Sunday, January 25, 2009

New galaxy formation theory and alien minds

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 - Cosmologists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have come up with a new theory as to how galaxies were formed in the universe billions of years ago, attributing their formation to intensive cosmic streams of cold gas, and not galactic mergers. See article.
g Abodes - Astronomers have discovered a planet somewhat larger and more massive than Neptune as it passed in front of its parent star. This 'transit' method of finding planets is useful because it can yield information about the physical properties of the planet. See article.
g Message - Here’s a nice summary of various astrobiological authors on the Fermi Paradox, or the question of why, if there supposedly are so many aliens, we haven’t met any of them yet.
g Imagining - Book alert: Of course, quality science fiction is really less about aliens than the human condition. That’s why you ought to scour some used bookstores for this rare edition: “Star Trek on the Brain: Alien Minds, Human Minds,” by Robert Sekuler and Randolph Blake. An educational and entertaining nonfiction work that uses Star Trek to explain the workings of the human mind, the authors (both psychology professors) have put together an excellent and highly readable neurology primer. Their two-pronged task is to give a Star Trek example and then link it to contemporary science of the nervous system. Do you want to better understand emotions, their cultural implications and universal expressions? Then this is the book. See reviews..
g Aftermath - An intriguing conference begins today at NASA Ames: “Contact: Culture of the Imagination.” Contact is a unique interdisciplinary conference that brings together some of the foremost international social and space scientists, science fiction writers and artists to exchange ideas, stimulate new perspectives and encourage serious, creative speculation about humanity's future ... onworld and offworld. See article.

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