Welcome to the Exotic Universe!

This is a blog devoted to speculative biology. Some scientists like Douglas Dixon, a Scottish geologist and author of books on paleontology, speculate what life would be like on Earth if the Dinosaurs never went extinct. What would dinosaurs look like with another 65 million years of evolution? And maybe more importantly, what would mammals look like if the dinosaurs never went extinct? Could humans have evolved to the sentient creatures we are today? The Speculative Dinosaur Project delves into this idea, contemplating what the world would look like without us mammals in charge. In his book, Future Evolution, Peter Ward surmises what life will look like in a world dominated by humans long into the future, a speculative world of gargantuan dandelions and a proliferation of rat-like scavengers.

This blog will apply a scientific approach to another area of speculative biology. Our focus will be on astrobiology, the potential for life in universe. What would a habitable planet outside our solar system look like and what kinds of critters would inhabit it? In future entries, I will introduce a fictional habitable planet that spawns life much like what we see on Earth. Referencing our current understanding about the origin of life on Earth, I will speculate how and when life first arises on this alternative world and what forms these creatures could evolve over time, leading to a discussion of the first sentient life on this planet and its eventual demise.

Check out my future entries and the other content that’s to come in upcoming weeks!