DOES ALIEN LIFE FEED ON COSMIC RAYS? The discovery in South Africa of a microbe that gets energy from radioactive uranium has astrobiologists wondering ... could microbes in space feed on cosmic rays? Theoretically, high-energy cosmic rays could trigger the same kind of biotic chemistry that sustains Desulforudis audaxviator in South Africa's Mponeng gold mine. This would make any planet with weak shielding from cosmic rays--or even space itself--a potential habitat for cousins of D. audaxviator. Get the full story from Science magazine.
http://spaceweather.com/
http://spaceweather.com/