Where is ET?; TB Makes a Comeback

Keywords: Extra-terrestrial life, TB IMAGE: The Milky Way pictured here, is made up of about 750 billion stars like our Sun, with an even larger number of orbiting planets. Is it conceivable that none of these planets have life, let alone intelligent life? [Credit: NASA]  Broadcast 24th March 2011 on 103.2 Dublin City FM  The Question Is? It has become common for scientists to assume that the Universe is teeming with life, given its vastness, and the potential number of 'Earth-like' planets that exist. But, is this assumption valid? If so, how come we haven't found ET despite 50 years of serious effort? We put the questions to Paul Davies a leading figure in the SETI (search for extra-terrestrial intelligence) project based at Arizona State U.  What's it all about? We might have thought that we knew everything we needed to know about TB, Tuberculosis, or 'consumption', the scourge of 1940s and 1950s Ireland. But, apparently not, as TB has changed, become drug-resistant and is making a menancing comeback in modern Ireland. We ask Joe Keane, Consultant Respiratory Physician at St James's Hospital in Dublin to describe what this new TB threat is all about.  To contact the show, email: [e-mail]