Planets, planets everywhere and mass extinctions take time

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 - Planets in habitable zones, planets orbiting twin suns, miniature solar systems, rogue planets, planets, planets, planets. If there is one single piece of information you should take away from the recent flood of incredible exoplanetary discoveries it is this: Our universe makes planets with extraordinary efficiency – if planets can form somewhere, they will. See article.
g Life - A painstakingly detailed investigation shows that mass extinctions need not be sudden events. The deadliest mass extinction of all took a long time to kill 90 percent of Earth's marine life, and it killed in stages, according to a newly published report. See article.
g Message - In August 1977, a sky survey conducted with Ohio State University's "Big Ear" radio telescope found what has become known as the 'Wow' signal. Registering an enormous signal strength, the shape of the signal had the characteristic rise and fall expected for its short 72 second lifetime. See article.
g Learning - Philanthropists will sometimes give large sums of money to support science — but researchers have to learn how to sell themselves first. See article.
g Imagining - Here’s an interesting piece published in an online science fiction fanzine that examines if aliens in our literature can be considered truly “evil.” See article.

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