Stars wrapped in glass, human altruism and Harvard SETI searches

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Today’s news:
g Stars - NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has observed a rare population of colliding galaxies whose entangled hearts are wrapped in tiny crystals resembling crushed glass. The crystals are essentially sand, or silicate, grains that were formed like glass, probably in the stellar equivalent of furnaces. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/
releases/2006/02/060217092023.htm.
g Abodes - The vast icy ocean current that circles around Antarctica is so huge that it carries 100 times more water than all the world's rivers combined, yet its influence on the world's climate is barely understood. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/
03/060301093222.htm.
g Life - Predators are, ironically, the key to keeping the world green, because they keep the numbers of plant-eating herbivores under control, reports a research team lead by John Terborgh, a professor of environmental science at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060228091342.htm.
g Intelligence - Altruism may breed better marriages, a new study suggests. Or, the data might instead mean that good marriages make people more altruistic. See http://www.livescience.com/human
biology/060209_love_altruism.html.
g Message - The Harvard SETI Group have conducted several searches for extraterrestrial life since 1978. For a history of those searches, see article.
g Cosmicus - If you’re looking to get your hands dirty and be on the ground floor of public space travel, you might touch base with one of the leading spaceline builders. See http://space.com/news/060224_rutan_hiring.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 C.M. Kornbluth’s short story "The Silly Season," originally published in F&SF (Fall 1950).
g Aftermath - What happens if we detect an extraterrestrial signal? Here’s text from congressional testimony outlining what would happen. See http://www.house.gov/science/space/jul12/chyba.htm. Note: This article is from 2001.

Metal-rich hydrogen cloud, killer carbon cycle and replaying the history of life

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Today’s news:
g Stars - Astronomers, using the unique capabilities offered by the high-resolution spectrograph on European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, have found a metal-rich hydrogen cloud in the distant universe. The result may help to solve the missing metal problem and provides insight on how galaxies form. See http://
www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0602/16invisible/.
g Abodes - New research into a missing link in climatology shows that the Earth was not overcome by a greenhouse period when dinosaurs dominated, but experienced rapid fluctuations in temperature and sea level change that resulted in a balance of the global carbon cycle. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/
2006/03/060302003032.htm.
g Life - If the history of life were to play out again from the beginning, it would have a similar plot and outcomes, although with a different cast and timing, argues UC Davis paleontologist Geerat Vermeij in a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060228085505.htm.
g Intelligence - Any parent will tell you kids can be depressing at times. A new study shows that raising them is a lifelong challenge to your mental health. See http://www.livescience.com/human
biology/060207_parent_depression.html. For related story, see “Postpartum depression might be predictable” at http://www.science
daily.com/upi/index.phpfeed=Science&article=UPI12
006020720441300bcuspostpartum.xml.
g Message - Scientists are ramping up the search for extraterrestrial life with a powerful array of new telescopes and a refined sense of where to look within the vast expanses of our universe. See http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/custom/space/nyhsstar0222,
0,5104997.storycoll=orlnewsheadlinesspace.
g Cosmicus - Space Adventures has announced plans for a new suborbital spacecraft and spaceports near major airports in the United Arab Emirates and Singapore that, it hopes, will draw eager customers seeking the space experience. See http://space.com/
businesstechnology/060222_techwed_spaceadventures.html.
g Learning - Here’s a neat lesson for middle school students about extraterrestrials, courtesy of the Discovery channel: http://school.
discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/extraterrestrials/.
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 - The scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence is accelerating its pace and adopting fresh strategies. This increases the likelihood of successful detection in the near future. Humanity's first contact with alien intelligence will trigger extraordinary attention from the media, from government authorities, and from the general public. By improving our readiness for contact, especially for security during the first 30 days, we can avoid the most negative scenarios — and also enhance humanity's benefits from this first contact with an alien intelligence. Six potential problem areas include communicating with the media and the public, communicating with scientific colleagues, government control, an assassin or saboteur, well-meaning officials and lawsuits. See http://ieti.org/articles/
security.htm.

Glass-wrapped galaxies, keeping an open mind and new space station assembly sequence

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has observed a rare population of colliding galaxies whose entangled hearts are wrapped in tiny crystals resembling crushed glass. This is the first time silicate crystals have been detected in a galaxy outside of our own. See article.
g Abodes - Scientists from NASA and Columbia University, New York, have used computer modeling to successfully reproduce an abrupt climate change that took place 8,200 years ago. At that time, the beginning of the current warm period, a massive flood of freshwater into the North Atlantic Ocean caused climate changes. See article.
gLife - For scientists eying distant planets and solar systems for signs of alien activity, University of Colorado at Boulder Professor Carol Cleland suggests the first order of business is to keep an open mind. See article.
g Intelligence - Women who feel that they become more forgetful as menopause approaches shouldn't just "fuhgetabout it": There may be something to their own widespread reports that they're more likely to forget things as menopause approaches, say scientists who reported results from a small study today at the annual meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society in Boston. See article.
g Message - Humankind has been unintentionally transmitting signals into space - primarily high-frequency radio, television, and radar - for more than fifty 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 article.
g Cosmicus - NASA and its international partners unveiled a new space station assembly sequence Thursday, one that takes into account the looming 2010 end of the shuttle program by deferring science operations in favor of construction flights to ensure completion of the orbital outpost. See article. For related story, see “Russian Spacecraft Vital to Boost ISS Crew Size”.
g Learning - Here’s a neat introduction to astronomy: If you could approach the Milky Way from afar and then soar to its center, what would you find? See article.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Robert Heinlein’s (as Anson MacDonald) short story "Goldfish Bowl," originally published in the March 1942 Astounding magazine.
g Aftermath - The scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence is accelerating its pace and adopting fresh strategies. This increases the likelihood of successful detection in the near future. Humanity's first contact with alien intelligence will trigger extraordinary attention from the media, from government authorities, and from the general public. By improving our readiness for contact, especially for security during the first 30 days, we can avoid the most negative scenarios — and also enhance humanity's benefits from this first contact with an alien intelligence. Six potential problem areas include communicating with the media and the public, communicating with scientific colleagues, government control, an assassin or saboteur, well-meaning officials and lawsuits. See article.

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Reproducing GEMS, maturing minds and extraterrestrial encoding scene

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Today’s news:
g Stars - For the first time, a team of French scientists were able to reproduce the structure of the exotic GEMS in the laboratory. The results of their experiments will soon be published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. GEMS (glass with embedded metal and sulphides) is a major component of primitive interplanetary dust. To understand its origin is one of the primary objectives of planetary science, and especially of the recently successful Stardust mission. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/
2006/02/060215230145.htm. For related story, see “PETing Stardust” at http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name
=News&file=article&sid=1879mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Abodes - Forces brewing deep beneath Yellowstone National Park could be making one of the largest volcanoes on Earth even bigger, a new study reveals. See http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/060301
_yellowstone_stirs.html.
g Life - Deeply buried ocean sediments may house populations of tiny organisms that have extremely low maintenance energy needs and population turnover rates of anywhere from 200 to 2,000 years, according to an international team of researchers. See http://www.astrobio.net
/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=News&file=article&sid
=1881mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - At an age when Americans are first considered adults, their brains are still maturing, a new study suggests. See http://www.live
science.com/humanbiology/060206_brain_mature.html.
g Message - Is it more likely for an advanced civilization to resort to some sophisticated encoding scheme than we would? See http://www.seti
universe.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.aspa=178&z=10.
g Cosmicus - Scientists who study the sun, moon, planets and stars protested on Thursday the Bush administration’s plan to send humans back to the moon and on to Mars. See http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/
03032006/world/90559.htm.
g Learning - Cozying up to sharks and eels is much more attractive in "Deep Sea 3D," where you can watch them from the comfort of a theater without worrying about winding up as dinner. The undersea documentary (40 minutes, Not Rated) opens in IMAX theaters nationwide over the weekend. It gives even the most landlocked viewer an up-close look—enhanced by three-dimensional glasses—at diverse ocean wildlife with the added benefit of staying dry. See http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060303_
deepsea_3D.html.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read James P. Hogan’s novel “Inherit the Stars,” published by Del Rey in 1977.
g Aftermath - Even if the public seems less than awestruck by the prospect that alien life is a bunch of microscopic bugs, astrobiologists say unequivocal discovery of microbial life beyond Earth will change human society in profound ways, some unfathomable today. See http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/news
_stories/news_detail.cfmID=138.

Compressed neutron stars, heading to Pluto and new lemur species

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - An team of astronomers using the CSIRO Parkes radio telescope in eastern Australia has found a new kind of cosmic object - small, compressed “neutron stars” that show no activity most of the time but once in a while spit out a single burst of radio waves. See article.
g Abodes - As the New Horizons mission to Pluto prepared for launch in January, NASA presented a webcast in which mission scientists answered questions from the public. In this edited transcript, project scientist Harold Weaver Jr. talks about what we could learn about Pluto and the outer solar system when the spacecraft arrives at its destination nine years from now. See article.
gLife - Researchers have identified three new species of lemurs, the small, big-eyed primates native to the island of Madagascar. See article.
g Intelligence - Scientists believe they have created the perfect male face, a man so handsome that any woman would automatically pick him out of a crowd. See article. Note: this article is from 2002.
g Message - In 1974, the most powerful broadcast ever deliberately beamed into space was made from Puerto Rico. The broadcast formed part of the ceremonies held to mark a major upgrade to the Arecibo Radio Telescope. The transmission consisted of a simple, pictorial message, aimed at our putative cosmic companions in the globular star cluster M13. See article.
g Cosmicus - The Near Earth Asteroids offer both threat and promise. They present the threat of planetary impact with regional or global disaster. And they also offer the promise of resources to support humanity's long-term prosperity on Earth, and our movement into space and the solar system. See article.
g Learning - Understanding the origins of human diseases could help identify fresh avenues toward their prevention and treatment. At the very least, an appreciation of the evolutionary history of humans and other animals should make for better medical doctors and physician-scientists, which is why the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is collaborating with Carnegie Museum of Natural History to offer its students educational and research opportunities unlike any available at other medical schools. The partnership, the Natural History of Medicine Initiative, is the first of its kind involving a medical school and natural history museum. See article.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Charles Henneberg’s short story "The Blind Pilot," originally published in the January 1960 F&SF magazine.
g Aftermath - Even if the public seems less than awestruck by the prospect that alien life is a bunch of microscopic bugs, astrobiologists say unequivocal discovery of microbial life beyond Earth will change human society in profound ways, some unfathomable today. See article. Note: This article is from 2001.

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Humming stars, hardwired grammar and targeting nearby stars on the search for life

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Today’s news:
g Stars - Massive, dying stars vibrate like giant speakers and emit an audible hum before exploding in one of nature's most spectacular blasts, scientists say. See http://space.com/scienceastronomy/
060220_mm_sound_supernova.html.
g Abodes - Data from ESA's Huygens probe have been used to validate a new model of the evolution of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, showing that its methane supply may be locked away in a kind of methane-rich ice. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/
2006/03/060302090828.htm.
g Life - Spinosaurus is now officially the biggest carnivorous dinosaur known to science. See http://www.livescience.com/anim
alworld/060301_big_carnivores.html.
g Intelligence - University of Rochester scientists studying why characteristics of grammar are found in all languages say the use of grammar is hardwired in our brains. See http://www.sciencedaily.
com/upi/index.phpfeed=Science&article=UPI12006020619051000bcus
grammarbrain.xml.
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 - A robotic mission to haul samples back from Mars to Earth should be on NASA’s "most wanted" list, but a risk adverse space agency has left the project in limbo. See http://space.com/
businesstechnology/060301_msr_overview.html.
g Learning - Here’s a cool introduction to astrobiology: A concept map of the field’s fundamental questions with links to each one: http://electra.ihmc.us/servlet/SBReadResourceServletrid=1025201
081978_2008951983_2137&partName=htmltext.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Lee Killough’s "The Lying Ear," anthologized in “Alien Encounters” (edited by Jan Finder).
g Aftermath - Book alert: What happens if SETI succeeds? Several dozen experts from the fields of sociology, technology and education consider the social consequences of finding a signal in “Social Implications of the Detection of Extraterrestrial Civilizations,” by John Billingham, Roger Heyns, David Milne and Seth Shostak (editors). Based on workshops held in 1991 and 1992, this is the definitive opus on the likely impact of an extraterrestrial signal. Don't believe all you see on TV, nor what you read in the chat groups: here is reasoned prognostication on what could be the biggest event in human history. See http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/
0966633504/ref=ase_setiprime20/10391543748730217.

Solving a dark mystery, earliest speculations about communication with extraterrestrial intelligence and lunar lander contest

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - A Chinese astronomer from the University of St Andrews has fine-tuned Einstein's groundbreaking theory of gravity, creating a 'simple' theory which could solve a dark mystery that has baffled astrophysicists for three-quarters of a century. See article.
g Abodes - Mangroves, the backbone of the tropical ocean coastlines, are far more important to the global ocean's biosphere than previously thought. And while the foul-smelling muddy forests may not have the scientific allure of tropical reefs or rain forests, a team of researchers has noted that the woody coastline-dwelling plants provide more than 10 percent of essential dissolved organic carbon that is supplied to the global ocean from land. See article.
gLife - It turns out lampreys, long thought to have taken a different evolutionary road than almost all other backboned animals, may not be so different after all, especially in terms of the genetics that govern their skeletal development. See article.
g Intelligence - Just 30 minutes of brisk walking can immediately boost the mood of depressed patients, giving them the same quick pick-me-up they may be seeking from cigarettes, caffeine or binge eating, a small study found. See article.
g Message - The earliest speculations about communication with extraterrestrial intelligence involved contact with the Moon and with other planets of our own solar system. In the 1800s, many astronomers thought that — at least theoretically — life might well exist throughout the solar system. But when people raised the question of whether we are really alone in the solar system, they began to imagine ways to find a very concrete answer. See article.
g Cosmicus - The X Prize Foundation is seeking public comment on draft rules for a lunar lander contest set for later this year. See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat site that allows you to make a star map of any patch of sky at any time.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read George Florance Guthridge’s "Taken on Faith," anthologized in “Alien Encounters,” (edited by Jan Finder).
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 article. Note: This story is a couple of years old.

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Orbiting planets head in opposite directions and New Mexico spaceport deal inked

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - A developing star has been found to have two disks of material rotating in opposite directions. The discovery hints at a future solar system with planets going this way and that. See article.
g Abodes - Global warming events 420 million years ago, comparable to those currently beginning to affect our planet, may have caused catastrophic environmental changes in an ancient ocean, threatening the life that existed in it. See article.
gLife - a study published this week finally provides the first clear evidence that natural selection, his favored mechanism of evolution, drives the process of species formation in a wide variety of plants and animals. See article.
g Intelligence - People suffering generalized social phobia experience increased brain activity when confronted with threatening faces or frightening social situations, new research shows. See article.
g Message - In the absence of knowledge of physical and cultural clues, communication between two species can be almost impossible — almost. See article.
g Cosmicus - New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has signed new pieces of legislation—bills that push forward work on New Mexico’s spaceport. In addition, the state has set in motion a potential investment deal to attract a space entrepreneurial firm to work in the area. See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat Web site to help kids (or even adults) better understand the night sky: “Your Sky,” an interactive planetarium. You can produce maps in the forms described below for any time and date, viewpoint, and observing location. If you enter the orbital elements of an asteroid or comet, Your Sky will compute its current position and plot it on the map. Each map is accompanied by an ephemeris for the Sun, Moon, planets, and any tracked asteroid or comet. A control panel permits customization of which objects are plotted, limiting magnitudes, color scheme, image size and other parameters. See article.
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 - Communicating with Aliens, Part IV: How might interested parties envisage the design of a human team to prepare for an encounter with aliens — and improve the operational guidelines for that eventuality? See article.

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High-energy radiation, mammals among dinosaurs and future Shenzhou missions

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - Cosmic space is filled with continuous, diffuse high-energy radiation. To find out how this energy is produced, the scientists behind ESA’s Integral gamma-ray observatory have tried an unusual method: observing Earth from space. See article.
g Abodes - The two moons discovered around Pluto last year were likely formed from the same giant impact that created the planet’s much larger satellite, Charon, scientists say. See article. For related story, see “New Hubble images offer best view of Pluto, moons”.
g Life - Newfound remains of a beaver-like creature suggest that mammals swam with dinosaurs. See article.
g Intelligence - As you age, so do your cells. A new study reveals that old cells make up a much larger portion of skin cells than previously thought. See article.
g Message - Is anyone out there? The chance of spotting signals from extraterrestrials is about to soar, say SETI Institute scientists, who, together with radio astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley have begun building the first telescope to look around the clock for life on other planets. See article.
g Cosmicus - Chinese space planners have outlined the objectives for the next several missions of their piloted Shenzhou missions. Next up is Shenzhou 7, China’s third human spaceflight that will liftoff in 2008 and include a space walk. See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat introduction to constellations to help get kids interested in stargazing.
g Imagining - Skull Island’s commendably diverse population (of “King Kong” fame) isn’t very realistic. In such isolated habitats, competition among species is limited. The consequence is that, with time, predator species tend to get smaller while prey species grow larger. The optimum size (at least for mammals) seems to be roughly that of a rabbit. Kong is bigger than many rabbits. See article.
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 article.

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Measuring a million stars, chicken with teeth and three shuttle flights

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Today’s news:
g Stars - An international team of astronomers released to the public the first data collected as part of the Radial Velocity Experiment, an ambitious spectroscopic survey aimed at measuring the speed, temperature, surface gravity and composition of up to a million stars passing near the sun. see http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/
2006/02/060212181916.htm.
g Abodes - University of Minnesota and Stony Brook University researchers have modeled the properties of rocks at the temperatures and pressures likely to exist at the cores of Jupiter, Saturn and two exoplanets far from the solar system. They show that rocks in these environments are different from those on Earth and have metallic-like electric and thermal conductivity. These properties can produce different terrestrial-type planets, with longer-lasting magnetic fields, enhanced heat flow to the planetary surfaces and, consequently, more intense "planetquake" and volcanic activity. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload
&name=News&file=article&sid=1877mode=thread&order
=0&thold=0.
g Life - Scientists have discovered that rarest of things: a chicken with teeth - crocodile teeth to be precise. See http://www.science
daily.com/releases/2006/02/060223083601.htm.
g Intelligence - Some 50 million U.S. residents live with chronic pain, experts estimate. Pain forces an estimated 36 million of them to miss work every year and results in roughly 70 million doctor visits. Yet scientists know very little about how pain works. They can't even agree on a definition. See http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060131_pain_truths.html.
g Message - Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is helping fund a SETI project that will distill space noise, better search for alien life, and help understand the cosmos. See http://www.technologyreview.
com/articles/05/02/wo/wo_dollarhide022305.aspp=1.
g Cosmicus - If NASA can get the shuttle Discovery off the ground on the second post-Columbia mission this spring or summer, the agency will have a realistic shot at launching three flights this year, program manager Wayne Hale told reporters today. See http://www.spaceflight
now.com/shuttle/sts121/060228halebriefing/.
g Learning - Here’s a neat primer to telescopes for backyard viewing of the night sky, brought to up by a facility that has been involved in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence: http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/public/viewtels.html.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Scott G. Gier’s “Genellan: Planetfall,” published by Del Rey in 1995.
g Aftermath - What if, one day, Earth was contacted by an extraterrestrial civilization? How, as a planet, would we respond to their offer to interact? What if they asked, “Do you have a method in place, or even a policy that outlines how Earth will proceed now that contact has happened?” Here’s an organization that we believes we need in place legal protocol and has proposed the “Extraterrestrial Contact Act.” See http://www.contactact.org/index.htm.

Sound-driven supernovae, taking exoplanet’s temperature and almost to Mars

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - Scientists have made the astonishing discovery that sound might drive supernovae explosions. Their computer simulations say that dying stars pulse at audible frequencies - for instance, at about the F-note above middle C - for a split second before they blow up. See article.
g Abodes - A NASA-led team of astronomers have used NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to detect a strong flow of heat radiation from a toasty planet orbiting a nearby star. The findings allowed the team to "take the temperature" of the planet. See article.
gLife - When sexual species reproduce asexually, they accumulate bad mutations at an increased rate, report two Indiana University Bloomington evolutionary biologists. See article.
g Intelligence - Picture this: Your boss is threatening to fire you because he thinks you stole company property. He doesn't believe your denials. Your lawyer suggests you deny it one more time—in a brain scanner that will show you're telling the truth. Wacky? Science fiction? It might happen this summer. See article.
g Message - Here’s a neat radio interview on the program “Earth and Sky,” about scientists looking for evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth. See article. Note: The interview is from 2003.
g Cosmicus - As it nears Mars on March 10, a NASA spacecraft designed to examine the red planet in unprecedented detail from low orbit will point its main thrusters forward, then fire them to slow itself enough for Mars' gravity to grab it into orbit. See article.
g Learning - A new study in the journal Developmental Psychology indicates that how girls and boys approach their schooling underlies the differences in math grades. It also suggests that although the girls' approach to school may give them an edge in the grades they earn in math, it may not buy them much when it comes to math scores on achievement tests because girls are not more confident than the boys about their skills in math. See article.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read H.B. Fyfe’s short story "In Value Deceived," originally published in the November 1950 issue of Astounding magazine.
g Aftermath - What would the influence of an alien visit would be on the world’s religions? Here’s an answer from members of the International Society for Philosophers.

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Planet-forming dust, return to Titan and moon particles

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has identified two huge "hypergiant" stars circled by monstrous disks of what might be planet-forming dust. The findings surprised astronomers because stars as big as these were thought to be inhospitable to planets. See article.
g Abodes - Cassini returns to Titan for the twelfth targeted flyby of Titan on today. See article. For related story, see “Rhea's wisps in color”.
g Life - Dinosaurs seem bigger than life – big bones, big mysteries. So it's a delicious irony that the next big answers about dinosaurs may come from small – very small – remains. See article. For related story, see “Scientists Argue over Dino-Bird Fossil Worth Millions”.
g Intelligence - Staying mentally and physically active throughout life is the best way to keep the mind sharp and reduce the risks of developing dementia, two recent studies show. See article.
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 article.
g Cosmicus - As scientists and engineers figure out how to return astronauts to the Moon, set up habitats, and mine lunar soil to produce anything from building materials to rocket fuels, they are scratching their heads over what to do about Moon dust. See article.
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.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Karen Joy Fowler’s “Sarah Canary,” published by Henry Holt in 1991.
g Aftermath - A detection of extraterrestrial intelligence will profoundly effect all inhabitants of our planet. The scientific community has realized that the key to ensure a beneficial and rewarding encounter is education and preparation, and these two characteristics apply to many facets of a detection. See article.

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One million stars lost, genetically modifying Mars and ProSpace March

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - Based on observations with ESO's Very Large Telescope, a team of Italian astronomers reports that the stellar cluster Messier 12 must have lost to our Milky Way galaxy close to a million low-mass stars. See article.
g Abodes - One day, humans will step foot on Mars. And they'll be hungry. Growing food on a frozen desert planet with a suffocatingly thin atmosphere, however, will be a challenge. Two scientists from North Carolina State University hope that by borrowing genes from a couple of microbes, one that lives in boiling water, the other in ice, they can bioengineer plants that can grow on Mars. Crazy? A little. But that's just the kind of research NASA's Institute for Advanced Studies likes to fund. See article.
gLife - The majority of tiny marine plants weathered the abrupt climate changes that occurred in Earth's past and bounced back, according to a Penn State geoscientist. See article.
g Intelligence - What gives actors their seemingly effortless memory capabilities? Could acting teach us something about memory and cognition, and could acting principles help those with memory problems? See article.
g Message - SETI research isn’t limited to a single facility listening to radio signals. Another dimension of the program is The Mega-Channel Extraterrestrial Assay, which searched the Southern Hemisphere's skies briefly during the 1990s. To learn more about it, see article.
g Cosmicus - The 13th annual ProSpace March Storm will be held Sunday through Wednesday in Washington. The message this year is that, in terms of space, the nation has arrived at a fork in the road, with a distinct path forward now clearly illuminated. See article.
g Learning - Intelligent design is presented as a legitimate scientific theory and an alternative to Darwinism, but a close look at the arguments shows they don't pass scientific muster. So why are scientists worried? See article.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Alan Dean Foster’s “Nor Crystal Tears,” published by Del Rey in 1982.
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 our title: "Minds and Millennia: The Psychology of Interstellar Communication." See article.

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Circumstellar habitable zone, microscopic aliens on Earth and superhumans

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - In a galaxy filled with billions of stars, scientists searching for alien life need some way to pick out those which are most likely to harbor habitable planets and moons. For more than 150 years, an important tool in this screening process has been the concept of a "circumstellar habitable zone." See article.
g Abodes - A special study group has advised NASA that Venus is far too hellish of a world for life to exist on or below the planet’s surface. Furthermore, while the potential for life in the clouds of Venus can’t be ruled out, the expert panel gauged this possibility as extremely low. See article.
gLife - Are there aliens living on Earth? Not the humanoid kind, with big eyes or glowing fingertips. But unfamiliar types of microscopic life, that doesn't use DNA. Geology professor Peter Ward thinks its possible. His new book, “Life as We Do Not Know It,” explains why. See reviews.
g Intelligence - Today at 7:16 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the population here on this good Earth is projected to hit 6.5 billion people. See article.
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 article. Here's an explanation of the record cover diagram, and here's an interactive module that contains greetings, sounds, and pictures included on the record (requires Flash plug-in).
g Cosmicus - Lockheed Martin announced Wednesday, in partnership with the State of Florida, its plans to locate final assembly and testing of the Crew Exploration Vehicle at Kennedy Space Center if the company wins the CEV competition. See article.
g Learning - It’s a familiar chestnut: "the dinosaurs would be around today if they only had a space program." Of course there’s truth in this. If the lubberly lizards that once stomped the planet had rocket technology, they might have deflected the 5-mile diameter asteroid that speedily incinerated them and subsequently starved most of what remained. But the simple is: Science education is good for the survival of the species. See article.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Robert L. Forward’s novel “Dragon's Egg,” published by NEL in 1980.
g Aftermath - How can we predict reactions to proof of an otherworldly intelligence? Some scientists argue that any unpredictable outcomes can only be judged against our own history. See article.

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Galaxy NGC 1309, prioritizing information and astrobiology cuts

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - Looking like a child's pinwheel ready to be set a spinning by a gentle breeze, the dramatic spiral galaxy NGC 1309 is one of the latest viewed by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. See article.
g Abodes - Scientists at the University of Chicago are among the first ever to analyze cometary dust delivered to Earth via spacecraft. Scientists routinely examine extraterrestrial material that has fallen to Earth as meteorites, but never before NASA's Stardust mission have they had access to verified samples of a comet. See article.
gLife - A review published in the recent issue of Ethology suggests that the presence of multiple predators slows the loss of anti-predator abilities in isolated populations. See article.
g Intelligence - Just imagine listening to someone talk and also hearing the buzz of the overhead lights, the hum of your computer and the muffled conversation down the hallway. To focus on the person speaking to you, your brain clearly can't give equal weight to all incoming sensory information. It has to attend to what is important and ignore the rest. Two scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have taken a big step toward sorting out how the brain accomplishes this task: A mechanism for prioritizing information - previously reported only in primates - is also used by birds. See article.
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 - A major decrease in NASA funding for Astrobiology has been proposed. The President's budget for fiscal year '07 includes plans to cut NASA's astrobiology budget to 50% of its FY '05 level. The operating plan for the current fiscal year (FY '06) will severely curtail ongoing astrobiology funding as an interim step towards meeting the FY '07 announced level. See article.
g Learning - Here’s an opportunity to turn kids onto stargazing: During the next couple of weeks skywatchers will be turning their attention to a newly discovered comet that has just swept past the Sun and will soon cruise past Earth on its way back out toward the depths of the outer solar system. See article.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read David Feintuch’s novel “Midshipman's Hope,” published by Warner Aspect in 1994.
g Aftermath - Even if the public seems less than awestruck by the prospect that alien life is a bunch of microscopic bugs, astrobiologists say unequivocal discovery of microbial life beyond Earth will change human society in profound ways, some unfathomable today. See article. Note: This article is from 2001.

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Galactic halo, personal space travel and ‘I Love Lucy’ in space

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Today’s news:
g Stars - Scientists using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have detected an extensive halo of hot gas around a quiescent spiral galaxy. This discovery is evidence that galaxies like our Milky Way are still accumulating matter from the gradual inflow of intergalactic gas. See http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0602/06halo/.
g Abodes - As Alaska's Augustine Volcano erupts and sends a plume of ash more than 40,000 feet into the air, instruments on the ground are recording rumblings at the volcano's surface. The data collected will provide new insights into the inner workings of volcanoes along the Pacific Rim. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/
02/060216231550.htm.
gLife - An underwater mountain that forms the world's third-largest atoll has some of the richest diversity of marine life ever found in the Caribbean, according to scientists who recently explored the area. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060214080938.htm.
g Intelligence - When a human looks at a number, letter or other shape, neurons in various areas of the brain's visual center respond to different components of that shape, almost instantaneously fitting them together like a puzzle to create an image that the individual then "sees" and understands, researchers at The Johns Hopkins University report. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060125082426.htm.
g Message - The Earth is at the center of an expanding bubble of electromagnetic radiation. The bubble, expanding at the speed of light, contains all of the man-made electromagnetic transmissions of the earth - radio, TV, radar and so on. In theory, an alien civilization could receive these signals, and form their opinion about the earth by analyzing them. To most people, it is quite discouraging to think that some alien civilization would form their opinion of Earth based upon our situation comedies. Upon a slightly deeper analysis, the conventional wisdom says, “Aliens might detect our TV signals, but at least they can't form their opinion of our civilization from our TV transmissions. Decoding the transmission is so much harder than detecting it that we don't need to worry about this.” But an editor of the book “SETI 2020” argues that this view considerably underestimates the technologies that aliens might employ. By looking at likely technical improvements - better receivers and feeds, bigger antenna, signal processing, and perhaps stellar focusing, any civilization that can detect our radiations might well be able to decode it as well. Thus aliens can form their impression of Earth from “I Love Lucy.” See http://contactincontext.org/cic/v2i1/lucy.pdf.
g Cosmicus - In the last few years, personal space travel has become a far more feasible business proposition. But much work remains in fostering and then sustaining such an enterprise. For one, there is need not to over-promise ticket-paying customers about prospective space jaunts—adventure that will be costly for the foreseeable future and far from risk-free. See http://space.com/news/060216_tourism_staif.html.
g Learning - Here is a night Web site about how to start skygazing: http://www.earthsky.com/skywatching/tips_started.php.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Gordon Eklund’s "Objects Unidentified (Flying)," anthologized in “First Contact” (edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Larry Segriff and published by DAW in 1997).
g Aftermath - How would proof of extraterrestrial intelligence affect humanity’s “world” view? Astronomer Steve Dick discusses the matter in this transcribed Smithsonian Institute lecture, from 1999, at http://www.sil.si.edu/silpublications/dibnerlibrarylectures/
extraterrestriallife/etcopykr.htm.

Stars born alone, origin of iron meteorites and chimps fail altruism test

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Today’s news:
g Stars - For more than 200 years, astronomers thought that most of the stars in our galaxy had stellar companions. But a new study suggests the bulk of them are born alone and never have stellar company. See http://space.com/scienceastronomy/060130_
mm_single_stars.html.
g Abodes - Iron meteorites are probably the surviving fragments of the long-lost asteroid-like bodies that formed the Earth and other nearby rocky planets, according to researchers from Southwest Research Institute and Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur in Nice, France. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=mod
load&name=News&file=article&sid=1872mode=thread&order=
0&thold=0.
g Life - An expedition to one of Asia's most isolated jungles - in the mist-shrouded Foja Mountains of western New Guinea - discovered a virtual ''Lost World" of new species, giant flowers, and rare wildlife that was unafraid of humans. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/
releases/2006/02/060207232338.htm.
g Intelligence - In a new study, chimpanzees from the Wolfgang Koehler Primate Research Centre in Leipzig were given a choice: By pulling on a rope they could either deliver food to another chimpanzee or they could deliver it to an empty room. In both cases, the chimpanzee pulling the rope did not receive any food itself. Contrary to initial expectations the chimpanzees behaved neither altruistic nor spiteful. According to the researchers, both characteristics therefore seem to be human-specific. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060125082712.htm.
g Message - Here’s a quick, easy to understand primer to SETI’s radio searches and the Fermi Paradox: http://shayol.bartol.
udel.edu/~rhdt/diploma/lecture_12/.
g Cosmicus - NASA’s back to the Moon adventure is being kick-started by the building of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. That probe is the opening volley of spacecraft in response to President George W. Bush’s multi-billion dollar Vision for Space Exploration that he outlined in January 2004. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060207231610.htm.
g Learning - Many at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the nation's largest gathering of scientists, spoke out over the weekend against what they called religious pressure in public schools. And they enlisted the help of about 300 teachers from across the Midwest who attended the conference to discuss the national debate over evolution. See http://www.livescience.com/othernews
/060221_ap_scientists_rally.html.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Rosemary Edgehill’s short story "We Have Met the Enemy," anthologized in “First Contact” (edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Larry Segriff and 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. See http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465004199/002398377007
84045v=glance;n=283155.

Evidence of extra dimensions, Atlantic hot tub and Allen Telescope Array’s first project

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - Northeastern University and University of California scientists say they might soon have evidence of extra dimensions and other exotic predictions. See article.
g Abodes - A new study of ancient sediments and fossils indicates tropical Atlantic water ranged from 91 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit between 100 million and 84 million years ago. The same region today is typically 75 to 82 degrees. See article.
g Life - A team of scientists has discovered a new genus and species of dinosaur that is the oldest known and most primitive tyrannosauroid. The new basal tyrannosauroid, named Guanlong wucaii, sheds light on the early evolution and geographical distribution of coelurosaurs, small theropod dinosaurs that include the closest relatives of birds. See article. For related story, see “Pictures of newly discovered T-Rex dinosaur”.
g Intelligence - New research reveals that monkey cops help keep social groups in line. Not having guns or nightsticks, they leverage their group seniority, craft intimidating reputations and count on good voter turnout. See article.
g Message - The SETI Institute’s first project on the Allen Telescope Array will be a survey of a region around the center of our galaxy. See article.
g Cosmicus - The first experimental demonstration of quantum telecloning has been achieved by scientists at the University of Tokyo, the Japan Science and Technology Agency, and the University of York. The work is reported in the latest issue of Physical Review Letters. Telecloning combines cloning (or copying) with teleportation (i.e., disembodied transport). See article.
g Learning - Here’s a neat Web site, courtesy of NASA: “Virtual Skies”. For grades 9-12, in these activities students solve real-life air traffic management problems.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read Jeff Dunteman’s short story, "Marlowe," anthologized in “Alien Encounters” (edited by Jan Finder).
g Aftermath - The scientific discussion of the evolution of life in the universe raises some key philosophical and theological issues: Will life and intelligence be found throughout the universe, or will it turn out to be exceedingly rare? Will intelligent life be capable of both rationality and moral agency? Will evolutionary biology determine its moral content or will it merely bequeath intelligent life with moral capacity, leaving moral content to be determined independently of biology? If moral agency evolves, will these species inevitably exhibit moral failure, or is our generic human experience of moral failure strictly the result of our particular evolution, leaving us to expect there to be other civilizations that are entirely benign? The discussion of these issues, though largely hypothetical, can offer insight into the theological and cultural implications of the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence as well into a better understanding of the human condition. See article.

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Flashes of light, DNA in fossil bones and ‘Tune in the Universe!’

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Today’s news:
g Stars - Astronomers have detected a faint halo of hot gas surrounding and falling into a spiral galaxy located 100 million light-years from Earth. See http://space.com/scienceastronomy/
060206_mm_galaxy_halo.html.
g Abodes - Back in the 1980s, airline pilots were told they must have been seeing things when they reported flashes of light shooting toward space atop thunderstorms. But in recent years, scientists have photographed the mysterious flashes and come up with interesting names for them: elves, blue jets, tigers and sprites. The flashes are associated with thunderstorms, and each type is incredibly brief and behaves differently. A new effort has produced the best images and video of sprites ever obtained. See http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/060216_sprites.html.
g Life - Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science recently discovered a new source of well-preserved ancient DNA in fossil bones. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop
=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1860mode=
thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Intelligence - The truism is that if you want to know a culture, learn the language. But what if the language and the culture are both dead – long, long dead? See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/
2006/01/060123171641.htm.
g Message - Book alert: H. Paul Shuch’s “Tune in the universe! A radio amateur's guide to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence” (published by ARRL in 2001 in CD format) provides a good introduction to SETI by the executive director of the SETI League. The contents range from how to build your own radio receiver in your backyard to Shuch's selected memoirs and songs. See http://www.radio-ware.com/books/artiu.htm.
g Cosmicus - It's only a matter of time. One day, winter Olympics will be held on the moon. The moon's dust-covered slopes are good places to ski. There's plenty of powder, moguls and, best of all, low-gravity. With only 1/6th g holding them down, skiers and snowboarders can do tricks they only dreamed of doing on Earth. How about an octuple-twisting quadruple back flip? Don't worry. Crashes happen in slow motion, so it won't hurt so much to wipe out. See http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.phpop=modload&name=
News&file=article&sid=1869mode=thread&order=0&thold=0.
g Learning - Here’s a cool set of classroom lessons courtesy of NASA: Astroventure, in which students search for and design a habitable planet. See http://astroventure.arc.nasa.gov/.
g Imagining - Like first contact stories? Then be sure to read J.M. Dillard’s noel “Star Trek: First Contact” (based on a screenplay by Brannon Bragga and Ron Moore and published by Pocket in 1996).
g Aftermath - The recent Hollywood movie “War of the Worlds” by Steven Spielberg is garnering much attention, but it's nothing like that accorded the 1938 radio version of H.G. Wells' novel. The extent of the panic that broadcast caused is still debated. So what really happened that night? See http://www.livescience.com/scienceof
fiction/050722_war_world.html.

Planetary nebula, Saturn storm and electrosensory powers

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - Six hundred and fifty light-years away in the constellation Aquarius, a dead star about the size of Earth, is refusing to fade away peacefully. In death, it is spewing out massive amounts of hot gas and intense ultraviolet radiation, creating a spectacular object called a "planetary nebula." See article.
g Abodes - Scientists are tracking the strongest lighting storm ever detected at Saturn. The storm is larger than the continental United States, with electrical activity 1,000 times stronger than the lightning on Earth. See article. For related story, see “An Infrared Movie of Titan”.
g Life - Sharks are known for their almost uncanny ability to detect electrical signals while hunting and navigating. Now researchers have traced the origin of those electrosensory powers to the same type of embryonic cells that gives rise to many head and facial features in humans. See article.
g Intelligence - We might not be able to resist a pretty face after all, according to a report from the University of Pennsylvania. Experiments in which subjects were given a fraction of a second to judge "attractiveness" offered further evidence that our preference for beauty might be hard-wired. People who participated in the studies were also more likely to associate pretty faces with positive traits. See article.
g Message - In late 1997, after almost 40 years of operation, the Ohio State University Radio Observatory and its "Big Ear" radio telescope — which picked up the famous “Wow!” signal — ceased operation. The land on which the observatory was sitting (owned by the Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio) was sold in 1983 to land developers who later claimed their rights to develop the property. The telescope was destroyed in early 1998. See the Web page memorial to Big Ear.
g Cosmicus - NASA aims to sideline shuttle Atlantis in 2008, but a senior agency official said Friday that no job cuts are expected at Kennedy Space Center as a result. See article. For related stories, see “NASA studies shuttle engine seals, contamination” and “Discovery Astronauts Check Shuttle for Return to Flight Mission”.
g Learning - Here are some neat tips for getting started in stargazing; they are intended primarily for unaided vision sky observation and the use of binoculars.
g Imagining - Many problems faced the development of Astrobiology as a credible science when it was first named in 1958. The most basic of these problems was skepticism on the part of many scientists of the time. The ideas of Astrobiology touched too closely with science fiction to be considered seriously. The idea of life on Mars was definitely science fiction: H. G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" and Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles" attested to that. And Gregory Benford and David Brin in “Heart of the Comet” have since addressed the idea of life being seeded on Earth by comets. Why would anyone take these ideas seriously? See article.
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 article.

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Spacetime dent, stars that might yield extraterrestrials and relating science fiction to astrobiology

Welcome! "Alien Life" tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. Here's today's news:
g Stars - A spinning black hole in the constellation Scorpius has created a stable dent in the fabric of spacetime, scientists say. See article.
g Abodes - Microbes may be riding high in the atmosphere of Earths sister planet, Venus. See article. Note: This article is from 2003.
gLife - In this interview with Gerda Horneck, she shares her concerns about sending humans to Mars. She also explains why our own bacteria, after being exposed to the harsh radiation of outer space, won’t come back to haunt us. See article.
g Intelligence - Just over 3 million years ago, an ape in Africa began to walk on two legs and took the first step on the long road to civilization. Along the way, we discovered flint tools, fire and farming. But what is it that makes us truly human? See article.
g Message - A U.S. astronomer has announced her shortlist of stars where extraterrestrial life might be found. See article. For related story, see “Shortlist of stellar candidates for habitable worlds”.
g Cosmicus - Testing is under way by engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., to lay the foundation for developing the Crew Launch Vehicle, the agency's future launch vehicle system. See article.
g Learning - Finally, some common sense: The state bill that University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists helped draft is getting attention by proponents and opponents nationwide. The bill would ban the teaching of intelligent design as science in the state's public schools. See article.
g Imagining - The secrets of the universe remain a mystery to us, but that doesn’t stop us from making guesses. An author who writes a science fiction novel tries to base it around the technology and knowledge that we have available to us. Those tidbits of knowledge are then exaggerated to great lengths, and then set into the future, on other planets, in other dimensions in time, or under new variants of scientific law. This process is called extrapolation, and becomes the premise of the story. Here’s a Web page that works in reverse, by taking the scientific aspects from classic works of science fiction and explaining how they relate to astrobiology.
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 article.

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