fine novels contemplating humankind's first contact with intelligent extraterrestrials. But our nonfiction world has not thought much about what to do if we are actually faced with this situation. Jean Heidmann, Chief Astronomer at the Paris Observatory (and self-styled bioastronomer), offers a book, “Extraterrestrial Intelligence,” on the subject that is at once serious and fun. Heidmann's obvious joy in raw speculation — all of it grounded in real science — is contagious. If aliens send us a message from many light years away, for example, how should we respond? Click here for reviews.

Water on the Moon and preparing the public for news that ET exists

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star LP 944-020?
g Abodes - Using new techniques, scientists have discovered for the first time that tiny beads of volcanic glasses collected from two Apollo missions to the Moon contain water. The researchers found that, contrary to previous thought, water was not entirely vaporized in the violent events that formed the Moon. See article.
g Life -A new study has shown bacterial cells can perform a number of tasks without the involvement of DNA. The findings provide a glimpse into what the earliest forms of life on Earth may have looked like. See article.
g Message -Here’s an article in which Dave DeBoer, project engineer for the Allen Telescope Array, discusses what the unique telescope will offer. The development of the Allen Telescope Array is marked by many innovations crafted with the express purpose of building a world-class state-of-the-art astronomical facility at a fraction of the price of existing radio telescopes. See article. Note: This article is from October 2003.
g Learning - The confidence that alien life will ultimately be found is strong enough to have kindled formal discussions among scientists, philosophers, theologians and others about the implications that such a find would have for humanity's view of itself, and how to prepare the public for the news, should it come. See article.
g Aftermath - "Any discovery of extraterrestrial life would raise some challenging questions -- about the origin of life on Earth as well as elsewhere, about the centrality of humankind in the universe, and about the creation story in the Bible," said Connie Bertka, a Unitarian minister with a background in Martian geology. See article.

Origin of life pushed back 500 million years and ‘Sharing the Universe’

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star GJ 832?
g Abodes -Geologists have found that major basins in India are 500 million years older than previously thought. The study may lend weight to idea that complex life originated earlier in Earth's history. See article.
g Message -Quote of the Day: “The stars … blindly run;/A web is wov’n across the sky;/From out waste places comes a cry” – Lord Alfred Tennyson, “In Memoriam, A.H.H. III”
g Learning -TERC has developed a middle and high school curriculum that stimulates student learning and participation with intriguing questions and illuminating activities. Astrobiology, by its very nature, kindles interest and curiosity in students and offers a genuinely exciting entrée to high school science. Students experience science in a relevant and meaningful way as they consider the fascinating story of searching for life in the universe. See article.
g Aftermath - For some provocative reading, pick up “Sharing the Universe,” by Seth Shostak, at your local bookstore. SETI scientist Shostak almost single-handedly is outlining social and political issues that will arise once we make contact with extraterrestrials. For reviews, click here.

Comet or asteroid exploded over Canada 12,900 years ago and ‘After Contact’

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star GJ 388?
g Abodes -New evidence indicates that a comet or asteroid exploded over Canada 12,900 years ago. The event occurred at the end of the last Ice Age and coincides with an age of extinction. See article.
g Message - The story goes like this: Sometime in the 1940s, Enrico Fermi was talking about the possibility of extra-terrestrial intelligence with some other physicists. They were impressed that life had evolved quickly and progressively on Earth. They figured our galaxy holds about 100 billion stars, and that an intelligent, exponentially reproducing species could colonize the galaxy in just a few million years. They reasoned that extraterrestrial intelligence should be common by now. Fermi listened patiently, then asked, simply, "So, where is everybody?" That is, if extra-terrestrial intelligence is common, why haven't we met any bright aliens yet? This conundrum became known as Fermi's Paradox. See article.
g Cosmicus -Reno astronomer Dan Ruby is one of a 10-member team that will spend a month in Chile's Atacama desert region, developing techniques for discovering and studying caves on Mars. The expedition might give NASA scientists the information they need to one day survive on Mars. See article.
g Learning -She may be only 11 years old, but Paris Anderson is off to college. The preteen, who is a member of the National Society for the Gifted and Talented, begins a three-week residential program Sunday at Amherst College in Massachusetts. Among the courses she will be studying are creative writing, zoology and astrobiology. See article.
g Aftermath - Here’s an interesting book for some astrobiological reading: “After Contact: The Human Response to Extraterrestrial Life” by Albert A. Harrison. Click here for reviews.

A planetary system similar to ours and the Mars-desert caves of Chile analog

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 discovered a planetary system orbiting a distant star which looks much like our own. See article.
g Abodes -New data from Mercury has revealed that volcanism played a larger role in the planet’s past than previously thought. Additionally, the surface of Mercury has been found to be very iron deficient. See article.
g Message - Here’s a near article in which SETI supporter Larry Klaes discusses at the Allen Telescope Array. See article.
g Cosmicus -A research expedition through the desert caves of Chile may give NASA scientists just the information they need to one day survive on Mars. See article.

Universe now twice as bright and students study life on Mars

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 - The universe is twice as bright than previously thought, astronomers claim. See article.
g Abodes -The smallest planet in the Solar System has become even smaller, studies by the Messenger spacecraft have shown. 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 numbers look today? See articles. Note: This article is from 2002.
g Cosmicus -Unmanned, toy-sized snowmobiles recently navigated Alaska's frozen arctic outback. The new technology may one day help scientists study the affects of global climate change on melting ice in the arctic. See article.
g Learning -School pupils in Dundee, Perth and Fife are exploring life on Mars. See article.
g Aftermath - With humanity now on the verge of being capable to leave its home world, Earth, scientists have begun to wrestle with the consequences of this next great journey; of the social impact humanity will have upon discovering life elsewhere, be it fossil, bacterial or an intelligent civilization. See article. Note: This article is from 1999.

Biology from chemistry and sending Bach to aliens

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star GJ 876?
g Abodes -One hundred years ago, 800 square miles of forest was destroyed in Siberia by a powerful impact. Studying the site has revealed clues about how impacts affect ecosystems and human populations on Earth. See article.
g Life - Biology arose as a spontaneous development from the chemistry of the early Earth by Free Energy–driven processes that occurred in common environments involving significant populations of systems. Molecular imprinting to matrices is capable of catalysis of polymer formation and reproduction that, in association with self-assembled membranes, could lead to proto-enzymes, proto-ribosomes, and proto-cells. Proto-cells would evolve via processes analogous to Darwinian natural selection. These hypotheses are testable by controlled laboratory experiments. What we call “life” is the sum of properties of such highly evolved systems. See article.
g Message - One of our natural tendencies when we make contact with strangers is to try to impress them. Sloppy dressers might polish their shoes for a job interview, hopeful suitors will wash their cars for a first date and prospective children-in-law will be on their best behavior in the presence of the parents of their intended. Wouldn’t we want to do the same in our first contact with ET? Lewis Thomas, in his book “Lives of a Cell,” suggests that if we want to impress an alien civilization, we should send "Bach, all of Bach, streamed out into space, over and over again." See article.
g Aftermath - In the last quarter of the twentieth century, an international social movement — Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence — has emerged which advocates an attempt to achieve communication with extraterrestrial intelligence, and many of its most active members have been leading scientists. Modest efforts to detect radio signals from intelligent extraterrestrials already have been made, both under government aegis and privately funded, and the technical means for a more vigorous search have been developed. If a CETI project were successful, linguists would suddenly have one or more utterly alien languages to study, and some consideration of linguistic issues is a necessary preparation for it. See article.

How asteroids are shaped and deliberately beaming high-powered signals into space

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star GJ 1002?
g Abodes -Researchers have been using a vast database to show that asteroids are shaped by small impacts over time. See article.
g Message - Would anyone deliberately beam high-powered signals into space? Can we assume that extraterrestrial societies would broadcast in ways that would mark their location as plainly as a flag on a golf green? See article.
g Cosmicus -When astronauts spend extended periods of time in space, the effects of living in microgravity (weightlessness) can take months to recover from. See article.
g Aftermath - Book alert: Science fiction writers have given us many fine novels contemplating humankind's first contact with intelligent extraterrestrials. But our nonfiction world has not thought much about what to do if we are actually faced with this situation. In “Extraterrestrial Intelligence,” Jean Heidmann, chief astronomer at the Paris Observatory (and self-styled bioastronomer), offers a book on the subject that is at once serious and fun. Heidmann's obvious joy in raw speculation - all of it grounded in real science - is contagious. If aliens send us a message from many light years away, for example, how should we respond? Heidmann reviews the protocols established in the SETI Declaration and then offers his own suggestion: send them the entire contents of the Encyclopedia Britannica. See article.

Ancient diamonds from Western Australia and the Astrobiology Field Laboratory

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star GJ 440?
g Abodes -Ancient diamonds from the rugged rocks of Western Australia are about to trigger a modern scientific explosion. 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. For a Web page memorial to Big Ear. See article.
g Cosmicus -The Astrobiology Field Laboratory (also known as AFL), is a proposed NASA unmanned planetary spacecraft to explore the planet Mars. The rover will be built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and will be based upon the Mars Science Laboratory design, but with more astrobiology-oriented instruments. Current plans call for a launch around 2016, most likely by an Atlas V rocket. See article.
g Aftermath - The scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence is accelerating its pace and adopting fresh strategies. This increases the likelihood of successful detection in the near future. Humanity's first contact with alien intelligence will trigger extraordinary attention from the media, from government authorities, and from the general public. By improving our readiness for contact, especially for security during the first 30 days, we can avoid the most negative scenarios — and also enhance humanity's benefits from this first contact with an alien intelligence. Six potential problem areas include communicating with the media and the public, communicating with scientific colleagues, government control, an assassin or saboteur, well-meaning officials and lawsuits. See article.

The sounds of extrasolar planets and how will we react to ETI?

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star system Gliese 1245 ABC?
See article.
g Abodes -Scientists are beginning to understand radio emissions emitted by aurora on Earth. The new study will help future astronomers search for extrasolar planets by listening for the sounds they make. See article.
g Message - A recent study suggests it is more energy efficient to communicate across interstellar space by sending physical material — a sort of message in a bottle — than beams of electromagnetic radiation. Solid matter can hold more information and journey farther than radio waves, which disperse as they travel. See article.
g Aftermath - Astronomers are searching hard for that first interstellar phone-call from ET. But when it happens, how will we react? Will it be a major trauma for humankind, or a new beginning? See article. Note: This article is a few years old.

Drizzle on Mars and how to become an astrobiologist

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star Gliese 674?
g Abodes -A new study of Martian soil suggests there was once enough water in Mars' atmosphere for a light drizzle to reach the ground. The finding has important implications in understanding the potential for past life on Mars. See article.
g Message - During the early 1980s, David Brin offered an explanation for Fermi’s Paradox, which asked why if extraterrestrial life existed it wasn’t on Earth. Brin’s answer: The Zoo Hypothesis. Here’s a copy of that groundbreaking paper, “The 'Great Silence': The Controversy Concerning Extraterrestrial Life.” See article.
g Cosmicus -A new study offers a simplified technique for detecting biological molecules in Martian rock. The equipment is too large to be put on a rover, but it could be used to analyze samples brought back from Mars. See article.
g Learning -What is an astrobiologist - and how do I become one? See article.
g Aftermath - What affect would the discovery of alien life have on the story-telling genre that inspires the search for it — science fiction? See article.

Exoplanet database and astrobiology-sponsored robotic explorers

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star LHS 292?
g Abodes -Extrasolar planet (exoplanet) discoveries are on the rise, to the point where it is a challenge to keep up with new findings. Those who are interested in keeping up with exoplanet discoveries can turn to free public databases maintained by NASA and other organizations. See article.
g Message - You don't have to leave Earth to find intelligent life on other worlds. All you have to do is tune in ... at the right time ... on the right frequency ... in the right direction ... with the right spectrometer ... using the most powerful supercomputer on this planet. Note: this article is from 2004. See article.
g Cosmicus -The June 26 issue of Nature features a report on the results of underwater research conducted with a pair of NASA Astrobiology-sponsored robotic explorers. See article.
g Aftermath - Scientists such as the SETI Institute’s John Billingham and Jill Tarter have taken the lead in planning for the day we might receive a signal from life beyond Earth. Working with diplomats and space lawyers, they have helped develop protocols that guide the activities of SETI scientists who think they may have detected extraterrestrial intelligence. See article. Note: This story is a couple of years old.

When gas giants form and proposed European manned spaceship

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star Gliese 687?
g Abodes - New research indicates that gas giants, like Jupiter and Saturn, form quickly after their stars do. In fact, they probably form within the first 10 million years of a star's life, or else they never form at all. See article.
g Life - A new study has found that, contrary to a long-held belief, marine species diversified early in history rather than becoming more diverse with time. See article.
g Message - Perhaps nothing says SETI Today more than the Allen Telescope Array, which is being built in collaboration with the Radio Astronomy Lab of the University of California, Berkeley. While the array is often described as a "dual use instrument," it would be more correct to say that it is a multi-tasking instrument. The simple implication that the array will conduct "SETI" and "other astronomy" is misleading. See article. Note: this article is from 2003.
g Cosmicus -A model of a proposed European manned spaceship has gone on show at the Berlin Air Show. See article.
g Aftermath - While no one can guarantee SETI’s success (the discovery of an alien civilization), that may not matter. At its deeper levels, SETI stimulates and influences our thoughts and transforms our society. See article.

Dry Antarctica’s water and last shuttle flights announced

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star LHS 288?
g Abodes -NASA says the soil appears similar to that found in Antarctica's dry upper valleys and the salts it contains are another indication of the presence of water. See article.
g Message - The Search for Extraterrestrial Artifacts, or SETA, is about delineating between the artificial and the real. In the case of radio detection from other stellar systems, the artificial is what is labeled the real signal that intelligent communications are on-air. See article. Note: This article is a couple of years old.
g Cosmicus -NASA has announced the dates of its last shuttle flights. See article.
g Aftermath - Among scientists involved in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, it’s quite common to be focused on the future, ever mindful that it could take years, or even decades, to find a signal from otherworldly intelligence. But if historian Steve Dick has his way, astronomers will also turn their attention toward the past as they search for life beyond Earth — to discover the aftereffects of contact between two intelligent cultures. See article. Note: This article is from 2003.

Habitability of TZ Arietis and why ‘Planet of the Apes’ is evolution misunderstood

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star TZ Arietis?
g Abodes -According to a new study, differences between the northern and southern hemispheres of Mars could be the results of an asteroid impact. The finding could yield important information about the history and evolution of the Martian environment. See article.
g Message - Want to get a sense of SETI’s history and varying projects? Jodrell Bank Observatory offers an easy to follow yet informative primer.
g Imagining -Charley Lineweaver explains how the movie “Planet of the Apes” is based on a flawed notion of evolution. Understanding this, he says, has implications for our search for life elsewhere in the universe. See article.
g Aftermath - In the next two dozen years, the Allen Telescope Array will parse the nearest thousand light-years of space. If there are other occupants of this galactic neighborhood, we could turn up a signal. But then what? Would the discovery be put under wraps, either voluntarily or by government edict? If we found a signal, would you know? See article.

Reconstructing planetary origins and light pulses beamed our way from other star systems

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star Van Maanen’s Star?
g Abodes -An analysis of lava samples from Hawaii has given scientists a new tool for reconstructing planetary origins. The study will help us understand how planets form, and may help in the search for terrestrial planets beyond our solar system. See article.
g Message - In 2001, California astronomers broadened the search for extraterrestrial intelligence with a new experiment to look for powerful light pulses beamed our way from other star systems. Scientists from the University of California's Lick Observatory, the SETI Institute, UC-Santa Cruz, and UC-Berkeley used the Lick Observatory's 40-inch Nickel Telescope with a new pulse-detection system capable of finding laser beacons from civilizations many light-years distant. Unlike other optical SETI searches, this new experiment is largely immune to false alarms that slow the reconnaissance of target stars. See article.
g Aftermath - Alien encounters and science fiction permeate pop culture, but what would it really mean if scientists found life beyond Earth? If even a single-celled organism on another planet was discovered, for many, this would be the last thread of evidence proving that life is simply chemistry. See article. Note: This article is from 2003.

Phoenix Lander tests Martian soil and new astrobiology degree program

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star Gliese 1?
g Abodes -The Phoenix Lander has performed its first wet chemistry test on Martian soil. Scientists hope to understand the chemistry of wet soil on Mars, and determine if aspects of the soil might support life. See article.
g Message - How scientifically accurate was the ultimate astrobiology film, “Contact”? See article.
g Learning -An academic degree program to help scientists be more versatile in order to tackle an array of emerging challenges to science and humanity is launching at the University of Arizona. See article.
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.

Prospecting for in a molecular cloud and volcanic eruptions beneath Arctic ice

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star system Wolf 424 AB?
g Abodes -A research team led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has uncovered evidence of explosive volcanic eruptions deep beneath the ice-covered surface of the Arctic Ocean. Such violent eruptions of splintered, fragmented rock - known as pyroclastic deposits - were not thought possible at great ocean depths because of the intense weight and pressure of water and because of the composition of seafloor magma and rock. See article.
g Life - Scientists are using the giant Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope to go prospecting in a rich molecular cloud in our Milky Way Galaxy. They seek to discover new, complex molecules in interstellar space that may be precursors to life. See article.
g Message - What technological manifestations would make an advanced extraterrestrial civilization detectable? Note: This paper was written in 1992. See article.
g Aftermath - Book alert: You may have to really scour used book stores for this one: 1976’s “ETI: The First Encounter” considers the consequences to man's view of himself and his world of the first proven contact — when it comes — with beings from another planet. Edited by James L. Christian, this book led the way in reflecting on the next stage in man's gradual self-discovery. Click here for the table of contents and ISBN.

Larger than Pluto-sized object striking Mars and Arthur C. Clarke’s vision

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star GJ 1061?
g Abodes -New data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Global Surveyor backs a theory that the Red Planet's huge northern hemisphere Borealis basin was created by an impact 3.9 billion years ago by a body some 1,200 miles in diameter, or larger than Pluto. See article.
g Life -Life on Earth might have emerged about 750 million years earlier than previously thought, new research suggests. See article.
g Message - The spectral approach is a universal tool of both astronomical observations and SETI. Furthermore, it has a clear physical meaning – a spectrometer finds the energy distribution of photons, in human sensing it is color and pitch. Under the hypothesis on identity of physical laws in our part of universe, it may be proposed that spectrometry also are using by those aliens, who know radio and lead theirs own SETI, too. See article.
g Cosmicus -Arthur C. Clarke died earlier this year aged 90. Known as “the colossus of science fiction”, Arthur became famous for his vision about futuristic communication satellites, the moon landings he foresaw, and much else. See article.
g Aftermath - If we find other civilizations, what will we say to them? Crafting a message that represents Earth and humanity and can be understood by another life form is no minor endeavor. SETI Institute psychologist Douglas Vakoch has been charged with this formidable task, and has enlisted the help of mathematicians, artists, astronomers and anthropologists. Hear the messages he helped compose and learn about the thinking behind them.

Possible evidence of early life - and postbiological life

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star Gliese 628?
g Abodes -Material from Earth’s first billion years, including possible evidence of early life, may be preserved in meteorites on the moon. See article.
g Message - Postbiological life might operate (communicate, organize, travel, colonize) on a larger scale than a single galaxy—possibly on the scale of the supercluster. The most advanced postbiological civilizations in our Local Supercluster may have developed in the Virgo Cluster, a rich cluster where intergalactic communication and travel would be easiest. If these advanced civilizations wanted to contact new civilizations elsewhere in the Supercluster they might collectively broadcast from one central location, for the sake of efficiency and to make it easy to find. A powerful, centrally located beacon would tend to replace all others in the Supercluster. This could explain the failure of SETI. The most likely location for this beacon is the giant elliptical galaxy M87. See article.
g Aftermath - Will we ever find a primer for decoding messages from extraterrestrials? A gathering of anthropologists at a major conference in Atlanta heard some news that will be sobering for SETI enthusiasts: it may be much more difficult to understand extraterrestrials than many scientists have thought before. See article.

Crater in Virginia and evolution in Spore

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby star system Ross 614 AB?
g Abodes -Hollywood directors, take note – geologists have pieced together a cinematic account of a violent impact that gouged out a 90-kilometre-wide crater in Virginia 35 million years ago. Surprisingly, the impact may have created a new niche for life deep underground. See article.
g Intelligence -Oscar Levant, a mid-century pianist, film star and wit, once watched noted keyboardist and composer George Gershwin spend an evening playing his own music at a party and clearly having a great time. "Tell me, George," Levant said, somewhat jealously, "if you have it to do all over again would you still fall in love with yourself?" See article.
g Message - The famous question posed by the physicist Enrico Fermi in 1950 remains unanswered. "Where is everybody?" he asked. If the galaxy is teeming with sophisticated aliens, we should have heard from them by now. A new response to the Fermi Paradox comes in a recent issue of the journal New Astronomy. The aliens, like the truth, may be out there - but perhaps are so far out that there's no hope of receiving even a text message. See article. Note: this article is from 2006.
g Imagining - Spore, the latest game from The Sims creator Will Wright, is evolving into a sensation — months before it hits stores. See article.
g Aftermath - Looking for some interesting reading on “first contact”? Try the science fiction anthology “First Contact,” edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Larry Segriff. The book came out in 1997. Here’s a review (though it’s less than flattering).