Extraterrestrial life news, features and articles

Are we alone in the universe? Live Science follows the researchers trying to answer that question and reports on what we've learned about aliens. From how scientists search for extraterrestrial life and whether the U.S. government is hiding evidence of "non-human intelligence" to the strange, scientific excuses for why humans haven't found aliens yet and the disturbing reason why aliens may never have visited Earth, our expert writers and editors tackle it all with the latest news, features and articles about extraterrestrial life.
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Dyson spheres could really exist — but there's a catch
By Paul Sutter published
Is it possible to build a Dyson sphere that isn't catastrophically unstable? New research says yes, but only in one type of star system.

Intelligent aliens would need a power supply to jump-start their civilization — would they require fossil fuels?
By Sara Hashemi published
Fossil fuels powered the industrial revolution. Would aliens need a similar power source to jump-start a technical revolution?

Extraterrestrials quiz: Are you an alien expert, or has your brain been abducted?
By Alexander McNamara published
Quiz Try this aliens quiz and see how much you know about our interstellar neighbors — if there are any.

If life can exist in your stomach, it can exist on Mars. Here's what it might look like.
By María Rosa Pino Otín published
If life exists on other planets, it needs to be adaptable to extreme environments. To get a clue of what it might look like, we can turn to a surprising place: the human gut.

'Perhaps it's only a matter of time': Intelligent life may be much more likely than first thought, new model suggests
By Ben Turner published
For decades, scientists assumed that life on Earth emerged through a chain of highly improbable flukes. But a new theory suggests it may have instead arrived just in time.

The existence of intelligent aliens is 'highly likely' — and they could await in our own galaxy
By Maikel Rheinstadter published
According to astronomers, there are approximately 200 billion trillion stars in our observable universe — chances are, there’s life out there somewhere.

Did people report seeing UFOs before the 20th century?
By Elana Spivack published
Are UFO sightings a 20th-century phenomena, or did people report seeing them earlier in history?

Alien life may look nothing like life on Earth — so how should we go about looking for it?
By Chris Impey published
Alien life might look unlike anything we've ever seen on Earth. Trying to find evidence of these unknown organisms will require some creativity.
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