Quintuplet stars, near-Earth space radiation and ‘Life on Earth … and Elsewhere?’

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - For the first time, scientists have identified the cluster of quintuplet stars in the Milky Way's galactic center, next to the super massive black hole, as massive binary stars nearing the end of their life cycle, solving a mystery that had dogged astronomers for more than 15 years. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/17quintuplets/.
g Abodes - The Alps, the iconic rugged mountains that cover parts of seven European nations, might have reached their zenith millions of years ago, some scientists believe, and now are a mere shadow of their former selves. New research offers an explanation. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060815162222.htm.
g Life - In a study of sexually transmitted diseases, scientists have concluded that the length of time people stay together can determine which infectious diseases circulate in a community and therefore how diseases evolve multiple strains. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060810_illness_spread.html.
g Intelligence - As we yawn and open our eyes in the morning, the brain stem sends little puffs of nitric oxide to another part of the brain, the thalamus, which then directs it elsewhere. Like a computer booting up its operating system before running more complicated programs, the nitric oxide triggers certain functions that set the stage for more complex brain operations, according to a new study. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060817_brain_boot.html.
g Message - Here’s something neat: A site about Project Target, or the Telescope Antenna Researching Galactic Extraterrestrial Transmissions, from Hay River Radio, which boldly proclaims that such signals indeed exist! See http://space.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htmsite=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.area31.org%2Ftarget.html.
g Cosmicus - Four university teams will share $100 million to provide experiments and supporting hardware for a future NASA mission to study near-Earth space radiation. This type of radiation is hazardous to astronauts, orbiting satellites and aircraft flying high altitude polar routes. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/01rbsp/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom resource courtesy of NASA: “Life on Earth … and Elsewhere?” This booklet contains five classroom activities for grades 5-10 spanning topics from "Defining Life," to "Determining the Chances of Extraterrestrial Life." See http://www.erg.pdf/.
g Imagining - Like stories about alien biologies/environments? Be sure to scour your favorite used bookstores for Brian Stableford’s Daedelus Series: “The Florians” (1976), “Critical Threshold” (1977), “Wildeblood's Empire” (1977), “City of the Sun” (1978), “Balance of Power” (1979) and “Paradox of the Sets” (1979). In the series, the Starship Daedelus recontacts lost colonies with biological mysteries.
g Aftermath - Scientists should pay greater attention to discussing the social implications of discovering extraterrestrial life — even though many researchers shy away from the subject because they don't consider it "hard" science. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/article163.html.

Galaxy's oldest and dimmest stars, rosy Hyperion and strategies for contact other than radio waves

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have imaged some of the galaxy's oldest and dimmest stars, offering a rare experimental glimpse of two mysterious star types tiny, slow burners less than one-tenth the size of our sun and once giant stars that still glow more than 10 billion years after their deaths. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/17dimmest/.
g Abodes - Unlike most of the dull grey moons in the solar system, Hyperion's color is a rosy tan. The origin of the moon's unusual hue is not known. Some scientists suspect the color comes from falling debris from moons further out. A similar origin has been suggested for the dark reddish material on Saturn's moon Iapetus. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/cassini/060810hyperion.html. For related story, see “Boosting Enceladus' signal” at http://www.spaceflightnow.com/cassini/060810enceladus.html.
g Life - Some 15 years ago, blue mussels knew their enemies and had a rather peaceful life in the New England waters. But when an invasive crab species turned up, the mussels moved quickly to defend themselves against this new predator by thickening their shells. Such rapid evolutionary response is a "nanosecond" compared with the thousands of years that it normally takes for a species to respond to a predator. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060810
_mussel_evolve.html.
g Intelligence - Teens whose iPods are full of music with raunchy, sexual lyrics start having sex sooner than those who prefer other songs, a study found. See http://www.livescience.com/human
biology/ap_060807_raunchy_music.html.
g Message - When looking for ET, we may have to consider other strategies beyond radio waves. See http://www.zeitlin.net/OpenSETI/NewSearches.html. As a side note, one of those strategies might by looking for optical signals; see http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&
file=article&sid=174 for more.
g Cosmicus - Engineers are conducting research to help NASA develop rockets faster and less expensively for future missions to Mars and the moon. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060808182312.htm.
g Learning - Americans love science in their movies and TV shows, yet recent reports indicate we are losing our scientific dominance to the rest of the world. Can science-themed entertainment get Americans off the couch and into the lab? See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&
file=article&sid=1032.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read James E. Gunn’s “The Listeners,” published by Scribner's in 1972.
g Aftermath - Though an older Web posting, “After Contact, Then What?” shows how little we’ve thought about this question. See http://www.setileague.org/askdr/whatnext.htm.

Redefining planets, SETI 2020 and Voyager I

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - NASA could soon watch the Sun's violent behavior when the star's magnetic field becomes unstable shooting plasma and high-energy particles deep into space. See http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060817_stereo_launch.html.
g Abodes - A new "scientific and simple" proposal to define the word "planet" will be released Wednesday and astronomers will vote on it next week. It is not clear whether the definition will settle a long-running debate on the status of Pluto, however. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060814_pluto_fate.html.
g Life - Fossils of a new hoofed mammal that resembles a cross between a dog and a hare which once roamed the Andes Mountains in southern Bolivia around 13 million years ago has been discovered by scientists. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060809233342.htm.
g Intelligence - Pictures of brain waves that reveal our ability to see color could provide a new objective way to diagnose and monitor diseases that affect human color perception. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060809233807.htm.
g Message - Book alert: If you are interested in how researchers plan to search the heavens for signs of intelligent life, you should have “SETI 2020” on your bookshelf. Written by Ronald D. Ekers (editor), D. Kent Cullers and John Billingham, “SETI 2020: is a remarkably comprehensive study of how scientists busy with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence should direct their efforts between now and the year 2020. Distilling the work of dozens of top SETI experts, astronomers and technology mavens, this book gives an overview of the problem of finding evidence for extraterrestrial technologies, and how to best address it. New radio telescopes consisting of large arrays of relatively small antennas are proposed and detailed. So are new types of antennas that can survey the entire sky at once. Of particular interest is the extensive treatment of optical SETI — the search for signals beamed our way using high-powered, pulsed lasers or their equivalent. A book that's interesting for both the layman and the technically sophisticated, “SETI 2020” is the definitive publication in this fascinating field. For more reviews, see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0966633539/ qid=1114304424/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/002-3047561-6697665.
g Cosmicus - Voyager 1, already the most distant human-made object in the cosmos, reached 100 astronomical units from the sun on Aug. 15 at 2:13 p.m. Pacific time. That means the spacecraft, which launched nearly three decades ago, is 100 times more distant from the sun than Earth is. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/
modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2056
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Learning - There are some great teacher resources on space biology at http://www.spacebio.net/modules/index.html. The modules cover such topics as “Life in the Universe,” “Radiation Biology” and “Life in Space Environments.” Each module includes an introduction, readings and references, teaching resources and research and applications.
g Imagining - Like stories about alien biologies/environments? Be sure to scour your favorite used bookstores for the late Poul Anderson’s “The Byworlder” (1971), which examines metazoans, linked cilia and radial lifeforms.
g Aftermath - If we find other civilizations, what will we say to them? Crafting a message that represents Earth and humanity and can be understood by another life form is no minor endeavor. SETI Institute psychologist Douglas Vakoch has been charged with this formidable task, and has enlisted the help of mathematicians, artists, astronomers and anthropologists. Hear the messages he helped compose and learn about the thinking behind them at http://www.exploratorium.edu/origins/arecibo/tools/vakoch.html.

Rocky worlds beyond Neptune, Project Orion moniker and if a signal is found

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - A fundamental force that holds electrons inside atoms and governs how charged particles and light interact is a little weaker than previously thought. See http://www.livescience.com/othernews/060815_constant_weak.html.
g Abodes - Dozens of rocky bodies that are part of a sea of small rocky fragments never observed before have been spotted in the suburbs of our solar system beyond planet Neptune, thanks to a novel technique. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060814_tno_found.html.
g Life - Songbirds use multiple sources of directional cues to guide their seasonal migrations, including the Sun, star patterns, the earth's magnetic field and sky polarized light patterns. To avoid navigational errors as cue availability changes with time of day and weather conditions, these "compass" systems must be calibrated to a common reference. Experiments over the last 30 years have failed to resolve the fundamental question of how migratory birds integrate multiple sources of directional information into a coherent navigational system. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060810213154.htm.
g Intelligence - Exploring exactly why some individuals' memory skills are better than others has led researchers at Washington University in St. Louis to study the brain basis of learning strategies that healthy young adults select to help them memorize a series of objects. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the researchers uncovered brain regions specifically correlated with the diverse strategies that subjects adopt. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060809082610.htm.
g Cosmicus - As collectSPACE.com first reported last month, NASA's new Crew Exploration Vehicle and moon landing program is expected to adopt the moniker Orion. The space agency hasn't yet announced the name, but a logo bearing the title has now been seen in a NASA internal document that labels the insignia as "approved." See http://www.space.com/includes/iab.html?url=/news/cs_060814_orion_logo.html. For related story, see “Readiness review clears Atlantis pending final issues” at http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060816frr/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity, courtesy of NASA: “The Drake Equation.” Students estimate the number of civilizations in the galaxy by first estimating the number of craters on the Moon and then by performing estimates of multiple-variable systems culminating in the use of the Drake Equation. See article.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Isaac Asimov’s short story "Not Final!" published in the Oct. 1941 edition of Astounding.
g Aftermath - In the next two dozen years, the Allen Telescope Array will parse the nearest thousand light-years of space. If there are other occupants of this galactic neighborhood, we could turn up a signal. But then what? Would the discovery be put under wraps, either voluntarily or by government edict? If we found a signal, would you know? See article.

Pluto saved, spectrometry in SETI and face time with Earth

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - The latest photo from the Hubble Space Telescope, presented at the 2006 General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Prague this week, shows a star forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This sharp image reveals a large number of low-mass infant stars coexisting with young massive stars. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/14hubblestars/.
g Abodes - The tally of planets in our solar system would jump instantly to a dozen under a highly controversial new definition proposed by the International Astronomical Union. See http://
www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060816_planet_definition.
html.
g Life - Researchers have came up with a way to tease out the cause of environmental changes in where invasive species have taken hold. Cattails, they found in northern Michigan wetlands, alter the environment in ways that hinder native species but benefit the invaders. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/
2006/08/060809173730.htm.
g Intelligence - The same chemical in the body that is targeted by the drug Viagra also helps our brains "boot up" in the morning so we can process sights, sound, touch and other sensory information. The discovery could lead to a better understanding of major brain disorders, according to researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/
2006/08/060808161139.htm.
g Message - The spectral approach is a universal tool of both astronomical observations and SETI. Furthermore, it has a clear physical meaning – a spectrometer finds the energy distribution of photons, in human sensing it is color and pitch. Under the hypothesis on identity of physical laws in our part of universe, it may be proposed that spectrometry also are using by those aliens, who know radio and lead their own SETI, too. See http://www.cplire.ru/html/ra&sr/irm/radio-signals.html.
g Cosmicus - Given the promise of privately built spaceships routinely skyrocketing from spaceports around the globe, rubbernecking customers will be afforded exceptional looks at Mother Earth and deep space. For some, it’s flat out thrill. There’s also the magic of microgravity as keepsake moments. And handheld photographs taken out windows can freeze-frame your personal space trek for later show-and-tell parties. But by all accounts, face time with Earth from space is a bonding experience. See http://www.space.com/news/060805_space_ecotourism.html.
g Learning - There’s a neat set of online activities, primarily for older teens or young adults, about communicating with extraterrestrial intelligence at http://ethel.as.arizona.edu/~collins/astro/subjects/ceti.html. It helps students learn about SETI while they send one another messages then decode them, as if they were alien civilizations on distant worlds.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Hal Clement’s novel, “Needle,” published by Doubleday in 1951.
g Aftermath - If we establish communication with a civilization even as close as 100 light years from Earth, the round-trip time for a message and its reply is 200 years. What will be the psychology of a civilization that can engage in a meaningful conversation with this sort of delay? How is such a conversation to be established? What should the content of such a conversation be? These are the questions which motivate this article’s title: "Minds and Millennia: The Psychology of Interstellar Communication." See http://web.
archive./org/web/20010217051450/204.240.36.10/radobs/
vol1no3/minds.htm

Orion nebula, Red Planet's potential for life and volunteers sought for 520-day mock Mars mission

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Astronomers have long scrutinized the vast and layered clouds of the Orion nebula, an industrious star-making factory visible to the naked eye in the sword of the famous hunter constellation. Yet, Orion is still full of secrets. A new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope probes deep into the clouds of dust that permeate the nebula and its surrounding regions. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/14orion/.
g Abodes - In this interview, Chris McKay explains why future missions must dig deep into the ice of Mars to learn about the Red Planet's potential for life. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2048mode
=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - In the long, dark days of winter, gardeners are known to count the days until spring. Now, scientists have learned, some plants do exactly the same thing. See http://www.sciencedaily
.com/releases/2006/08/060809233009.htm.
g Intelligence - A brain protein that sustains nerve cells also regulates anxiety and alcohol consumption in rats, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago report in a study in the Journal of Neuroscience. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060808184435.htm.
g Message - What are the chances that an alien signal has been sent our way just at the right moment to splash upon our antennas during that brief interval? If the extraterrestrials beam their broadcasts to the whole galaxy (or at least a big chunk of it), the chances are 100 percent. See http://space.com/searchforlife/060112_shostak_transmit.html.
g Cosmicus - Russia's space agency is seeking volunteers for a 520-day mock Mars mission. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/
index.phpfeed=Science&article=UPI12006080423565800bcrus
siamarsmission.xml.
g Learning - There may be numerous intelligent civilizations on planets throughout our galaxy. That's the hypothesis driving SETI research. We seek evidence of extraterrestrial technology using optical and radio telescopes to search for signals that emanate from other civilized worlds. These places are far, far away. But, when discussing the search with school children, they often simply ask, "Why don't we just go there?" This can be a teachable moment. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_devore_distance_031204.
html. Note: This article is from Dec. 2003.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Richard McKenna’s short story, "Mine Own Ways”, anthologized in “Casey Agonistes” (edited by Richard McKenna and published in 1960).
g Aftermath - If, as “The X-Files'” Fox Mulder might say, "The truth is out there," then the researchers running the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence program are likely to be the first ones to find it. On the other hand, there are numerous people who believe they've already been in contact with aliens. National Geographic's video ”Phantom Quest: The Search for Extraterrestrials” studies the claims of both groups, ultimately seeking to reveal precisely what an encounter with beings from another planet could mean for humanity. See http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue128/cool.html.

SETI@home, life on Mars and ‘In Cosmic Company’

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - For a star to form, gravity has to overcome buoyant magnetic forces that fight to keep a cloud of gas and dust from collapsing. Theorists have long suspected that the competition between gravity pulling inward and magnetic pressure pushing outward would produce a warped, hourglass pattern to the magnetic field within these collapsed cores. Now they've finally found just such a shape. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060814
_mystery_monday.html.
g Abodes - It was a science fiction fantasy come true: Ten years ago this summer, NASA announced the discovery of life on Mars. Ten years later, the results have not been verified. Skeptics have found non-biological explanations for every piece of evidence that was presented on Aug. 6, 1996. And though they still vigorously defend their claim, the NASA scientists who advanced it now stand alone in their belief. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/ap_060806_mars_rock.html.
g Life - The detailed images of embryos more than 500 million years old have been revealed by an international team of scientists. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060809173905.htm.
g Intelligence - Next time someone complains about arithmetic being hard, math lovers can defend themselves by saying "even a six-month-old can do it." See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/
060808_math_infants.html.
g Message - Here’s a nice primer on the SETI@home project plus some information about how to download the program: http://www.impactsites2000.com/tekreview/SETI2004.htm
g Cosmicus - Here’s a comprehensive list of the remaining space shuttle missions through the program's 2010 retirement. The flights will complete the orbital construction of the International Space Station. The listing also illustrates how the outpost will grow over the next few years. See http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/fdf/manifest.html. For related story, see “Shuttle communications antenna bolts a concern” at http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060813kubolts/.
g Learning - What are SETI scientists doing to foment the study and understanding of astrobiology in our schools? See http://space.com/searchforlife/seti_phspace_051117.html.
g Imagining - Like stories about alien anthropology/cultures? Be sure to scour your favorite used bookstores for David Brin’s Uplift Series: "Star Diver" (1980), "Startide Rising" (1983) and "The Uplift War" (1987), in which Earth takes its place in galactic politics, and from his New Uplift Trilogy: "Brightness Reef" (1995), "Infinity's Shore" (1997), in which six species live in harmony on an illegal colony world.
g Aftermath - Book alert: In their November 2003 book "In Cosmic Company: The Search for Life in the Universe," authors Seth Shostak and Alex Barnett ponder the possibility of alien life and the consequences of receiving a signal from the cosmos. They explain why scientists think sentient life might exist on other worlds, how we could discover it and what it might be like. Entertaining and informative, this hard cover book is lavishly illustrated. See http://
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail//0521822335/qid=
1089658746/sr=81/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/1039993768686
7868?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 for reviews.

Pre-life molecules, can aliens find us and aftereffects of first contact

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Abodes - Evidence of atomic nitrogen in interstellar gas clouds suggests that pre-life molecules may be present in comets, a discovery that gives a clue about the early conditions that gave rise to life. The finding also substantially changes the understanding of chemistry in space. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/04comets/.
g Life - Baby bats babble just like newborn human babes, a new study finds. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060809_babbling_bats.html.
g Intelligence - Social scientists and biophysical ecologists are finding that environmental surroundings may play a significant role in human social interaction, serving either as a social lubricant as in the first case, or as a barrier. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060809082733.htm.
g Message - Can aliens find us? With a really nice pair of binoculars, the Great Wall of China (not to mention less romantic constructions, such as interstate highways) does become visible from orbit. Any curious aliens that made it to within a few hundred miles of Earth would have no trouble seeing the artifacts of our civilization. They would know, without doubt, that technologically competent beings roamed our world. But how visible are we to aliens that are farther away? See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_shostak_aliens_031023. html. Here’s the follow-up to the article from 2003: http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_shostak_seeing_031120. html.
g Cosmicus - NASA Administrator Mike Griffin said the U.S. space agency would begin a formal assessment in 2007 of potential approaches for sending humans to Mars, but that he did not foresee astronauts embarking on a journey to the red planet for another 20 years or longer. See http://www.space.com/news/060803_griffin_
mars.html. For related story, see “Waiting for Martian Spring” at http://
www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file
=article&sid=2051mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Learning - Book alert for children: In "Looking for Life in the Universe," author Ellen Jackson and photographer Nic Bishop introduce readers to astrobiologist Jill Tarter and her thrilling, rigorous and awe-inspiring work in the field of SETI. See http://www./.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Gordon R. Dickson’s novel “The Alien Way” (published by Bantam, 1965).
g Aftermath - Among scientists involved in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, it’s quite common to be focused on the future, ever mindful that it could take years, or even decades, to find a signal from otherworldly intelligence. But if historian Steve Dick has his way, astronomers will also turn their attention toward the past as they search for life beyond Earth — to discover the aftereffects of contact between two intelligent cultures. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_vakoch_history_030612.
html. Note: This article is from 2003.

Planemos, ISS construction plans and ‘Advocating an Immediate Response’

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Abodes - Using the European Southern Observatory's telescopes in Chile, astronomers have spotted a seven-Jupiter mass object paired to another 14-Jupiter-mass companion. Instead of orbiting around a star, however, the two planetary mass objects, or "planemos," are circling each other. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060803_planemo_twins.html.
g Life - A University of Washington researcher has devised a way to use the fossil teeth of ancient bison as a tool to reconstruct historic climate and vegetation changes in America's breadbasket, the Great Plains. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060807154834.htm.
g Intelligence - Humans naturally have the power to remember almost two bits of information per second, or a few hundred megabytes over a lifetime. Compared with a DVD movie, which holds up to 17 gigabytes, that's nothing. See http://www.livescience.com/technology/060806_popsci_recall.html.
g Message - Looking for life elsewhere is a tough task for human or robot. The good news is that the scientific skill and tools to search for, detect and inspect extraterrestrial life are advancing rapidly. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/lifesigns_spots_020103.html.
g Cosmicus - When NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis launches toward the International Space Station this month, it will kick off an increasingly complex set of missions to complete the orbital laboratory, agency officials said. See http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060811_sts115_iss.html. For related “Atlantis crew ready to kick start station assembly” at http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060809tcdtqa/.
g Learning - Researchers need a clear agenda to harness the rapidly evolving potential of the World Wide Web, according to an article in the Aug. 11 issue of the journal Science. Calling for the creation of an interdisciplinary “science of the Web,” a group of computer scientists suggests the need for new approaches to tap the full richness of this powerful tool, while ensuring that it develops in a way that benefits society as a whole. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060811091827.htm.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Ray Bradbury’s "Here There Be Tygers,” which appeared in the April-May 1953 issue of Amazing magazine.
g Aftermath - Donald E. Tarter, a consultant in space policy and technology assessment, makes a persuasive case for developing the protocols and technology to reply to an extraterrestrial signal before news of the discovery is made public, in his article, "Advocating an Immediate Response." Delay could be costly as technologically advanced fringe groups or ambitious nations could attempt to score a propaganda victory by being the first to reply, creating a mixed and perhaps embarrassing first message. This could be avoided by settling on a quick and simple message to let the extraterrestrial source know that we had received their message. See http://seti.planetary.org/Contact/ImmediateResponse.html. Note: This report is from 1996.

Cosmic dust, how life takes shape and rocketbelts

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Abodes - Each year nearly 40,000 tons of cosmic dust fall to Earth from outer space. Now, the first successful chronological study of extraterrestrial dust in Antarctic ice has shown that this amount has remained largely constant over the past 30,000 years, a finding that could help refine efforts to understand the timing and effects of changes in the Earth's past climate. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/03cosmicdust/.
g Life - How life takes shape is a mystery. Butterfly or baby, cells organize themselves into tissues, tissues form organs, organs become organisms. Over and over, patterns emerge in all living creatures. Spiders get eight legs. Leopards get spots. Every nautilus is encased in an elegant spiral shell. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060807154756.htm.
g Intelligence - From gamblers playing blackjack to investors picking stocks, humans make a wide range of decisions that require gauging risk versus reward. However, laboratory studies have not been able to unequivocally determine how the very basic information-processing "subcortical" regions of the brain function in processing risk and reward. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060803091759.htm.
g Message - "If you're sending a message to extraterrestrials, what you want to send is what's special about us and our planet — what is unusual," according to SETI astronomer Frank Drake. See his essay at http://www.forbes.com/2005/10/19/drake-frank-seti-aliens-comm05-cx_de_1024drake.html.
g Cosmicus - Let’s face it. Soaring through the sky in Superman-like style would be a Cloud 9-rated experience. Imagine propelling yourself from point-to-point via backpacking rocket power. For a group of test pilots, riding rocketbelt hardware is a trip down memory lane—back to the late 1950’s and bounding forward into the 1960’s. See http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/060802_rocket_belt.html.
g Learning - A comparison of peoples' views in 34 countries finds that the United States ranks near the bottom when it comes to public acceptance of evolution. Only Turkey ranked lower. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060810_evo_rank.html.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Morton Klass’ "Earthman's Burden," originally published in “Astounding” magazine’s May 1954 issue.
g Aftermath - While no one can guarantee SETI’s success (the discovery of an alien civilization), that may not matter. At its deeper levels, SETI stimulates and influences our thoughts and transforms our society. See http://astro.elte.hu/~bab/seti/ias1.htm.

Pre-life molecules in comets, reconstructing a 530-million-year-old gene and SETI protocols

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - A process similar to a conveyor belt transports heavy elements from the surface of stars into their interiors where they are destroyed, new observations suggest. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060809_lithium_riddle.html.
g Abodes - Evidence of atomic nitrogen in interstellar gas clouds suggests that pre-life molecules may be present in comets, a discovery that gives a clue about the early conditions that gave rise to life, according to researchers from the University of Michigan and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. See http://www.
astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file
=article&sid=2042mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - It's not Jurassic Park, but scientists have reconstructed a 530-million-year-old gene by piecing together key portions of two modern genes descended from it. See http://www.livescience.com
/animalworld/060807_gene_reconstruct.html.
g Intelligence - Is a pound of stones heavier than a pound of feathers? Of course they both weigh the same, but the decisions people make are remarkably susceptible to how choices are presented or framed. Now scientists are pinning down the centers in the brain related to how this "framing effect" can influence decision-making. The findings could have a big impact on economics, among other things. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/0608
03_irrational_brain.html.
g Message - While advanced civilizations might be tempted to use optical means such as lasers to send information between the stars, there are some good reasons that nearly all the major Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence experiments are looking for radio waves instead. See http://www.coseti.org/tps_01.htm.
g Cosmicus - Physicist James A. Van Allen, a leader in space exploration who discovered the radiation belts surrounding the Earth that now bear his name, died Wednesday. He was 91. see http://www.space.com/news/ap_060809_vanallen_obit.html.
g Learning - What are university students learning about astrobiology? Check out "An Introduction to Astrobiology." Compiled by a team of experts, this textbook has been designed for elementary university courses in astrobiology. It begins with an examination of how life may have arisen on Earth and then reviews the evidence for possible life on Mars, Europa and Titan. The potential for life in exoplanetary systems and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence are also discussed. The text contains numerous useful learning features such as boxed summaries, student exercises with full solutions, and a glossary of terms. It is also supported by a Web site hosting further teaching materials. Written in an accessible style that avoids complex mathematics, this book is suitable for self-study and will appeal to amateur enthusiasts as well as undergraduate students. It contains numerous helpful learning features such as boxed summaries, student exercises with full solutions, and a glossary of terms. The book is also supported by a Website hosting further teaching materials. See http://www.sci
encedaily./com/cgibin/apf4/amazon_products_feed.cgiOperation
=ItemLookup&ItemId=0521546214com/.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Mary Doria Russell’s novel, “The Sparrow,” published by Villard in 1996.
g Aftermath - Scientists such as the SETI Institute’s John Billingham and Jill Tarter have taken the lead in planning for the day we might receive a signal from life beyond Earth. Working with diplomats and space lawyers, they have helped develop protocols that guide the activities of SETI scientists who think they may have detected extraterrestrial intelligence. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_protocols_010228.html. Note: This story is a couple of years old.

Universe’s earlier epochs, history of the moon and the microwave band

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - A critically important number that specifies the expansion rate of the universe, the so-called Hubble constant, has been independently determined using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This new value matches recent measurements using other methods and extends their validity to greater distances, thus allowing astronomers to probe earlier epochs in the evolution of the universe. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/08hubbleconstant/.
g Abodes - Apollo turned our distant moon into the very edge of the human frontier, and rocks collected during that mission helped reveal the moon's evolutionary history. In this essay, Bernard Foing describes current scientific research that continues to teach us about the history of the moon. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/
modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article
&sid=2041mode=thread&order=0&thold=0. For related story, see “Moon's Strange Bulge Finally Explained” at http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060803_moon_shape.html.
g Life - Scientists led by a Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh geneticist have found new evidence that a category of genes known as pseudogenes serve no function, an important finding that bolsters the theory of evolution. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060801230141.htm.
g Intelligence - Everyone needs sleep, but temporary periods with no sleep can be a reality of military operations. To get answers on sleep questions for the military as well as civilians, for nearly four years, a Department of Defense-funded researcher has studied the effects of sleep deprivation on the brain, namely in decision making, as well as how long it takes to recover from periods of no sleep. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060807121151.htm.
g Message - The universe is a noisy place, filled with the hiss and crackle of stars being born and dying. There is little escape from this cosmic din, except in one small region of the radio dial — the microwave band. Here, only the faint whimper of the Big Bang breaks the silence, making it a “really good place to communicate,” according to Dan Werthimer of Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory, perched close to the stars atop Grizzly Peak. See http://www.alumni.
berkeley.edu/Alumni/Cal_Monthly/December_2000/Can_we_talk.
asp. Note: This article is from 2000.
g Cosmicus - A string of robot spacecraft will shoot for the Moon within the next two years, departing from Japan, China, India, as well as the United States. This multi-nation collection of science sensors and exploration gear will provide an extraordinary look at Earth's only natural satellite, setting the stage for a human return. See http://www.space.com/news/060731_moon_plans.html.
g Learning - Here’s an interesting classroom activity: “Who Can Live Here?” Students explore the limits of life on Earth to extend their beliefs about life to include its possibility on other worlds. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/astrobiology/LabActivities/Extreme
Environments.doc.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Hugh Walters’ short story, “First Contact?” published by Nelson in 1971.
g Aftermath - In a cross-cultural study conducted several years ago, to scientists looked at the attitudes of college students towards the possibility that extraterrestrial life might exist, and if it does, what it might be like for people to learn that it exists. See http://publish.seti.org/general/articles.phpid=54. Note: This article is from 2002.

Gamma ray bursts, Titan’s stones and life’s ingredients in interstellar dust clouds

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - NASA scientists and engineers have completed final testing and integration of the GLAST Burst Monitor, a space-based instrument for studying gamma ray bursts. Scientists think these bursts originate in the collapse of massive stars up to 100 times that of our sun, a process that eventually forms a black hole in space and poses unanswered questions to scientists on Earth. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/07glast/.
g Abodes - An unexpected radio reflection from the surface of Titan has allowed ESA scientists to deduce the average size of stones and pebbles close to the Huygens landing site. The technique could be used on other lander missions to analyze planetary surfaces for free. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload
&name=News&file=article&sid=2040mode=thread&order=0&
thold=0.
g Life - A two-year survey of enormous interstellar dust clouds has turned up eight organic molecules in two different regions of space. One is a stellar nursery awash in light while the other is a cold, starless void. The finding, detailed in the current issue of Astrophysical Journal, supports other recent studies suggesting molecules important for life commonly form in the gas and dust clouds that condense to form stars and planets. See http://www.
space.com/scienceastronomy/060808_st_life_molecules.html.
g Intelligence - The great apes are the smartest of all nonhuman primates, with orangutans and chimpanzees consistently besting monkeys and lemurs on a variety of intelligence tests, Duke University Medical Center researchers have found. See http://www.
sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060801231359.htm.
g Message - Interstellar transmissions via energy-markers (photons) or matter-markers (probes) appear to be energetically indistinguishable alternatives for advanced technical societies. Since only Type II and Type III civilizations realistically can afford beacons or star probe technology, alternative distinguishability criteria suggest the possible superiority of intelligent artifacts for contact and communication missions among extraterrestrial cultures. A balanced, more cost-effective Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence strategy is needed. See http://www.rfreitas.com/Astro/InterstellarProbesJBIS1980.htm.
g Cosmicus - The proliferation of garbage in low Earth orbit has reached a point where it will increase in the coming decades even if all rocket launches were canceled starting now, according to research by NASA’s Johnson Space Center. See http://www.space.com/spacenews/060731_businessmonday.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “Moons of Jupiter.” In this lesson plan, students build model rovers to learn about engineering and evidence of alien life. See http://www.adlerplanet/
arium.org/education/teachers/plans/alien/Lesson_Plan.pdf.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Lisanne Norman’s novel “Turning Point,” published by DAW in 1993.
g Aftermath - Book alert: Award-winning author Paul Davies, an eminent scientist who writes like a science fiction novelist, explores the ramifications of successful contact with alien life in his fascinating book, "Are We Alone? Philosophical Implications of the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life." "The discovery of a single extraterrestrial microbe," he writes, "would drastically alter our world view and change our society as profoundly as the Copernican and Darwinian revolutions. It could truly be described as the greatest scientific discovery of all time." Though a decade old, the book still is a great read. See http://www.innovationwatch.com/books/bks_0465004180.htm.

Larger universe, life-bearing planets around 55 Cancri and challenges in getting to

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - That intergalactic road trip to Triangulum is going to take a little longer than you had planned. An Ohio State University astronomer and his colleagues have determined that the Triangulum Galaxy, otherwise known as M33, is actually about 15 percent farther away from our galaxy than previously measured. See article.
g Abodes - In recent years, with improving technology, researchers have found a handful of systems that could harbor life-bearing planets, in theory at least. A nearby star called 55 Cancri is one of the leading candidates. See article.
g Life - Malaria has been outsmarting the human immune system for centuries. Now, using real-time imaging to track malaria infections in live mice, researchers have discovered one of the parasite's sneakiest tricks—using dead liver cells to cloak and transport itself back into the bloodstream after leaving the liver. See article.
g Intelligence - Three Florida teenagers recently pleaded not guilty to the brutal beatings and in one case, death, of homeless men. One of the beatings was caught on surveillance video and in a most chilling way illustrates how people can degrade socially outcast individuals, enough to engage in mockery, physical abuse, and even murder. According to new research, the brain processes social outsiders as less than human; brain imaging provides accurate depictions of this prejudice at an unconscious level. See article.
g Message - Book alert: In “Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations,” author Brian McConnell examines the science and technology behind the search for intelligent life in space, from the physics of inter-stellar laser and radio communication to information theory and linguistics. If you've ever wondered whether it really would be possible to communicate with other civilizations, you'll want to read this book. See reviews.
g Cosmicus - A former astronaut says protecting humans from high-level radiation, as well as bone and muscle loss, pose the greatest challenges in getting to Mars. See article. For related story, see “Piecing Phoenix Together”.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity courtesy of NASA: “Who Can Live Here?” Students explore the limits of life on Earth to extend their beliefs about life to include its possibility on other worlds. See article.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Gary A. Braunbeck’s short story "Kite People," anthologized in “First Contact,” edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Larry Segriff (published by DAW in 1997).
g Aftermath - What affect would the discovery of alien life have on the story-telling genre that inspires the search for it — science fiction? See article.

Get your SF book manuscript edited

Silicate particles in space, Mars’ planet-wide dust storms and estimating frequency for communicating with an extrasolar civilization

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - For years, scientists have observed unstructured silicate particles in space, but could not pinpoint the origin of recent observation of wide presence of crystalline silicates or their role in the Milky Way Galaxy. But several scientists have successfully created nanoclusters of silicates. They were also able to predict that these particles have absorption features from the red and blue lights found throughout the galaxy, and could be the original building blocks of Earth and other planets in our solar system. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060802101243.htm.
g Abodes - The planet-wide dust storms that periodically cloak Mars in a mantle of red may be generating a snow of corrosive chemicals, including hydrogen peroxide, that would be toxic to life, according to two new studies. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0607/31marssnow/.
g Life - Hundreds of dead or dying purple sea urchins have washed up into tide pools at a Southern California marine refuge center in recent days, but no one is certain what is killing them. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060804_ap_sea_urchins.html.
g Intelligence - A new study by a McGill University professor of psychology shows that the capacity for empathy, previously suspected but unproven even among higher primates, is also evident in lower mammals. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060630100140.htm.
g Message - Estimating the frequency for communicating with an extrasolar civilization is a multi-dimensional challenge. The answer, according to two scientists at the Hungarian Astronomical Association, is less like an equation, and more like a matrix. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/article512.html. Note: This article is from 2003.
g Cosmicus - Last-minute objections from the U.S. Government Accountability Office are not expected to derail NASA’s long-awaited selection of a Crew Exploration Vehicle prime contractor. See http://www.space.com/news/060728_cev_gao.html. For related story, see “NASA Considers U.S. Science Suspension Aboard ISS” at http://www.space.com/news/0650728_iss_science_cuts.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity courtesy of NASA: “Interstellar Real Estate.” The lesson examines what makes Earth the perfect home for life as we know it as students explore the orbital characteristics a planetary home needs to support Earth-like life forms. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/Habitat/habitablezone.htm.
g Imagining - Speculation about aliens has typically been left to science fiction authors, science fiction readers and Hollywood writers and directors. But what if we apply what we have learned about life on Earth to speculate about what alien life forms might be like? Here’s a primer: http://science.howstuffworks.com/alien-physiology.htm.
g Aftermath - Could religions survive contact with extraterrestrials? The Medieval Church didn't think so, as the discovery would challenge mankind's central role in the cosmos. Today such ideas are considered old fashioned, and many theologians welcome the discovery of life — even intelligent life — among the stars. But if scientists were to find microscopic Martians or a signal from another world, would established religions really take it in stride? For a discussion, check out this past program of SETI’s “Are We Alone?” at http://www.seti.org/site/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp?c=ktJ2J9MMIsE&b=289154. Note: An mp3 player is required to play the audio files; you can download one at the site for free.

Star swallowed whole, space signals at Pi GHz and unfounded skepticism about SETI

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Long before the Bible's tale of Jonah being swallowed by a whale, a small wannabe star emerged intact after being engulfed by a neighboring giant star, scientists say. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060802_swallow_dwarf.html.
g Abodes - For the first time, scientists have found regions of the earth's crust which are stretching apart to form new sea floor; their findings are published in Nature (27 July). Most new ocean floor is made when undersea volcanic activity splits the crust and molten rock fills the gaps. However some new ocean floor develops when rock stretches along gently inclined tectonic faults called detachment faults. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060727180622.htm.
g Life - For male nightingales, the key to scoring with the ladies is to cut their opponents off. Male songbirds often compete for mates through singing contests. The dominant ones usually start singing before an opponent finishes his song, signaling aggression that female birds sometimes find attractive. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060804_song_overlap.html.
g Intelligence - Giving up your regular late-night snack may be hard, and not just because it’s a routine. The habit may genetically change an area of the brain to expect the food at that time, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060801053315.htm.
g Message - Is there any good reason to look for intelligently generated extraterrestrial emissions in the spectrum at Pi GHz or 3.141...GHz. See http://seti1.setileague.org/askdr/pi.htm.
g Cosmicus - Six aquanauts will rise from the deep today after nearly a week stationed on the ocean floor testing spacesuit concepts for future Moon and Mars missions. See http://www.space.com/mis
sionlaunches/060728_neemo10_surface.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom resource courtesy of NASA: “Life on Earth … and Elsewhere?” This booklet contains 5 classroom activities for grades 5-10 spanning topics from "Defining Life," to "Determining the Chances of Extraterrestrial Life." See http://www.erg.pdf/.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Arthur C, Clarke’s “The Sentinel,” in which a man’s discovery leads to the signalling of an extraterrestrial civilization.
g Aftermath - Here’s an intriguing essay that discusses what might happen if we do too little to contact extraterrestrials; as the authors argue, “…skepticism regarding SETI is at best unfounded and at worst can seriously damage the long-term prospects of humanity. If ETIs exist, no matter whether friendly or adversarial (or even beyond such simple distinctions), they are relevant for our future. To neglect this is contraryy to the basic tenets of transhumanism. To appreciate this, it is only sufficient to imagine the consequences of SETI success for any aspect of transhumanist interests, and then to affirm that such a success can only be achieved without trying if they come to us, which would obviously mean that we are hopelessly lagging in the race for galactic colonization.” See http://www.jetpress.org/volume13/cirkovic.html.

Mysterious dark energy, Brave New Biosphere and ‘Voyagers’

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - A new NASA mission aims to determine the properties of the mysterious dark energy that is causing the expansion rate of the universe to speed up. Called the Advanced Dark Energy Physics Telescope, the mission promises to determine the location of 100 million galaxies. It would be the most comprehensive survey of the universe ever undertaken. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/01adept/.
g Abodes - An international team of scientists is exploring the seafloor near Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean this month with remotely operated and autonomous underwater vehicles, investigating active and inactive hydrothermal vents and the formation of mineral deposits containing copper, gold, and other minerals. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop
=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2030mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0. For related story, see “The Real Reason Louisiana is Sinking” at http://www.livescience.com/environment/060721_la_wetlands.html.
g Life - When deciding which flower to land on, bumblebees look for warmth. And they use flower color as an indicator of temperature, a new study finds. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060802_bees_flower.html.
g Intelligence - The older we get, the more we regret choosing virtue over vice, new research shows. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060801_work_regret.html.
g Message - Humankind has been unintentionally transmitting signals into space - primarily high-frequency radio, television, and radar - for more than 50 years. Our earliest TV broadcasts have reached several thousand nearby stars, although any alien viewers would have to build a very large antenna (thousands of acres in size) to detect them. See http://www.seti.org/site/pp.aspc=ktJ2J9MMIsE&b=179534.
g Cosmicus - The orbiting of the privately-bankrolled Genesis-1 expandable spacecraft by Bigelow Aerospace is a step forward in the company’s vision to provide a low-cost, low Earth orbit human-rated space complex that is accessible to the commercial sector. See http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/o60726_itar_genesis-1.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat primer (for kids) to understanding extremophiles and how an understanding of them affects astrobiology: “Brave New Biosphere.” See http://whyfiles.org/022critters/index.html.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Ben Bova’s novel “Voyagers,” published by Tor in 1981.
g Aftermath - Alien encounters and science fiction permeate pop culture, but what would it really mean if scientists found life beyond Earth? If even a single-celled organism on another planet was discovered, for many, this would be the last thread of evidence proving that life is simply chemistry. See http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2003/0402doser.shtml. Note: This article is from 2003.

Faintest object outside our solar system, Titan’s liquid methane drizzle and the public space travel business

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - As part of an ongoing search for Earth's nearest stellar neighbors, astronomers have determined the distance to a stellar-like body known as DEN 0255-477 and discovered that it is the nearest-known L dwarf. This body is now also the faintest object outside our solar system for which its intrinsic visual brightness has been measured. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/01faintest/.
g Abodes - Liquid methane drizzles on the surface of Titan, a moon of Saturn, according to a paper by NASA and university scientists. "The rain on Titan is just a slight drizzle, but it rains all the time, day in, day out. It makes the ground wet and muddy with liquid methane." See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/cassini/060725titandrizzle.html.
g Life - Thirty fossils of two previously unknown species of carnivorous reptiles believed to be 115 million years old have been found in South Australia. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20060728-21141800-bc-australia-fossils.xml.
g Intelligence - The phrase "medical miracle" is a newsroom cliche. It means a situation in which a person makes an unexpected recovery despite great odds or a pessimistic prognosis. Yet often the phrase is used much more broadly to describe a seemingly supernatural or paranormal healing or curing event such as faith healing. While to many people it may seem obvious that a miracle has occurred, in reality such miracles are rarely as impressive as they seem. See http://www.livescience.com/othernews/060729_medical_miracles.html.
g Message - Since the Department of Defense launched the first Global Positioning System satellite in 1978, GPS technology has matured into a highly valued, national resource used for a virtually limitless variety of applications involving location, navigation, tracking, mapping and timing. Despite the amazing variety of uses of the technology, there is one application that the creators of GPS surely never could have imagined: seeking to detect the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life. See http://www.profsurv.
com/newpsm/archive.phpissue=70article=977. Note: This article is from 2002.
g Cosmicus - The public space travel business is picking up suborbital speed thanks to a variety of private rocket groups and their dream machines. See http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/060705_blue_origin.html.
g Learning - It's 110 degrees at the end of July here in the badlands around the border of North Dakota and Montana as the pickaxes swing down against the Hell Creek rock. The volunteers who have braved rattlesnakes and scorpions to work here in the swirling dust may look as if they are in prison, but they are in a time machine, traveling back 65 million years by excavating through rock.
And if these volunteers are lucky, they can keep bones they find. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060802_hell_creek.html.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Ian Watson’s short story "Now! You Can Banish Embarrassing Foot Odor Forever! The Ultimate One-Word First contact Story," published in “Alien Encounters” (edited by Jan Finder).
g Aftermath - Here’s a fascinating idea: A group of serious scientists, writers, military leaders and others discussing how to establish a constructive dialogue between humanity and ETI, once contact is made: http://www.ieti.org/index.html.

Titan’s hydrocarbon lakes, men behaving like dogs and lessons from a Martian rock

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - A survey of galaxies observed along the sightlines to quasars and gamma-ray bursts - both extremely luminous, distant objects - has revealed a puzzling inconsistency. Galaxies appear to be four times more common in the direction of gamma-ray bursts than in the direction of quasars. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/01conundrum/.
g Abodes - The Cassini spacecraft, using its radar system, has discovered very strong evidence for hydrocarbon lakes on Titan. Dark patches, which resemble terrestrial lakes, seem to be sprinkled all over the high latitudes surrounding Titan's north pole. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/cassini/060725titanlakes.html. For related story, see “Titan's Methane Cycle” at http://www.astrobio.net/
news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid
=2038mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - Cacti have can be found in rain forests and as far north as Canada. But it is their ability to thrive in the desert, where rain falls infrequently and unpredictably that is their most remarkable trait. How do they do it? See http://www.livescience.com/othernews/
060724_mm_cacti_survive.html.
g Intelligence - A male dog will whine and beg in deference to a stronger dog, but will lower its voice into a guttural growl if it thinks it has a fighting chance. Men unconsciously do a similar thing, scientists say. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/
060731_pitch_dominance.html.
g Message - When looking for ET, we may have to consider other strategies beyond radio waves. See http://www.zeitlin.net/OpenSETI/NewSearches.html. As a side note, one of those strategies might by looking for optical signals; see http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=174 for more.
g Cosmicus - The Genesis-1 module orbiting the Earth not only transmits its temperature, integrity, power levels and overall health—it also signals entrepreneurial zeal and private sector spunk. See http://www.space.com/news/060721_genesis-1_impact.html. For related stories, see “Lockheed finishes 5th modernized GPS satellite” at http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0607/18gps2rm/ and “Indian rocket launch ends in failure soon after liftoff” at http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0607/10gslvfailure/.
g Learning - Good news for the next generation: Opponents of evolution have lost in the Kansas primary. See http://www.live
science.com/humanbiology/060802_ap_kansas_evo.html.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Fritz Leiber’s “The Wanderer,” published by Ballantine in 1964.
g Aftermath - Reactions to the announcement that scientists had found evidence for primitive life in a meteorite from Mars have been intense. Some concerned the scientific evidence, some the implications of extraterrestrial life, especially if intelligent. Underlying these reactions are assumptions, or beliefs, which often have a religious grounding. The two divergent beliefs, for and against the plurality of life in the universe, are examined historically and through religious traditions, particularly the Judeo-Christian. This examination guides the formulation of the right relation between science and religion as one that respects the autonomy of each discipline, yet allows for each to be open to the discoveries of the other. Based on this relationship, perspectives from scientific exploration are developed that can help individuals to respect and cope with the new phenomena that science brings, whether these imply that we might be alone in the universe or co-creatures of God with the ancient Martians. See http://www.aaas.org/spp/dser/cos
mos/perspectives/corbally.shtml.

Crashing into the lunar surface, detectable extraterrestrial civilizations and private trips to International Space Station

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; Career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - New observations of galaxies reveal perplexing concentrations in certain directions, astronomers say. See http://
www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060731_cosmic_mystery.html.
g Abodes - A pioneering space probe has set a course for a dramatic end to its three-year mission in September, when it will collide with the Moon in a spectacular send-off for scientists to learn new information about the lunar surface. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0607/24smart1/.
g Life - Which came first, nucleic acids or proteins? This question is molecular biology's version of the "chicken-or-the-egg" riddle. Genes made of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) contain the instructions for making proteins, but enzymes made of proteins are needed to replicate genes. For those who try to understand how life originated, this once seemed an intractable paradox. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060721201006.htm.
g Intelligence - Researchers have made a major leap forward in understanding how the brain programs innate behavior. The discovery could have future applications in engineering new behaviors in animals and intelligent robots. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060728103827.htm.
g Message - What technological manifestations would make an advanced extraterrestrial civilization detectable? See http://www.coseti.org/lemarch1.htm. Note: This paper was written in 1992.
g Cosmicus - It may be the pinnacle of travel perks, but the only firm arranging private trips to the International Space Station is now offering a bonus spacewalk for clients willing to pay for more than a standard $20 million trip. See http://www.space.com/includes/iab.html?url=/news/060721_spacetourist_eva.html.
g Learning - How are key concepts of astrobiology treated in science fiction? See http://www.ibiblio.org/astrobiology/index.phppage=lesson05. Note: This article is from 2001 and intended to be used as part of a classroom lesson.
g Imagining - In this interview, Chris McKay talks about the potential for other kinds of life in the universe, and how we could begin to look for those aliens. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop
=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2034mode=thread&
order=0&thold=0.
g Aftermath - Astronomers are searching hard for that first interstellar phone-call from ET. But when it happens, how will we react? Will it be a major trauma for humankind, or a new beginning? See http://www.firstscience.com/site/articles/shostak.asp. Note: This article is a few years old.