Life on a Comet? Hmm.

Well, this is pretty interesting, if just another mystery we don't have the ability to solve right now. Seems a couple of scientists are proposing that comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (the one with the Philae probe on its surface) is displaying some signs of biological life.

Check out the article right here.

What's potentially troubling about this report is that one of the scientists making this proposal sounds a bit bitter that his proposed equipment didn't make it aboard the project before it launched. Could this be an instance of one scientist trying a little too hard to throw an "I told you so" in the face of colleagues, or is it that this person is very focused on searching for signs of life, and is therefore one of the first to notice them on the comet? I can't say, but it should be noted that this same scientist proposed that the flu pandemic of 1918 originated from an alien microbe. Seems a bit outlandish, yes?

Well, as things go in science, the most responsible thing to do in this case is keep investigating and wait for others to come to their own independent conclusions, then follow up with some real world investigation. Unfortunately, without the proper equipment, it might be a long long time (as in maybe never) before we get conclusive evidence about potential life on this particular comet.