Alien human existence a 'possibility' according to top scientists

The possibility of finding life forms in other distant universes is an idea that excites space enthusiasts. Typically, we think of aliens but scientists say there’s a fairly good chance we could bump into other human beings.

An astrobiologist from the University of Cambridge believes it’s a scenario that’s not only possible but more likely than most realise.

Simon Conway Morris is an evolutionary palaeobiologist from the prestigious university’s Department of Earth Sciences.

In an interview with the BBC’s Science Focus magazine, Morris shared that researchers can “say with reasonable confidence” that evolution similar to human beings has happened in other universes.

Morris’ belief is rooted in the theory of convergent evolution – as Science Focus put it, it occurs when “random effects eventually average out so that evolution converges, tending to produce similar organisms in any given environment”.

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An example of this can be seen on Earth in the ability of flight. Scientists have observed flight independently evolve four times – in bats, birds, insects and pterosaurs.

It suggests that evolution is a law of nature and by that theory, it should be possible in other universes and on other planets, not just here on Earth.

Morris isn’t the only scientist to believe that beings “analogous to a human” may be out there.

Cambridge zoologist Arik Kershenbaum has written an entire book on the subject of alien evolution.

Kershenbaum told Quanta magazine: “Because evolution is the explanatory mechanism for life everywhere, then the principles that we uncover on Earth should be applicable in the rest of the universe.”

While the prospect of being able to interact and relate to other human-like life forms is fascinating, scientists are also aware of the very real risk of warring, too – a very real capacity of human beings.

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