New model calculates chances of intelligent beings in our Universe and beyond

The chances of intelligent life emerging in our Universe - and in any hypothetical ones beyond it - can be estimated by a new theoretical model which has echoes of the famous Drake Equation. 

Alien Phone Calls Could Be Quantum, And We're Not Ready to Hear Them

If quantum communication exists, that could be a win for advanced technologies on our planet, but the process would make it impossible for us to detect it without some serious equipment upgrades.

Alien Civilizations Might Be Too Advanced For Us to Detect

The Milky Way is so huge and old that statistically, there should be plenty of intelligent civilizations that have colonized their own star systems or neighboring ones, and at least a few that have spread across the galaxy.

Massive 'eyeball' exoplanet looking like perfect candidate for alien life

Researchers at the University of Montreal believe a vast ocean on exoplanet LHS 1140 b may be teeming with alien life.

In search for alien life, purple may be the new green

Purple bacteria is one of the primary contenders for life that could dominate a variety of Earth-like planets orbiting different stars, and would produce a distinctive "light fingerprint," Cornell scientists report.

Planetary System Probed For Signs of Alien Technology

Some 100 light-years from the Solar System dwells the most mathematically perfect planetary system we've ever seen. The star at its center – a temperate orange dwarf called HD 110067 – is orbited by six exoplanets.

Alien Civilizations May Be Trapped on Their Home Worlds

Spanish professor argues that that water or other liquid-dwelling aliens, as well as civilizations on super-Earths, may actually be trapped on their planets due to "physical limitations".

Life Spreads Across Space on Tiny Invisible Particles

Does life appear independently on different planets in the galaxy? Or does it spread from world to world? Or does it do both? New research shows how life could spread via a basic, simple pathway: cosmic dust.

New Theory Shows How Civilizations Can Spread Like Wildfire Through Space

With only one habitable planet (Earth) and one technologically advanced civilization (humanity) as examples, scientists are still confined to theorizing where other intelligent life forms could be.

Radical New Theory Gives a Very Different Perspective on What Life Is

U.S. scientists argue that chance alone cannot consistently produce the highly complex molecules found in all living creatures. To produce billions of copies of intricate objects like proteins, human hands, or iPhones, the universe needs a 'memory'.

Search for alien life just got 1,000 times bigger

Astronomers searching for radio signals that could be signs of extraterrestrial life have just gained access to South Africa's MeerKAT telescope.

Methane Detected on Enceladus Could Actually Be a Sign of Life

Recently scientists have determined that no known process can be pumping out the amount of methane observed spewing from Saturn's moon Enceladus. That means it could be biological in origin.

Lightning played a vital role in life's origins on Earth

Lightning strikes were just as important as meteorites in creating the perfect conditions for life to emerge on Earth, according to new research. This shows that life could develop on Earth-like planets through the same mechanism.

NASA rover reaches Mars in search for signs of past life

Perseverance, the largest, most advanced rover NASA has sent to another world, touched down on Mars yesterday. The $2.4 billion rover arrived at Jezero Crater, a basin that scientists say was once flooded with liquid water.

Survey finds no detectable alien radio signals across 10 million stars

Australian astronomers surveyed a patch of sky around the constellation Vela known to include at least 10 million stars. They found no technosignatures – no sign of intelligent life.