ET May Be Hiding In Plain Sight

Life which utilizes 'alien' chemical processes to exist may be on earth

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 24, 2007 1:57 PM CST

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ET May Be Hiding In Plain Sight — Scientists searching for life beyond Earth are most likely to find primitive microbes like these cyanobacteria, one of the most primitive organisms on our own planet. There may even be microbes living in extreme conditions on the earth whose "alien" nature allows them to survive where life as we know... (KRT Photos)

One popular theory on the origin of life holds that it is a “cosmic imperative”—inevitable on any Earth-like planet. That theory is being tested in a novel way, Scientific American reports: by searching for evidence of a “second genesis”—life on Earth that in some fundamental way differs from life as we know it.

If such “aliens” are among us they are probably microbes, the most common form of life, perhaps existing as a “shadow biosphere” hiding in plain sight. Scientists need to analyze the genetic sequences of a microbe to determine if it belongs on the tree of known life. Only a tiny fraction of microorganisms have been classified. (More extraterrestrial life stories.)

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