Primitive Alien Life May Exist, Stephen Hawking Says

Alien life may well exist in a primitive form somewhere in our corner of the galaxy, famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking said Monday.

Given the size of the universe, it is unlikely that Earth is the only planet to develop some sort of life, Hawking told an audience at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He added that humanity must embrace space exploration, if only to ensure its long-term survival.

"While there may be primitive life in our region of the galaxy, there don't seem to be any advanced intelligent beings," said Hawking during a lecture as part of a series commemorating NASA's 50th anniversary this year.

The lack of success by the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project to discover signals from an alien civilization suggests that none exist within several 100 light-years of Earth, Hawking said, though he offered three theories on the dearth of interplanetary communications.

The probability of primitive life developing on a suitable planet may be extremely low, or it may be high, but aliens intelligent enough to beam signals into space may also be smart enough to build civilization-destroying weapons like nuclear bombs, he said. More likely, he added, is that primitive life is likely to develop, but intelligent life as we know it is exceedingly rare.

"We don't appear to have been visited by aliens," Hawking said, adding that he discounts reports of UFOs. "Why would they only appear to cranks and weirdoes?"

Man proposes in video game

Computer programmer, Bernie Peng just did a very romantic idea - propose to his girlfriend, Tammy Liu via her favorite computer game Bejeweled. He hacked and reprogrammed the hit gem-matching game so that it would display the all-important message when she reached a certain score.

Did she agree? Fortunately for Peng, she did, and the pair plan a September wedding. Popcap, the company responsible for Bejeweled (and consequently untold hours of lost productivity in offices around the world) is flying the couple out for a Seattle honeymoon, and supplying copies of Bejeweled to hand out as wedding favors. A word of advice to any guests, though: don't sit next to two other people wearing the same color, or all three of you will vanish.

Smallest planet discovered outside Solar System

MADRID (AFP) - Spanish astronomers Wednesday announced the discovery of the smallest planet discovered to date outside the solar system, located 30 light years from earth.

The planet, "GJ 436T", was detected through a new technique which "will allow us to discover in less than 10 years the first planet resembling earth in terms of mass and orbit," said Ignasi Ribas of Spain's CSIC scientific research institute.

It was discovered by a team led by Ribas through its gravitational pull on other planets already discovered around the same star in the constellation of Leo.

Battle for the StormTrooper

George Lucas is waging his own war in court against the designer who created the Stormtrooper costumes for his epic film.

The Star Wars director has launched a High Court bid to stop British prop-maker Andrew Ainsworth from selling copies of the iconic white armoured outfits to fans.

Ainsworth originally created the costumes for the 1977 blockbuster at a cut-price but has allegedly been reproducing them for sale for almost £2,000 each since 2004Mr Ainsworth originally created the costumes for the 1977 blockbuster at a cut-price but has allegedly been reproducing them for sale for almost £2,000 each since 2004.

Despite Mr Ainsworth maintaining he's the legal copyright owner, a court in the US has already awarded Lucas £10 million in damages for copyright infringement, unfair competition and trademark infringement.

Lucasfilm has now launched the case in the UK courts to make sure that this decision is enforced here. The case is expected to take up to ten days to resolve.

Baby born with 2 faces in India honored as goddess

NEW DELHI - A baby with two faces — two noses, two pairs of lips and two pairs of eyes — was born in a northern Indian village, where she is doing well and is being worshipped as the reincarnation of a Hindu goddess.

Hundreds of pilgrims have visited Lali, the 1-month-old baby, and her impoverished parents to touch her feet out of respect and receive blessings.

The baby has caused a sensation in the dusty village of Saini, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from New Delhi. When she left the hospital, eight hours after a normal delivery, she was swarmed by villagers, Sabir Ali, the director of Saifi Hospital, said Tuesday.

"She drinks milk from her two mouths and opens and shuts all the four eyes at one time," Ali said.

The child apparently has an extremely rare condition known as craniofacial duplication, where a single head has two faces. All of Lali's facial features are duplicated with the exception of her ears — she has two.

Dubai's Prince buys camel for $2.7 Million

United Arab Emirates - Dubai's crown prince paid $2.7 million for a camel during a desert festival celebrating Bedouin traditions in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, state-run media said Tuesday.

The festival also included a camel beauty contest, where thousands of owners strutted their animals in a bid for the top prize of finest overall camel and separate categories related to the age and color of the camels, in which features such as best neck, head, lips, nose, hump, legs or feet, are judged.

Sheik Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the son of Dubai's ruler, Sheik Mohammed, bought 16 camels for $4.5 million, including one female camel for $2.7 million, the state news agency WAM reported.

The price tag was unprecedented but it was not clear if it was an official record.

The hefty sum was still a fraction of the record price paid at auction for a horse. The Green Monkey, a thoroughbred colt, was purchased at a Florida auction in 2006 for $16 million.

There was no indication what Hamdan, Dubai's heir apparent, planned to do with the animal though female camels are often used for racing. Owning fine camels is also a mark of prestige for the ruling elite in the Persian Gulf.