Astronomers from Arecibo Observatory radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, have detected for the first time the molecules methanimine and hydrogen cyanide -- two ingredients that build life-forming amino acids -- in a galaxy some 250 million light years away. When combined with water, the molecules form glycene, the simplest amino acid and a building block of life on Earth. Read more Position (2000): R.A. 15h 34m 57s.21 Dec. +23° 30' 9".5
There could be lots of life about in the universe but in our case, it is a matter of it being in our vicinity at the right time. We could one day reach a nearby star and find only very early hominids. Or find a few remains of a race which died out untold thousands of years ago.
I think if there is life out there somewhere else besides earth, I don't think its going to be a hominid (great ape) or anything close to what we see here on earth. If we were to visit an alien planet, it would probably be very diffrent from our own planet. Evolution whould be in full swing just like on earth, but it whould not produce the same kind of animals we see on earth. I also think the odds of it being intelligent enough to communicate with our species, is highly unlikely. However, we've never visited an alien planet, so until we do, anythings a possibility. Intresting article though.
Star-gazer. We look as we do because of the conditions on the planet we live on (gravity, atmosphere, radiations, etc). However, we also look as we do because it is an efficient way of walking upright, of seeing and hearing in 3D, of protecting our internal workings, etc. While in wildly different conditions life may evolve in a way we can only guess at, I would think that on planets not too dismiliar to Earth, life at our level would be fairly close to us in appearance. Having said this, it is maybe possible that beings could have evolved from lizards, birds, even insects, given enough time and the right conditions but I think they would still be vaguely human in appearance. With similar "drives", they could have similar mental processes, so similar thoughts.
