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Evolving the Alien

 

 
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Evolving the Alien: The Science of Extraterrestrial Life (2002, published in the US, and UK second edition as "What Does a Martian Look Like?: The Science of Extraterrestrial Life") is a book about xenobiology
Astrobiology

Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. This interdisciplinary field encompasses the search for habitable environments in our Solar System and Planetary habitability outside our Solar System, the search for evidence of Abiogenesis, life on Mars and other bodies in our Solar Syst...
 by biologist
Biologist

A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life.Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment....
 Jack Cohen
Jack Cohen (scientist)

Jack Cohen, Institute of Biology#Fellowship is a United Kingdom reproduction biology also known for his popular science books and involvement with science fiction....
 and mathematician
Mathematician

A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and/or research is the field of mathematics....
 Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart (mathematician)

Ian Nicholas Stewart Fellow of the Royal Society is a professor of mathematics at the University of Warwick, England, and a widely known popular-science and science-fiction writer....
.

In this book Cohen and Stewart argue that any investigation of extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life

Extraterrestrial life is defined as life which does not originate from Earth. It is the subject of astrobiology and its existence remains hypothetical, because there is no credible evidence of extraterrestrial life which has been generally accepted by the mainstream scientific community....
 which starts with the assumption that any advanced form of life must have similar characteristics to life on Earth
Life on Earth

Life on Earth: A Natural History by David Attenborough is a groundbreaking television natural history series made by the BBC in association with Warner Bros....
, and must have evolved on a planet similar to the Earth (as in the rare Earth hypothesis
Rare Earth hypothesis

In planetary astronomy and astrobiology, the Rare Earth hypothesis argues that the origin of life of complex multicellular life on Earth required an improbable combination of astrophysics and geology events and circumstances....
) is too restrictive and unimaginative.






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Evolving the Alien: The Science of Extraterrestrial Life (2002, published in the US, and UK second edition as "What Does a Martian Look Like?: The Science of Extraterrestrial Life") is a book about xenobiology
Astrobiology

Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. This interdisciplinary field encompasses the search for habitable environments in our Solar System and Planetary habitability outside our Solar System, the search for evidence of Abiogenesis, life on Mars and other bodies in our Solar Syst...
 by biologist
Biologist

A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life.Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment....
 Jack Cohen
Jack Cohen (scientist)

Jack Cohen, Institute of Biology#Fellowship is a United Kingdom reproduction biology also known for his popular science books and involvement with science fiction....
 and mathematician
Mathematician

A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and/or research is the field of mathematics....
 Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart (mathematician)

Ian Nicholas Stewart Fellow of the Royal Society is a professor of mathematics at the University of Warwick, England, and a widely known popular-science and science-fiction writer....
.

In this book Cohen and Stewart argue that any investigation of extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life

Extraterrestrial life is defined as life which does not originate from Earth. It is the subject of astrobiology and its existence remains hypothetical, because there is no credible evidence of extraterrestrial life which has been generally accepted by the mainstream scientific community....
 which starts with the assumption that any advanced form of life must have similar characteristics to life on Earth
Life on Earth

Life on Earth: A Natural History by David Attenborough is a groundbreaking television natural history series made by the BBC in association with Warner Bros....
, and must have evolved on a planet similar to the Earth (as in the rare Earth hypothesis
Rare Earth hypothesis

In planetary astronomy and astrobiology, the Rare Earth hypothesis argues that the origin of life of complex multicellular life on Earth required an improbable combination of astrophysics and geology events and circumstances....
) is too restrictive and unimaginative. They suggest that it is possible to make a scientific and rational study of the possibility of life forms that are so different from life on Earth that we may not even recognise them as life in the first instance.