Sunday, April 17, 2011

Calcium carbonate crystal eyes and what sort of signal is a SETI hit

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 - Astronomers across the globe can now sift through hundreds of millions of galaxies, stars and asteroids collected in the first bundle of data from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission. The data is invaluable for astrobiologists seeking to understand the nature of our universe and the potential for habitable planets other than our own Earth. See article.
g Life - Scientists have discovered a simple mollusk that may use eyes made of a calcium carbonate crystal to spot predators. The finding provides a new example of how evolution leads to unique traits for life. See article.
g Intelligence - Recording people belting out an old Motown tune and then asking them to listen to their own singing without the accompanying music seems like an unusually cruel form of punishment. But for a team of scientists, this exact Karaoke experiment has revealed what part of the brain is essential for embarrassment. See article.
g Message - What sort of signal would satisfactorily announce an extraterrestrial intelligence as detected by radio-emission or light reception? For an opinion article on what sort of signal is a SETI hit, click here.

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