Astrobiology poses fundamental questions about life in the universe: How did it emerge? Is there life beyond Earth? In a recently published study in PLOS One, researchers from Leiden University investigated how the field was portrayed in the public sphere from 1996 to 2024 by shining light on what speculations and promises about the search for life elsewhere are circulating in the media.
Speculations about extraterrestrial life peak in news articles—and in scientist quotes
