Scientists endorse study of societal consequences of extraterrestrial life

Exopolitics Comment 93: "The proceedings of a scientific conference that studied the societal consequences of extraterrestrial life has just been released. Organized and hosted by the Royal Society in October 2010, the conference was titled, 'The detection of extra-terrestrial life and the consequences for science and society.' The conference received wide international attention when one of the participants, Dr Mazlan Othman, was wrongly described as being on the verge of being appointed by the UN to become Earth's official liaison to extraterrestrial life. In the published proceedings, Othman sets the record straight. She believes that the UN already has a mechanism in place to deal with the detection and contact with extraterrestrial life, but work needs to be done in formalizing this by UN member states. Other conference participants endorse Othman's recommendation, and further believe that the time has come to study the societal consequences of extraterrestrial life."