Six exoplanets packed close to lone star and examining the Arecibo message

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Abodes - Astronomers behind NASA's $600 million Kepler mission say they’ve detected a star system that packs six planets inside a space that would fit within the orbit of Venus in our own solar system. It’s the marquee event for this week’s “big reveal” from the most sensitive planet-hunting probe ever launched. See article.
g Life - Tyrannosaurus rex hunted like a lion, rather than regularly scavenging like a hyena, reveals new research published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. See article.
g Intelligence - A team of scientists from around the globe have found that gut bacteria may influence mammalian brain development and adult behavior. See article.
g Message - In 1974, astronomers sent the "Arecibo message," a binary-coded signal that decodes to a graphic illustrating some basic characteristics of Earth. The message was intended more to demonstrate the power of the telescope than to contact distant civilizations. Cornell's 25th anniversary announcement includes a decoded explanation and more information about what the scientists were thinking. See article. This article is from 1999.
g Cosmicus - If an asteroid was heading toward Earth, would it better to destroy it or alter its trajectory? One team of scientists is studying how to divert asteroids by heating their surfaces. The research could be important in the coming decades as the asteroid Apophis approaches our planet. See article.

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