Has NASA Discovered Alien Life?

[Hammock Parties]

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/...ed-alien-life/

A NASA press release announcing "an astrobiology finding" -- something that will impact the search for extraterrestrial life -- has sent shockwaves through the blogosphere.

The press release simply announces an event, set for Thursday at 2 p.m. EST, to discuss an astrobiology discovery "that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life." Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe.

And the concept of NASA discussing alien life has everyone a-Twitter. Gawker, PC World, New Scientist and others have all speculated about the news -- even suggesting that the space agency may reveal that E.T. has finally arrived.
The reality may be less dramatic, though still intriguing: Based on the background of the four conference participants NASA cites, the announcement will probably concern lifeforms that live off of poisonous arsenic. Popular blogger Jason Kottke and others have concluded that the announcement will tie into the quest for life on Saturn's moon Titan.

"I'd say that they've discovered arsenic on Titan and maybe even detected chemical evidence of bacteria utilizing it for photosynthesis," Kottke theorizes, a hypothesis short of actually confirming alien life.

He notes that geobiologist Pamela Conrad was the primary author of a 2009 paper on geology and life on Mars, while oceanographer Felisa Wolfe-Simon has written extensively on photosynthesis using arsenic. Biologist Steven Benner is on the "Titan Team" at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory; they're looking at Saturn's largest moon as an early-Earth-like chemical environment. And ecologist James Elser is involved with a NASA-funded astrobiology program called Follow the Elements, which studies the chemistry of environments where life evolves, not just water, carbon or oxygen.

Despite the hype and rumors, Phil Plait of Discover Magazine urged rational calm, noting that an announcement of the discovery of extraterrestrial life "seems really unlikely." Plait called overreactions par for the course, citing a June press release about the lack of acetlyne in Titan’s atmosphere "that sparked vast speculation."

"Even though the press release was clear enough, it was misleadingly reported as NASA finding sings of life on Titan," Plait wrote.

Forbes blogger Brian Caulfield agreed, noting that "Thursday’s news is probably a big deal" but "probably just not that big a deal."

Of course, there is always the chance that NASA has discovered alien life -- right? We'll know for sure tomorrow. Stick with FoxNews.com for complete coverage of NASA's news conference Thursday at 2 p.m. EST and be sure to check out our Twitter feed for real-time updates.

Press release:

Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Cathy Weselby
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-2791
cathy.weselby@nasa.gov

Nov. 29, 2010


MEDIA ADVISORY : M10-167
NASA Sets News Conference on Astrobiology Discovery; Science Journal Has Embargoed Details Until 2 p.m. EST On Dec. 2

WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 2, to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe.

The news conference will be held at the NASA Headquarters auditorium at 300 E St. SW, in Washington. It will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website at http://www.nasa.gov.

Participants are:
- Mary Voytek, director, Astrobiology Program, NASA Headquarters, Washington
- Felisa Wolfe-Simon, NASA astrobiology research fellow, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, Calif.
- Pamela Conrad, astrobiologist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
- Steven Benner, distinguished fellow, Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Gainesville, Fla.
- James Elser, professor, Arizona State University, Tempe

Media representatives may attend the conference or ask questions by phone or from participating NASA locations. To obtain dial-in information, journalists must send their name, affiliation and telephone number to Steve Cole at stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov or call 202-358-0918 by noon Dec. 2.

[Shogun]

I KNEW IT!

[RustShack]

Damn it i knew i should have posted this yesterday. I just assumed it would of been a repost.

[Pants]

The Lizard overlords are coming. Make ready the gold.

[Donger]

Heh. ETLeaks.

[Hammock Parties]

Wouldn't it be funny if the world was introduced to aliens in a ho-hum press conference where Xlibutscrale fielded questions for about 30 minutes and then was whisked away to the secret Underground Grey Headquarters?

It would be the ultimate blue balls after 60 years of speculation and mystery.

[Pants]

Originally Posted by Gif Horse

It would be the ultimate blue balls after 60 years of speculation and mystery.

I'm not sure that makes sense.

[JD10367]

I hope it's the chick with multiple titties from "Total Recall"... I think that was where I saw them...

[chasedude]

See you at the party Richter!

[LiveSteam]

Originally Posted by JD10367

I hope it's the chick with multiple titties from "Total Recall"... I think that was where I saw them...

Her multiple titties couldn't be as nice as the 2 titties that girl has on your avatar

[Rain Man]

If they really did find aliens, I hope they're good eatin'. It'd be nice to have a change of pace from earth food.

[CrazyPhuD]

Does it speak spanish?

[Crush]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

If they really did find aliens, I hope they're good eatin'. It'd be nice to have a change of pace from earth food.

The aliens probably taste like chicken.
Posted via Mobile Device

[unothadeal]

Looks exactly like every thought it would.

[LiveSteam]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

If they really did find aliens, I hope they're good eatin'. It'd be nice to have a change of pace from earth food.

I will stick with IMO's Pizza