Science fiction writers have often speculated on what alien life would be like. Sometimes they’re anthropomorphic humanoids on a similar technological level to our heroes, other times they’re freakish beings that are not recognizable as “life as we know it”. SETI astronomer Seth Shostak discusses the science behind discovering life from outer space and why he thinks it will happen within a generation.

Image courtesy of jurvetson; Recorded June 2010; Posted October 2010