From Viking to Perseverance, scientists have spent decades chasing chemical hints that could point to life beyond Earth.

Are we alone in the universe? Indeed, it could not be a question that has captured the human imagination more than this one, perhaps as long as human beings have walked on this earth. While scenes of ...

For more than a century, from George Melies’ A Trip to the Moon to Stephen Spielberg’s E.T. and Close Encounters to this summer’s blockbuster sequel to Independence Day, mass media, and the general ...

Whether or not we're alone in the universe is one of the biggest questions in science. A recent study, led by astrophysicist Nikku Madhusudhan at the University of Cambridge, suggests the answer might ...

Machine learning is quietly rewriting the rules of the cosmic hunt for company. Instead of waiting to recognize familiar ...

And, while we have no solid evidence of life outside our own planet—despite a large number of unexplained "UFO"-type observations —the sheer size of the known universe, and our knowledge of how ...

Katie has a PhD in maths, specializing in the intersection of dynamical systems and number theory. She reports on topics from maths and history to society and animals. Katie has a PhD in maths, ...

Movile Cave in Romania has evolved independently since it was cut off from the air and sunlight 5.5 million years ago. Its extreme environment seems inhospitable to most life on Earth. Yet, this place ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Dr. Lance B. Eliot is a world-renowned AI scientist and consultant. In today’s column, I explore a fascinating proposition about ...