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In the coming weeks, it’s expected the US Pentagon’s task force in charge of investigating UFO sightings will once and for all dispel the belief these could be signs of alien visitation. That is, according to some preliminary insight provided to the New York Times by anonymous sources.
It wouldn’t be the first time government officials have rebuffed rumours linking unidentified flying objects with alien visitors. But whether aliens are out there at all is an entirely different question. We spoke to 5 experts about whether they believe life as we know it may exist somewhere other than Earth.
Four out of five said yes. But the more elaborate summary is a nuanced one. While extraterrestrial life may well exist, they noted this life may be minuscule and primitive, akin to Earth’s earliest microorganisms.
Some asked: even if aliens happened to be intelligent like humans — and interested in making contact with us — what are the chances they will be close enough for us to hear them screaming their presence into the cosmos?
And even if they are close enough, what are the chances their signals will arrive in any kind of form that we, with our limited technologies, can detect?
If you value hearing directly from leading experts, please consider becoming a supporter of The Conversation Australia and New Zealand. Your support makes a real difference.
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Noor Gillani
Deputy Editor, Science and Technology
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Noor Gillani, The Conversation; Chynthia Wijaya, The Conversation
Even if aliens exist, are intelligent like humans and interested in making contact with us, what are the chances they'll be close enough for us to hear them screaming their presence into the cosmos?
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Sven Teske, University of Technology Sydney; Sarah Niklas, University of Technology Sydney
Keeping global warming under 1.5℃ is still achievable with rapid deployment of renewables. A new report found solar and wind can supply the world's energy demand more than 50 times over.
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Colin Zhang, Macquarie University
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John Hawkins, University of Canberra
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Reconstruction of traditional dwelling, Lake Condah, 2020.
Photo: Peter Sutton
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Craig Jeffrey, The University of Melbourne; Matthew Nelson, The University of Melbourne
Politically and socially, Australia is fast expanding its engagement with India and her neighbours. Universities, in contrast, have wound back their commitment to South Asian studies.
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Environment + Energy
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Nerilie Abram, Australian National University; Martin De Kauwe, UNSW; Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, UNSW
One cold winter doesn't negate more than a century of global warming. We need the political leadership to set the world on a safer path. Ill-informed tweets by government senators won't help.
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Health + Medicine
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Evangeline Mantzioris, University of South Australia
The researchers found a link between shorter heights and lower bone mineral content among vegan kids, compared to meat-eaters. But they didn't show diets caused the difference – or that it lasted.
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Politics + Society
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Tristan Kennedy, Macquarie University
How can moderators and social media platforms, who have no direct experience of colonisation, pick up on such culturally nuanced negativity against Indigenous people?
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Michelle Grattan discusses the political week that was with Professor Paddy Nixon.
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Kevin O’Sullivan, UNSW
In a survey of over 200 judges in NSW, a quarter said they received threats on their lives and nearly a third reported experiencing trauma from the daily exposure to violent crimes.
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James Patrick Rule, Monash University; Erich Fitzgerald, Museums Victoria; Justin W. Adams, Monash University
Ancient climate change doomed the monk seals that lived in Australian waters millions of years ago.
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