Oxygen-rich oceans and ‘The Eerie Silence’

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Life - The conventional view of the history of the Earth is that the oceans became oxygen-rich to approximately the degree they are today in the Late Ediacaran Period (about 600 million years ago) after staying relatively oxygen-poor for the preceding four billion years. But biogeochemists have found evidence that shows that the ocean went back to being "anoxic" or oxygen-poor around 499 million years ago, soon after the first appearance of animals on the planet, and remained anoxic for 2-4 million years. What's more, the researchers suggest that such anoxic conditions may have been commonplace over a much broader interval of time, with their data capturing a particularly good example. See article.
g Intelligence - A new study following the evolution of lice shows modern humans started wearing clothes about 170,000 years ago, a technology which enabled them to successfully migrate out of Africa. See article.
g Message - Book alert: “The Eerie Silence: Are We Alone In The Universe?” by Paul Davies takes a look at the approaches being taken by researchers in myriad fields such as physics, astronomy, cosmology, astrobiology to look for alien life. See review.
g Cosmicus - The director of America's first commercial spaceport — now under construction in the New Mexico desert — has resigned, citing pressure from the state's new Republican governor. See article.
g Learning - A free color 2011 calendar is free for download from Montana State University's Astrobiology Biogeocatalysis Research Center (ABRC). The calendar includes facts about astrobiology research and extreme organisms in Yellowstone National Park, as well as a few astrobiology-related resources. See article.

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