THE LIMITS OF ORGANIC LIFE IN PLANETARY SYSTEMS, a new report from the National Research Council, examines the search for life elsewhere in the universe and whether the fundamental requirements for life as we generally know it are the only ways phenomena recognized as "life" could be supported beyond our planet. Whether "weird" life, as scientists sometimes refer to life with a different biochemical structure than life here, should be considered in the search for extraterrestrial life is looked at in the report.
Advance copies will be available to reporters only beginning at noon on Thursday, July 5. THE REPORT IS EMBARGOED AND NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE BEFORE 2 P.M. EDT ON FRIDAY, JULY 6. To obtain a copy, contact the National Academies’ Office of News and Public Information; tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail news@nas.edu.