Alien life under the microscope
Hong Kong astronomer believes that micro-organisms offer humanity's best hope of finding extraterrestrial life
Neil Armstrong did not find them on the moon and the Mars probes have yet to meet them, but thousands of humans are still convinced there are aliens out there, somewhere.
And there is a strong belief that whatever these extraterrestrials are, they are cleverer than us and ready to lend a hand to help clear up the mess we have made of our world so far.
As mankind lurches from one crisis to the next, many feel that if we’re the best creation has to offer then we are all in big trouble.
Professor Kwok Sun, the University of Hong Kong’s dean of science, is a true believer. He is certain other life forms do exist, but dismisses the idea they resemble Steven Spielberg’s loveable alien, ET, or that they will save the earth.
“It’s not just my belief, it’s also a perception most astronomers now have about the presence of life on other planets,” the 62-year-old scientist said. “We are far more optimistic now compared with 20 years ago.
“I am not saying that we’ll see extraterrestrials or any highly developed animals running about the place on a different planet. But micro-organisms are a totally different matter. They were the first things to appear on earth more than three billion years ago and it’s quite possible they will be present on other planets too.”