Alien Life on Earth? msnba 2009.02.17 By Irene Klotz
If life arose not just once, but multiple times on Earth, "life as we don't know it" could be here on our own planet, says astrophysicist Paul Davies. And if it's found, the chances for life elsewhere in the universe are sky-high.
"If life does form readily under Earth-like conditions, shouldn't it have formed many times over, right here on our home planet?" said Paul Davies, a theoretical cosmologist and astrobiologist at Arizona State University. "There's no planet more Earth-like than Earth itself."
"It is now quite fashionable to say that the universe is teeming with life, but the scientific facts haven't changed very much," Davies said. "We're still completely ignorant about whether life pretty much automatically and naturally arises in Earth-like conditions, or whether it is just a fluke."
keywords: alien life, extraterrestrial variety, synthetic biology
More related:
- What exactly is life?
- Ancient DNA boosts hope for alien life
Researchers see signs that microbes in permafrost could repair themselves,
- Antarctic microbes handle Mars-like conditions Findings provide evidence that underground liquid on Mars could harbor life.
- Researchers creating life from scratch ‘Synthetic biologists’ build with one genetic molecule at a time
- Synthetic Biology Discovery Tech explores artificial life and its meanings, including what Charles Darwin might have thought.
- Antarctic microbes handle Mars-like conditions Findings provide evidence that underground liquid on Mars could harbor life.