Remains of stellar explosions, lightning from ice and alternatives to DNA/RNA

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 - Recent observations have uncovered evidence that helps to confirm the identification of the remains of one of the earliest stellar explosions recorded by humans. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060918142621.htm.
g Abodes - Miles above Earth in cumulonimbus clouds, tiny ice crystals are constantly bumping against larger ice pellets. The two kinds of ice rubbing together act like socks rubbing against carpet. Zap! Before you know it, the cloud is crackling with electric potential—and a bolt of lightning explodes to the ground. See http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/060913_electric_ice.
html.
g Life - Does Greenland give a clue as to whether life was seeded twice: 'stock' cultures surviving one big impact event? “Life Under Bombardment” looks for the evidence of our terrestrial past. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=
News&file=article&sid=68. Note: This article is from 2000.
g Message - Dan Werthimer, director of the SERENDIP SETI program and chief scientist of SETI@home at the University of California Berkeley, predicts we’ll make first contact with an alien civilization in 50-100 years. See http://www.astroseti.org/danweng.php. Note: This article is from 2004.
g Cosmicus - European astronaut Thomas Reiter recently began an extended stay on the International Space Station. His mission, Astrolab, is Europe’s first long-duration human mission in space. Over a period of several months, Reiter will conduct experiments to assess the effect on the human body of long-term exposure to the high-radiation and microgravity environment of space. See http://
www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=
article&sid=2080mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
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.cgiOperat
ion=ItemLookup&ItemId=0521546214com/.
g Imagining - Are there any alternatives to DNA or RNA, as an “X-Files” episode said there was? See http://nai.nasa.gov/nai2005/abstracts/1018%20-%20NAI05AbstractAegis.doc.pdf.
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.

Milky Way’s formation, Titan’s ethane snow and mystery object

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 Milky Way might not have formed through the merger of several smaller galaxies as previously thought, but by some other unknown process, a new study suggests. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060918_galactic_bulge.html.
g Abodes - Cassini has detected what appears to be a massive ethane cloud surrounding Titan's north pole. The cloud might be snowing ethane snowflakes into methane lakes below. The cloud may be the clue needed in solving a puzzle that has confounded scientists who so far have seen little evidence of a veil of ethane clouds and surface liquids originally thought extensive enough to cover the entire surface of Titan with a 300-meter-deep ocean. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/cassini/060914titancloud.html. For related story, see “Ethane Flakes Into Methane Lakes.”
g Life - They may be tiny, but Argentine ants can kick some ant butt. This invasive species has nearly wiped out native ants in California. Now scientists have discovered a way to turn one of the ants' strongest weapons into a weakness. By altering the identifying chemicals coating the ants' bodies, researchers turned typical cooperative behavior into an ant-family feud. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060914_ant_fight.html.
g Intelligence - Itchy skin fires up nerves and drives sufferers to scratch themselves raw, some even in their sleep. But the mechanisms behind aggravating itches are not entirely understood, and a new finding makes the whole problem seem even more complex. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060918_mm_itch.html.
g Message - We’ve all heard of SETI, bit what about METI — “Messaging to Extraterrestrial Intelligence,” or sending both scientific and artistic messages to the stars? See http://lnfm1.sai.msu.ru/SETI/koi/articles/METIArt.htm.
g Cosmicus - Flight controllers have asked the crew of Atlantis to leave the shuttle's television and computer network activated while they investigate a mystery object seen floating alongside the shuttle. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060919mysteryobject/.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Arthur C Clarke’s short story, "Before Eden," published in June 1961’s Amazing.

A planet unlike any other, Orion spacecraft and gauging reactions to evidence of otherworldly intelligence

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 a network of small automated telescopes known as HAT, Smithsonian astronomers have discovered a planet unlike any other known world. This new planet, designated HAT-P-1, orbits one member of a pair of distant stars 450 light-years away in the constellation Lacerta. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060914135220.htm.
g Life - Scientists with NASA's Astrobiology Institute have discovered evidence that microbial life emerged on land between 2.6 billion and 2.7 billion years ago, much earlier than previously thought. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=110. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Message - Unexplained or incompletely studied astrophysical phenomena such as odd star populations of the galaxy NGC 5907 or the asymmetry of increases and decreases in the brightness of long-period variable stars provide us with a number of locations that may be studied for signs of Dyson Shells. If we free ourselves from anthropocentric perspectives and combine the ideas of Dyson, Minsky and Suffern as well as the technological progress of recent decades, we can envision advanced civilizations at the limits of physical laws. Observations directed towards stars decreasing in visual magnitude or searching for stellar occultations by large cold dark objects, merit serious consideration as future strategies in optical SETI. See http://www.aeiveos.com/~bradbury/MatrioshkaBrains/OSETI3/4273-27.html.
g Cosmicus - Now that NASA has settled on Lockheed Martin to build the Orion spacecraft that will propel the agency back to the Moon, officials are mulling a new fleet of vehicles to monitor potentially hazardous space storms that could turn such a mission into disaster. See http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060901_solar_mission.html.
g Learning - How are key concepts of astrobiology treated in science fiction? See http://www.ibiblio.org/astrobiology/index.php?page=lesson05. Note: This article is from 2001 and intended to be used as part of a classroom lesson.
g Imagining - While science fiction can prove remarkably accurate on technological development, it falls well short of reality when it comes to biology and behavior. Many of the bug-eyed monsters we see depicted in movies, books and comics are not only very unlikely but also completely unfeasible. And aliens all too often are charmingly naive about such things as violence and love. See http://www.ibiblio./org/astrobiology/print.php?page=concepts01. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Aftermath - How to predict reactions to receipt of evidence for an otherworldly intelligence? Some scientists argue that any unpredictable outcomes can only be judged against our own history. See http://seti.astrobio.net/news/article118.html.

Identifying habitable worlds, Atlantis departs space station and listening for the first interstellar phone-call from ET

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 - It is only a matter of time before astronomers find an Earth-sized planet orbiting a distant star. When they do, the first questions people will ask are: Is it habitable? And even more importantly, is there life present on it already? For clues to the answers, scientists are looking to their home planet, Earth. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=
News&file=article&sid=2085mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - Duplicating the harsh conditions of space in their laboratory, NASA scientists have created primitive cells with membrane-like structures. These chemical compounds may have played a part in the origin of life. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.ph
pop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=122. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Intelligence - While it is widely accepted that the output of nerve cells carries information between regions of the brain, it's a big mystery how widely separated regions of the cortex involving billions of cells are linked together to coordinate complex activity. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060914155903.htm.
g Message - The SETI Institute predicts that we'll detect an extraterrestrial transmission within 20 years. If that turns out to be true, it'll probably be the folks at UC Berkeley's Hat Creek radio observatory who will have heard the call. See http://www.coe.berkeley.edu/labnotes/1204/welch.html. Note: This article is from 2004.
g Cosmicus - After flying together high above Earth for six days, shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station at 8:50 a.m. EDT this morning. With pilot Chris Ferguson at the controls, the shuttle flew a 360-degree lap around the complex for photo documentation before departing the station's vicinity. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/status.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 Richard McKenna’s short story, "Mine Own Ways”, anthologized in “Casey Agonistes” (edited by Richard McKenna and published in 1960).
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.

Double pulsar, expedition to Europa via the Canadian High Arctic and laser communication

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 - An international research team led by Prof. Michael Kramer of the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory, UK, has used three years of observations of the "double pulsar", a unique pair of natural stellar clocks which they discovered in 2003, to prove that Einstein's theory of general relativity - the theory of gravity that displaced Newton's - is correct to within a staggering 0.05 percent. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060914094623.htm.
g Abodes - This summer, a science team set out on a two-week expedition of Earth's own little version of Jupiter's moon Europa - the Borup Fiord Pass at Ellesmere Island, a place hidden high above the rest of the world in the Canadian High Arctic. See http://www.astro
bio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid
=2082mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - How do some microorganisms manage to exist and even thrive in surroundings ranging from Antarctica to boiling hot springs? See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060830214732.htm.
g Intelligence - Neanderthals might have endured thousands of years longer than previous thought, increasing the possibility they interbred with humans. See http://www.livescience.com/other
news/060913_neanderthal_tenacity.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 - United States entrepreneur Anousheh Ansari has been training for six months to get away from it all. Unlike most tourists, she won't be sporting a camera around her neck, and come Monday she won't need a boarding pass to get on her flight. See http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060915_ansari_qna.html. For related story, see “Veteran credits rookies with saving the day” at http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060916interview/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity courtesy of NASA: “The Rare Earth.” How special are the circumstances that have allowed complex life, like animals and plants, to develop on Earth? In this activity, students systematically investigate the time frame for complex life to develop on Earth. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/Rare/rareearth.htm.
g Imagining - For anyone who has watched the recent incarnations of Star Trek, one question must present itself: do the majority of alien beings in the cosmos really just look like Earthlings, only with bonier faces or pointier ears? Is that it? Because, aside from the occasional intangible space entity, most “way-out” life forms are remarkably similar to us. Even the weirder images of the little green (or grey) aliens in popular culture are pretty unimaginative. Two arms? Check. Two legs? Check. A head, some eyes, an upright posture? Yes, please. This is not the cutting edge of science fiction, more our own narcissistic reflection dropping in via spacecraft. Surely we can aspire to thinking something a little more& alien? See http://www.
hero.ac.uk/uk/studying/archives/2003/it_s_life__jim__but_prett
3495.cfm.
g Aftermath - With humanity now on the verge of being capable to leave its home world, Earth, scientists have begun to wrestle with the consequences of this next great journey; of the social impact humanity will have upon discovering life elsewhere, be it fossil, bacterial or an intelligent civilization. See http://www.space.
com/searchforlife/astro_biology_991119.htmlsearchforlife/astro_
biology_991119.html. Note: This article is from 1999.

Solar flares, Artifact Hypothesis and chimp crossing guards

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 - Solar flares are tremendous explosions on the surface of our Sun, releasing as much energy as a billion megatons of TNT in the form of radiation, high energy particles and magnetic fields. The Sun's magnetic fields are known to be an extremely important factor in producing the energy for flaring and when these magnetic fields lines clash together, dragging hot gas with them, an enormous maelstrom of energy is released. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060911102213.htm.
g Abodes - A hardy microbe from Earth may one day transform the barren ground of Mars into arable soil. See http://www.astrobio.net/
news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=87. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Life - Animals colonizing cities are exposed to many novel and potentially stressful situations. Chronic stress, however, can cause deleterious effects. Hence, wild animals would suffer from city life unless they adjusted their stress response to the conditions in a city. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060901160821.htm.
g Intelligence - Elementary school children aren't the only ones who need crossing guards. Scientists report that wild chimpanzees safely cross roads with the aid of adult males that serve as traffic patrollers. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060911_chimp_road.html.
g Message - To subject the Fermi Paradox to needed experimental testing, a researcher has offered the Artifact Hypothesis: A technologically advanced extraterrestrial civilization has undertaken a long-term program of' interstellar exploration via transmission of material artifacts. http://www.setv.org/online_mss/seta83.html.
g Cosmicus - NASA chief, Mike Griffin, is preparing for his first-hand look at China’s growing space program—a visit slated for month’s end. See http://www.space.com/news/060813_griffin_china.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat set of classroom activities: Life On Other Planets in the Solar System. It examines the possibility of life on other planets in our own solar system and what form that life might take. Designed as a curriculum resource for middle and high school students. See http://www.resa.net/nasa/.
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 - For centuries scientists, novelists and ordinary people have imagined what would happen if the human race had contact with an extra-terrestrial civilization. Professor Paul Davies, from the Australian Center for Astrobiology, Sydney, offers his thoughts in this interview. See http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.
asparticle_class=4&no=269045&rel_no=1.

Universe’s first bright galaxies, golden age of dinosaur discovery and comprehensive review of possibility of life on other planets

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 first bright galaxies in the universe apparently formed very rapidly, jumping from just one or so in number to hundreds in the span of little over 1 percent of the universe's age, astronomers find. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/0609
13_galaxy_formation.html.
g Abodes - A comprehensive review by leading scientists about our solar system which speculates on the possibility of life on other planets has been published. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/
releases/2006/09/060912230417.htm.
g Life - The next several decades could prove a golden age for dinosaur hunters looking to discover new species of the ancient reptiles. A new statistical analysis predicts that more than 1,300 unique dinosaur genera await discovery by paleontologists. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060904_unknown_dinos.
html.
g Intelligence - Could it be that in the great evolutionary "family tree," it is we modern humans, not the brow-ridged, large-nosed Neanderthals, who are the odd uncle out? See http://www.sci
encedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060908093606.htm. For related story, see “Scientist: Humans Strange, Neanderthals Normal” at http://www.livescience.com/othernews/060908_humans_odd.html.
g Message - We’ve all heard of SETI, bit what about METI — “Messaging to Extraterrestrial Intelligence,” or sending both scientific and artistic messages to the stars? See http://lnfm1.sai.msu.ru/SETI/koi/articles/METIArt.htm.
g Cosmicus - The Atlantis astronauts successfully unfurled a second solar array today, giving the international space station a new set of wings stretching some 240 feet from tip to tip and completing the primary goal of the 116th shuttle mission. See http://www.space
flightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060914arraydeploy/index3.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.adlerplan
et/arium.org/education/teachers/plans/alien/Lesson_Plan.
pdf.
g Imagining - Incredibly it’s been four decades since Federation Starship NCC-1701, better known as the Enterprise, first ignited its matter-antimatter engines and coasted into the dark spaces of the Galaxy to seek out new life. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_legacy_trek_060914.html.
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/
cosmos/perspectives/corbally.shtml.

Another exoplanet discovered, infant and ape learning and predicting reactions to an alien message

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 - Our home solar system may be down by a planet with the recent demotion of Pluto, but the number of giant planets discovered in orbit around other stars continues to grow steadily. Now, an international team of astronomers has detected a planet slightly larger than Jupiter that orbits a star 500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Draco. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.
phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2078mode=thread
&order=0&thold=0.
g Abodes - Space weather in the upper reaches of the atmosphere is affected by weather conditions down here on Earth, a new study suggests. See http://www.livescience.com/environment/0609
12_spaceweather_link.html.
g Life - A NASA-sponsored study shows that by using a new technique, scientists can determine what limits the growth of ocean algae, or phytoplankton, and how this affects Earth's climate. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060901163044.htm.
g Intelligence - Infants and apes apparently adopt the same tactics for remembering where things are, but as children develop their strategies change, a new study shows. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060908_ape_brains.html.
g Message - Most people see the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence as a project for merely listening for signals from other stars, but Yvan Dutil and Stephane Dumas from the Defence Research Establishment Valcartier in Canada had other ideas in mind when they composed a message recently sent to the stars. See http://www.ibiblio.org/astrobiology/print.php?page=interview01.
g Cosmicus - A satellite bearing the largest payload of plant and fungi seeds ever launched by China was flown into space on Sunday for a reported two-week stay in orbit before being sent on a guided return to Earth. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0609/10shijian8/.
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 - While science fiction can prove remarkably accurate on technological development, it falls well short of reality when it comes to biology and behavior. Many of the bug-eyed monsters we see depicted in movies, books and comics are not only very unlikely but also completely unfeasible. And aliens all too often are charmingly naive about such things as violence and love. See http://www.ibiblio./org/astrobiology/print.php?page=concepts01. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Aftermath - How to predict reactions to receipt of evidence for an otherworldly intelligence? Some scientists argue that any unpredictable outcomes can only be judged against our own history. See http://seti.astrobio.net/news/article118.html.
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Microorganisms thriving in extreme cold and heat, X Prize Cup and ‘Star Trek’ biology

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that some 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 - AKARI, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency infrared astronomical satellite with ESA participation, is continuing its survey of the sky and its mapping of our cosmos in infrared light. New exciting images recently taken by AKARI depict scenes from the birth and death of stars. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/
2006/08/060830075652.htm.
g Abodes - To most common terrestrial dwellers, there's no place like Earth. But new simulations show that many Earth-like planets might exist outside of our solar system. See http://www.space.
com/scienceastronomy/060912_earthling_planets.html.
g Life - Scientists at Israel's Weizmann Institute say they've discovered how some microorganisms manage to exist and even thrive in extreme cold and extreme heat. See http://www.scie
ncedaily.com/upi/index.phpfeed=Science&article=UPI120060830
20131200bcisraelmicroorganisms.xml.
g Intelligence - Psychologists have long known that memories of disturbing emotional events - such as an act of violence or the unexpected death of a loved one - are more vivid and deeply imprinted in the brain than mundane recollections of everyday matters. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/
060904220231.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 - Momentum is picking up in staging the X Prize Cup, to be held October 20-21 at the Las Cruces International Airport, New Mexico. See http://www.space.com/news/060831_xprize_upaero.html.
g Learning - Here’s an easy to understand (and attractive) primer to astrobiology, courtesy of the BBC: http://www.open2.net/science/finalfrontier/life/what.htm.
g Imagining - If “Star Trek” has been about the search for life, “To Seek Out New Life: The Biology of Star Trek” is about understanding these discoveries as we encounter them with the crews of the Enterprise, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine. Harvard biologist Athena Andreadis takes a lively, thought-provoking look at Star Trek's approach to the science of human, humanoid, and other life-forms, exploring what biological principles are probable or possible on the original show and the three series and nine movies that have followed. This absorbing, illuminating book makes everyone an armchair expert on the difference between science and science fiction on “Star Trek,” with keen observations into the series' complex worlds of physiology, psychology, and sociology. Its wealth of scientific detail and cultural insight pays tribute to a show that has profoundly shaped the way we understand and view science. See http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=2-0609804219-1.
g Aftermath - When an alien lands on the White House lawn, who should greet him (her? it?): Someone from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or someone from the Fish and Wildlife Commission? What rights would an extraterrestrial have? See http://www.rfreitas.com/Astro/LegalRightsOfETs.htm. Note: This article is from 1977, but the issue has been thought about very little.

Black hole census, Commercial Orbital Transportation Services and imagining a creature that evolved in a chlorine-nitrogen atmosphere

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 using the European Space Agency's orbiting gamma-ray observatory, Integral, have taken an important step towards estimating how many black holes there are in the Universe. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0609/07blackhole/.
g Abodes - A violent collision with a space rock, like the one that doomed the dinosaurs, may have also caused our planet's greatest mass extinction 250 million years ago. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&
sid=133. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Life - A species of ant native to Central and South America is entering the annals of extreme animal movement, boasting jaws arguably more impressive than such noteworthy contenders as the great white shark and the spotted hyena. See http://www.science
daily.com/releases/2006/08/060822121727.htm.
g Intelligence - Archeologists say a prehistoric skeleton and campsite discovered on the muddy shore of Lake Travis could be between 700 and 2,000 years old. See http://www.livescience.
com/humanbiology/060829_ap_skeleton_tx.html.
g Message - What are our friends south of the equator doing in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence? After all, the Northern Hemisphere only covers half of the galaxy. See http://seti.uws.edu.au/.
g Cosmicus - NASA Administrator Mike Griffin does not mince words when he calls the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services demonstration effort a gamble, albeit one with the potential to pay off big time if the entrepreneurial sector delivers. See http://www.space.com/spacenews/businessmonday_060828.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity courtesy of NASA: “Planets in a Bottle.” The lesson plan involves yeast experiments intended for 2nd through 4th grade students. See http://science
.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/msad16mar99_1a.htm.
g Imagining - Here’s a neat short story about alien biochemistry: “Black Destroyer” by A.E. van Vogt. It examines a creature that evolved in a chlorine-nitrogen atmosphere. It’s available in “First Flight,” an anthology edited by Damon Knight that you’ll probably have to scour used-book stores for.
g Aftermath - Would ET vote? What effect will ET’s political philosophy have on ours once contact is made? See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_vote_020815.html. It’s an older piece but well worth the read.

Photographed exoplanet, decoding alien messages and ‘Star Trek’ lives

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 using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have photographed one of the smallest objects ever seen around a normal star beyond our Sun. Weighing in at 12 times the mass of Jupiter, the object is small enough to be a planet. The conundrum is that it is also large enough to be a brown dwarf, a failed star. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=2077mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Abodes - Jupiter's four largest moons were discovered by Galileo in 1610. Three of them might hold oceans of liquid water beneath their icy exteriors. Liquid water is a prerequisite for life. See http://www.
astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&
sid=79. Note: This article is from 2001. For related story, see “Visual Confirmation of Moon SMARTs.”
g Life - Scientists have unveiled a replica of a skeleton they say was from the largest dinosaur species yet discovered in Brazil - a mid-sized herbivore that roamed central Brazil some 80 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period. See http://www.livescience.com/
animalworld/060829_ap_brazil_dinosaur.html.
g Intelligence - By discovering that particular rat brain neurons combine or "integrate" dissimilar pieces of information (e.g. location versus reward), researchers have begun to learn how the brain controls decision-making and goal-oriented behaviors. Examples of these include foraging and navigation in animals and - in humans - whether to buy a particular second home or, in general, whether to favor a long-term benefit over immediate gratification. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060820191512.htm.
g Message - Here’s an intriguing hypothesis concerning the nature of extraterrestrial messages to Earth. It is based on the assumptions that aliens exist in abundance in the galaxy, that they are benevolent toward Earth-based life forms and that the lack of any human detection of extraterrestrials is due to an embargo designed to prevent any premature disclosure of their existence. It is argued that any embargo not involving alien force must be a leaky one designed to allow a gradual disclosure of the alien message and its gradual acceptance on the part of the general public over a very long time-scale. The communication may take the form of what is now considered magic, and may therefore be misinterpreted as “magic” or a hoax by contemporary governments and scientists. See http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1986QJRAS..27...94D&db_key=AST.
g Cosmicus - During the Apollo moon missions, 15 out of 29 astronauts developed infections. Subsequent experiments aboard Skylab and several space shuttle missions confirmed that T-cells do not activate properly in microgravity. A new experiment being sent to the International Space Station will help scientists learn why the human immune system goes bad in space. See http://www.astro
bio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file
=article&sid=2071mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Learning - Forty years ago a science fiction show debuted on television with a paltry budget and a bold mission to go where no one had gone before. See http://www.space.com/entertainment/060907_star_trek.html.
g Imagining - Book alert: Following Athena Andreadis’s “To Seek Out New Life: The Biology of Star Trek” and in the manner of Lawrence Krauss's “The Physics of Star Trek,” the husband-and-wife Jenkinses, he a molecular geneticist, she a psychiatrist, set out on a simple mission: "to entertain, to teach, and to share some favorite “Star Trek” moments" intheir book “Life Signs: The Biology of ‘Star Trek.’” Their compact but informative book succeeds in all three tasks. Each of the nine chapters takes on a related set of biological issues raised by the “Star Trek” TV series and films, explaining how the world created by the “Star Trek” writers meshes with that of our own. A discussion of the differences in mating habits among Vulcans, Klingons, Ferengi and Trills, as well as a host of other aliens, leads to an interesting discourse on complications arising from human sexuality, with distinctions made among genetic sex, phenotypic sex, core gender identity and sexual roles. Similarly, an examination of the "puppet-master parasites" (parasites that appear in a number of episodes and that have the disconcerting ability to take control of their hosts' minds) segues into a review of how the human brain functions. See http://www.memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Life_Signs:_The_Biology_of_Star_Trek.
g Aftermath - Book alert: Pick up “Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Civilizations,” by inventor and software developer Brian McConnell. The book examines whether and why we might find something out there, who's doing what to look for it and — once some ET picks up on the other end — what we might say and how we might say it. This last problem, which occupies the final half of the book, proves to be the most thought provoking. See http://ibs.howstuffworks.com/ibs/orl/framed.htm?parent=http://ibs.howstuffworks.com/ibs/orl/alien-physiology5.htm&url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/%0BASIN/0965377431/howstuffworks for reviews.

Galaxy dust recycling, brain organization and Atlantis lifts off

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 image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is helping astronomers understand how dust is recycled in galaxies. The tiny particles - flecks of minerals, ices and carbon-rich molecules - are everywhere in the universe, and are important for making stars, planets and even people. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2074mode
=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Abodes - Greenhouse gases might one day be used to warm the cold surface of Mars, and make the planet habitable for humans. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=17. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Life - A startling revelation about the number of different kinds of bacteria in the deep-sea raises fundamental new questions about microbial life and evolution in the oceans. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060829081744.htm.
g Intelligence - Scientists have provided new insights into how the brain is organized - knowledge which could eventually inform diagnosis of and treatments for conditions like Alzheimer’s Disease and autism. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060820192259.htm.
g Message - Sitting beneath a dark night sky, looking up at the vast array of stars, what human has not wondered, "Are we alone? See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name
=News&file=article&sid=54. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Cosmicus - The space shuttle Atlantis took off today on its fifth try, kicking off a long-awaited flight to restart assembly of the international space station three years after the Columbia disaster derailed construction. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060909launch/.
g Learning - Here’s a good Web site that gives an general overview of astrobiology for kids: “Astrocentral.” See http://www.astrocentral.co.uk/lifeindex.html.
g Imagining - Like stories about alien anthropology/cultures? Be sure to scour your favorite used bookstores for Mary Gentle’s "Golden Witchbreed" (1983) and "Ancient Light" (1987), which examines a culture of feline aliens.
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.

Star cluster pinwheels, liquid water may lie beneath Ganymede's crust and New Horizons’ first photo

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 heart of one of the Milky Way galaxy's most massive star clusters harbors as many as five pinwheels, a strange and relatively newly discovered type of stellar object, astronomers say. See article.
g Abodes - Data from the Galileo space probe suggest that liquid water may lie beneath Ganymede's icy crust. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=93. Note: This article is from 2000.
g Life - Insect bite marks in ancient leaf fossils are shedding new light on how nature bounced back after an asteroid impact killed off the dinosaurs and much of life on Earth 65 million years ago. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060831_KT_biodiversity.
html.
g Intelligence - A tiny island in the middle of nowhere is like a world in miniature, a new study finds. Rapa island lies isolated in the South Pacific, halfway between South America and New Zealand. Initially cooperative, its first settlers turned to violence when faced with the same pressures of environment and competition happening right now across the globe, the research suggests. See
g Cosmicus - NASA's Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft has snapped its first high-resolution photo, an image of distant stars that shows the probe's high-resolution camera works. See http://
www.space.com/missionlaunches/060901_new_horizons.html. For related story, see “Pluto: Down But Maybe Not Out” at http://www.
space.com/scienceastronomy/060831_planet_definition.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat teacher info source, courtesy of PBS: “Life on other Worlds: Our Solar System and Beyond.” See http://
www.pbs.org/teachersource/scienceline/archives/april00/feature.
shtm.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Timothy Zahn’s novel “Conqueror's Pride,” published by Bantam Spectra in 1994.

Star formation rate, chemical signatures of alien life and the anthropic principle

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 combined hundreds of thousands of Spitzer Space Telescope images into a map of the whole Large Magellanic Cloud. They see features throughout the galaxy in such sharp detail that they can count newly formed stars, determine how much dust old stars are pumping into the galaxy and, for the first time, to sensitively map the rate at which stars are forming across an entire galaxy. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0609/01spitzerlmc/.
g Abodes - Advanced space telescopes might soon probe far-off worlds for the chemical signatures of alien life. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file
=article&sid=203. Note: This article is from 2001.
g Life - Researchers at the University of Michigan and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic have uncovered two previously unknown roles for water in RNA enzymes, molecules which themselves play critical roles in living cells. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=
2061mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - Using information theory, researchers have show that power in monkey society emerges through consensus. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060901160603.htm.
g Message - About 31 years ago, humanity sent its first and only deliberate radio message to extraterrestrials. Nobody has called back yet, but that's OK - we weren't really expecting an answer. See http://www.spaceref.com:16080/news/viewpr.html?pid=109. Note: This article is from 1999.
g Cosmicus - It has been a long, hard drive on Mars for NASA's Opportunity rover. Wheeling across the open, parking lot-like dune fields of Meridiani Planum, the robot is nearing a major milestone: rolling up to "Victoria", a crater that is roughly half a mile (750 meters) wide and 230 feet (70 meters) deep. See http://www.
space.com/missionlaunches/060907_rover_update.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/
ExtremeEnvironments.doc.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Poul Anderson’s novel “The Enemy Stars” (published by Lippincott in 1959).
g Aftermath - The issue of stability of conditions prevailing on (at least potentially) habitable planets throughout the Galaxy is the central question of the nascent science of astrobiology. We are lucky enough to live in an epoch of great astronomical discoveries, the most distinguished probably being the discovery of dozens of planets orbiting nearby stars. This particular discovery brings about a profound change in our thinking about the universe, and prompts further questions on thefrequency of Earth-like habitats elsewhere in the galaxy. In a sense, it answers a question posed since antiquity: are there other, potentially inhabited or inhabitable, worlds in the vastness of space? In asking that question, obviously, we take into account our properties as intelligent observers, as well as physical, chemical and other pre-conditions necessary for our existence. The latter are the topic of the so-called anthropic principle(s), the subject of much debate and controversy in cosmology, fundamental physics, and philosophy of science. See http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:XmrDGnkdyV0J:www.anthropic-principle.com/preprints/MilanFirst.pdf+astrobiology&hl=en.

Does universe have an edge, astrobiology returning to Mars and analyzing a signal from space

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 - Does the universe have an edge? See http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/.
g Abodes - At the Viking 30th anniversary celebration, Noel Hinners pushed for a Mars Sample Return mission. "The science imperative for Mars Sample Return is equally compelling to what Viking was looking for," said Hinners, "and in many ways associated with some of the same goals related to life." See http://www.astrobio.net/
news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2073
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - New research published by Rice University biologists in this week's issue of Nature finds that even the simplest of social creatures - single-celled amoebae - have the ability not only to recognize their own family members but also to selectively discriminate in favor of them. See http://www.astrobio.net/
news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid
=2063mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - Humans have more copies of a possibly important brain gene in their genomes than other apes, a new study finds. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060831_braingene_copies.
html.
g Message - Here’s a neat interactive Web game where you analyze a signal from space, just as would a SETI astronomer: http://mystery.sonoma.edu/alien_bandstand/.
g Cosmicus - NASA managers late Wednesday ruled out an attempt to launch the shuttle Atlantis Thursday but held open the possibility of a last-ditch Friday launching if engineers can resolve a problem with one of the ship's three electrical generators before time runs out. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060906postmmt/.
g Learning - This module, from the Japan Science and Technology Corporation, provides excellent background to the search for life in the universe, for kids. There is information about all the planets in the solar system and possibilities for life beyond, as well as descriptions of spacecraft and signals that originate from Earth (requires Flash plug-in). See http://jvsc.jst.go.jp/universe/et_e/index_e.htm.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Marc Bilgrey’s "Random Acts," in the anthology “First Contact,” edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Larry Segriff (published by DAW in 1997).
g Aftermath - Book alert: The authentic discovery of extraterrestrial life would usher in a scientific revolution on par with Copernicus or Darwin, says Paul Davies in “Are We Alone?: Philosophical Implications of the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life.” Just as these ideas sparked religious and philosophical controversy when they were first offered, so would proof of life arising away from Earth. With this brief book (160 pages, including two appendices and an index), Davies tries to get ahead of the curve and begin to sort out the metaphysical mess before it happens. Many science fiction writers have preceded him, of course, but here the matter is plainly put. This is a very good introduction to a compelling subject.

Star’s death throes, prehistoric bird meals and choosing right targets for SETI scrutiny

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 - Earlier this year, astronomers witnessed for the first time the final death throes of an aged and collapsing star as it spewed high-energy light beams into space before exploding as a supernova. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060830_grb_supernova.html.
g Abodes - ESA's Cluster mission has established that high-speed flows of electrified gas, known as bursty bulk flows, in the Earth's magnetic field are the carriers of decisive amounts of mass, energy and magnetic perturbation towards the Earth during magnetic substorms. When substorms occur, energetic particles strike our atmosphere, causing aurorae to shine. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060824222120.htm.
g Life - When space shuttle Atlantis next rockets into space, it will take along three kinds of microbes so scientists can study how their genetic responses and their ability to cause disease change. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News
&file=article&sid=2064mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - A new study suggests that prehistoric birds of prey made meals out of some of our earliest human ancestors. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060830005634.htm.
g Message - In the search for life on other worlds, scientists can listen for radio transmissions from stellar neighborhoods where intelligent civilizations might lurk or they can try to actually spot planets like our own in habitable zones around nearby stars. Either approach is tricky and relies on choosing the right targets for scrutiny out of the many thousands of nearby stars in our galactic neighborhood. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1884.html.
g Cosmicus - NASA managers Monday agreed to make three consecutive attempts to get the shuttle Atlantis off the ground if bad weather or technical problems prevent an on-time liftoff Wednesday. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060904threetries/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat classroom activity: “The Rare Earth.” In this activity students systematically investigate the time frame for complex life to develop on Earth. See http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/
astrobiology/LabActivities/RareEarth.doc.
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 - 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

Viking mission’s 30th anniversary, chaotic biosphere recovery and countdown begins for Atlantis

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 - An active region of star formation in the Large Magellanic Cloud, as photographed by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, unveils wispy clouds of hydrogen and oxygen that swirl and mix with dust on a canvas of astronomical size. The LMC is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/23wispy/.
g Abodes - At the recent 30th anniversary celebration of the Viking mission, Gentry Lee discussed the excitement of landing on Mars for the first time, and how far we’ve come in our exploration of Mars since then. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop
=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2066mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Life - The recovery of biodiversity after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction was much more chaotic than previously thought, according to paleontologists. New fossil evidence shows that at certain times and places, plant and insect diversity were severely out of balance, not linked as they are today. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2065mode
=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - The human brain does not contain a single "God spot" responsible for mystical and religious experiences, a new study finds. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060829_god_spot.html.
g Message - How will we decode any message from ET? For some speculation and a discussion of the inherent difficulties, see http://www.space.com/searchforlife/vakoch_messages_010706.html; part II follows at http://www.space.com/searchforlife/vakoch_mes
sages_two_010712.html. Note: This story is from summer 2001.
g Cosmicus - The countdown has begun for Wednesday's launch of space shuttle Atlantis to deliver a set of power-generating solar wings to the space station. Clocks in Firing Room 4 of the Complex 39 Launch Control Center starting ticking at 8 a.m. EDT Sunday morning. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts115/060903count/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat Web site: Sci-fi Magazine, a WebQuest for high school students (science or literature)designed to ask students to critically analyze the use of science in a science fiction novel. See http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/kearny/sci_fi_magazine//
g Imagining - How might Pierson’s Puppeteer, the strange, three-legged creatures from Larry Niven’s “Ringworld” have evolved? While http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierson is a bit short on physical evolution, it does discuss how behavioral traits may have evolved. “Star Trek” fans will recall that Niven wrote one of The Animated Series’ episodes, which included the Kzinti and the Slaver stasis field.
g Aftermath - Though an older Web posting, “After Contact, Then What?” (http://www.setileague.org/askdr/whatnext.htm) shows how little we’ve thought about this question.

Formation of new stars, estimating frequency for communicating with an extrasolar civilization and spacecraft crashes into Moon

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 - Supermassive black holes in some giant galaxies create such a hostile environment, they shut down the formation of new stars, according to NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer findings published in the new issue of Nature. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/23blackholes/.
g Abodes - Ancient sediments that once resided on a lake bed and the ocean floor show sulfur isotope ratios unlike those found in other samples from the same time, calling into question accepted ideas about when the Earth's atmosphere began to contain oxygen, according to researchers from the U.S., Canada and Japan. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2062
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - Whether it's a blowout argument or a dinner-table disagreement, a spat with your lover can be trying. Humans have of course devised ways of making up, including tight hugs and the customary apology flowers. Killer whales have their own tricks for mending relations, a new study finds. Rather than a bouquet, however, they might opt for an intimate swim. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060823_whale_hugs.html.
g Intelligence - Neurobiologists have known that a novel environment sparks exploration and learning, but very little is known about whether the brain really prefers novelty as such. Rather, the major "novelty center" of the brain - called the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area - might be activated by the unexpectedness of a stimulus, the emotional arousal it causes, or the need to respond behaviorally. The SN/VTA exerts a major influence on learning because it is functionally linked to both the hippocampus, which is the brain's learning center, and the amygdala, the center for processing emotional information. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060826180547.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://seti.astrobio.net/news/mod
ules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=155mode
=thread&order=0&thold=0. Note: This article is from September 2003.
g Cosmicus - The European Space Agency's Smart-1 mission ended this morning. Its final lunar resting place is located at 46.2º West longitude and 34.4º South latitude. Appropriately for such a successful mission, this area of the Moon is known as the 'Lake of Excellence'. During its 3-year lifespan, Europe's first mission to the Moon advanced both lunar science and the technology that underpins it. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/
modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2072
mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Learning - Evolution is fact, not “religion” or “theory” as understood in the vernacular sense of the word. Unfortunately, when obstructing science education in our schools, “intelligent” designers and creationists like to falsely claim that no evidence exists to show evolution is fact. For a variety of excellent papers outlining the case for evolution, see http://www.talkorigins.org/origins/faqs-mustread.html.
g Imagining - Will Star Trek’s carbon-based life forms be the norm for alien chemistry? See http://www.seti.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=ktJ2J9MMIsE&b=194993&ct=220889. Note: This article is from last spring.g Aftermath – Here’s a follow-up to yesterday’s Aftermath feature about how SETI is using the social sciences to decipher our thoughts on alien life. See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/seti_survey_020124.html.
g Aftermath - If some day we detect a radio signal from a distant civilization, we’ll have to make some adjustments in the way we view ourselves. After millennia of knowing of no other intelligence in the universe than humankind, we could face a considerable challenge to our terrestrial egotism. In the process, will we simply gain a little healthy humility about our place in the universe? Or would it be downright humiliating to compare our own meager accomplishments with those of more advanced extraterrestrials? See http://www.space.com/searchforlife/vakoch_seti_001115.html. Note: This article is from November 2000.

Super-magnetic star, Titan’s methanosphere and ‘The Science of Aliens’

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 - Odd flashing pulses coming from a super-magnetic star called a magnetar have astronomers glued to telescopes across the globe. See http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060828_mystery_
monday.html.
g Abodes - Scientists knew Saturn's giant moon Titan would be interesting, perhaps containing organic compounds that are the building blocks of life. But the discovery of methane lakes and a "methanosphere" raises a question: is a frozen moon orbiting a giant gas planet Earth's closest analog in the solar system? See http://www.
astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file
=article&sid=2070mode=thread&order=0&thold=0. For related stories, see “Incredible cliffs of Dione” at http://
www.spaceflightnow.com/cassini/060901dione.html and “Toward Melanthius” at http://www.spaceflightnow.com/cassini/060901
tethys.html.
g Life - Every creature has its place and role in the oceans - even the smallest microbe, according to a new study. See http://www.astrobio.
net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid
=2060mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - Scientists have for the first time erased long-term memories in rats and also directly seen how the brain is changed by learning. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060
824_memories_erase.html.
g Message - What are the advantages of looking for ET using near-infrared laser communications? There’s a good explanation at a University of Kentucky Web site; see http://kerouac.pharm.uky.edu/seti/near-ir%20seti.html.
g Cosmicus - NASA has selected Lockheed Martin as the prime contractor to design, develop and build the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, the planned replacement for the space shuttle that will become the backbone of the agency’s human spaceflight program. Lockheed Martin beat out a rival bid from Northrop Grumman and Boeing to win a contract NASA said would be potentially worth $8.15 billion. See http://www.space.com/news/060831_nasa_cev_contract.html.
g Learning - Here’s the ultimate Web site for an introduction to astrobiology. “Astrobiology: The Living Universe” is a comprehensive and educational guide to life on Earth and beyond. This site features sections on the chemical origin of life, evolution, planetary biology, the search for extraterrestrial life, supporting humans in space and exobiology. See http://library.thinkquest.org/C003763/index.php?page=index.
g Imagining - Here’s a neat book you should pick up: “The Science of Aliens” by Clifford A. Pickover. See http://ibs.howstuffworks.com/
ibs/orl/framed.htmparent=http://ibs.howstuffworks.com/ibs/orl/
alien-physiology5.htm&url=http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=2181&sourceid=38726079&bfpid=0465073158&bfmtype=book for some reviews.
g Aftermath - Book alert: You may have to really scour used book stores for this one: 1976’s “ETI: The First Encounter” considers the consequences to man's view of himself and his world of the first proven contact — when it comes — with beings from another planet. Edited by James L. Christian, this book led the way in reflecting on the next stage in man's gradual self-discovery. For the table of contents and ISBN, see http://www.skeptic.de/b/0074.php4.

Universe’s earliest galaxies, protein communication code and Voyagers’ golden record

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 discovered large disc galaxies akin to our Milky Way that must have formed on a rapid time scale, only 3 billion years after the Big Bang. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060819112631.htm.
g Abodes - Ancient sediments that once resided on a lake bed and the ocean floor show sulfur isotope ratios unlike those found in other samples from the same time, calling into question accepted ideas about when the Earth's atmosphere began to contain oxygen, according to researchers from the U.S., Canada and Japan. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&
file=article&sid=2062mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Life - A biologist is attempting to crack the communication code of proteins, especially the ones whose "talking" aids and abets disease. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060821215840.htm.
g Intelligence - Skeletal remains said to be that of a new "hobbit" species in 2004 do not represent a new species as then claimed, but some of the ancestors of modern human pygmies who live on the island today, according to an international scientific team. See http://www.livescience.com/othernews/060821_hobbit_not.html.
g Message - When the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft were launched in 1977, they each included a gold-plated phonograph record (a "golden record") of natural sounds, greetings in human voices, and a variety of music. The record cover has symbolic instructions that show how to use and understand the record, though scientists still debate whether other civilizations will be able to decipher them. For info on Voyager’s golden record, see http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec.html. For an explanation of the record cover diagram, see http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec1.html. For an interactive module that contains greetings, sounds, and pictures included on the record (requires Flash plug-in), see http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/flash/voyager_record/index_voyager.html.
g Cosmicus - Bigelow Aerospace is preparing for a "major course change" after a wildly successful first month in orbit for the maiden test flight of their prototype inflatable space module, the company's founder said. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0608/25bigelow/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat set of lessons about “Life in the Universe” that teaches kids some basic astronomical facts and mathematical skills along the way: http://www.nssc.co.uk/education/
supportmaterials/PreVisitDocs/KS4and5/Life%20in%20Universe.doc.
g Imagining - Looking for some classic science fiction alien movies? There’s a fairly exhaustive list, with brief explanations of each, at http://www.filmsite.org/sci-fifilms2.html. Now in how each one the aliens really are just mythical monsters that play on human psychology (specifically fear or revulsion). Such films really say less about the evolution of potential extraterrestrial lifeforms and civilizations than about the evolution of human beings and our culture. In fact, here’s an essay that examines a specific detail of that notion: “An Exploration of the Relationship Between Science Fiction Film and the UFO Mythology,” at http://www.hedweb.com/markp/ufofilm.htm.
g Aftermath - Here’s an intriguing paper published just last month and translated from German for Astrosociology.com: “Futurological Reflections on the Confrontation of Mankind with an Extraterrestrial Civilization.” See http://www.astrosociology.com/Library/PDF/
Contributions/SETIandConsequences_ENG.pdf.