Places on Earth that resemble Mars and ‘The Evolutionary World’

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 - NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed what looks like a festive holiday bauble in space – a delicate sphere of gas floating serenely in the cosmos. See article.
g Abodes - While no place on Earth is exactly like Mars, various spots are quite similar to the red planet at different times in its past. A new study details the Martian ages and the places on Earth that best resemble them. See article.
g Life - Book alert: To earn the title of distinguished professor of geology at the University of California, Davis, Geerat Vermeij had to be an astute and careful observer, an original thinker and analyst, and a skilled teacher and communicator. All of those qualities are on display in his new book, “The Evolutionary World.” It is, as his subtitle notes, a fascinating look at “How Adaptation Explains Everything from Seashells to Civilization.” See review.
g Intelligence - Researchers have shed new light on dopamine's role in the brain's reward system, which could provide insight into impulse control problems associated with addiction and a number of psychiatric disorders. See article.
g Message - If some day we decide to transmit intentional messages to the stars, rather than solely listen as current SETI programs do, what would we say? What sort of first impression would we want to give our celestial correspondents? See article. This article is from 2002.
g Cosmicus - Quote of the Day: “Do you have to act out the dreams of your mothers and fathers? If we had always done so, would we not still be sitting in the jungle in the middle of Africa, going in fear of the tribe in the next tree?” – Brian W. Aldiss, “White Mars”
g Learning - NASA funding will help launch a project that will use high-altitude scientific ballooning as part of an astrobiology curriculum in some 10th grade Maine classrooms. See article.

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