
Alien Invasion? An Ecologist Doubts the Impact of Exotic Species
Many conservationists have dedicated their lives to eradicating invasive plant and animal species, but Mark Davis wants them to reassess their missions

Alien Invasion? An Ecologist Doubts the Impact of Exotic Species
Many conservationists have dedicated their lives to eradicating invasive plant and animal species, but Mark Davis wants them to reassess their missions

Handedness Could Reveal Aliens
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology are developing a way to measure the directionality of compounds on other planets--which could reveal the presence of life, because biomolecules tend to twist in only one of two possible directions. Karen Hopkin reports


Without the Moon, Would There Be Life on Earth?
By driving the tides, our lunar companion may have jump-started biology--or at least accelerated its progression

Are You Out There, ET? Searches for Habitable Planets Are About to Get a Boost
A Q&A with stellar and planetary scientist Alan Boss about the holy grail of extrasolar planet research--finding Earth-like planets

Artificial life: Was Steven Spielberg onto something in E.T.?

Alien Census: Can We Estimate How Much Life Is Out There?
New study looks to tabulate the extent of intelligent extraterrestrial life

Methane on Mars: Is Something Organic Brewing on the Red Planet?
Localized gas plumes may point to biological or geologic activity

Reel Life: The Day the Earth Stood Still
The remake of this 1951 sci-fi classic delivers a modern warning wrapped in an ancient myth

Rock and Roil: Meteorites Hitting Early Earth's Oceans May Have Helped Spawn Life
Did heat, pressure and carbon from meteorite impacts create biological precursors?

Triple Helix: Designing a New Molecule of Life
Peptide nucleic acid, a synthetic hybrid of protein and DNA, could form the basis of a new class of drugs—and of artificial life unlike anything found in nature

Cassini spacecraft searches for signs of life on Saturn's moon Enceladus

Filed Notes—Life in Old Lava
Searching for microfossils inside igneous rocks