New taskforce launches to find alien life in the next 10 - 20 years

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No extraterrestrial life has been conclusively detected, but this task force may be the biggest drive yet

Scientists reportedly believe they will find alien life on thousands of planets within the next two decades. Aliens have long been the subject of conspiracy theories, but have also inspired cult movies such as ET and more.

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According to one national newspaper, a task force of experts from the UK, United States and Switzerland, named the Origins Federation, launched yesterday, with their mission to find extraterrestrial life.

The new task force says that modern telescopes can detect ‘biosignatures’. Biosignatures are gases that are emitted on planets that are emitted by living things, for example, oxygen and more.

Dr Emily Mitchell, from Cambridge University, said: “We’ve currently only got one biosignature which is here on Earth.” She continued to say that in ten to 20 years ‘we may have thousands’.

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The Origins Federation, which was launched in the capital of the United States, Washington DC said one of the main aims of the new task force is to “start finding answers on the origins of life”.

Scientists have already spotted 5,000 planets orbiting suns within our galaxy, with two of these planets containing water, which can be considered a huge indicator that there is life on a planet.

Dr Mitchell said: “If you have oxygen, water and methane, you could say, ‘Yeah, that’s definitely life’.”

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