//So, its possible to suppose that some civilisation exists in some far off (over 14 billion light years away) galaxy.//

Sorry, missed this before. Parsecs, not light years. Units matter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter#Cause_of_failure

//perhaps the issue isn't about biochemistry but more about the complexity of the coding. How would the DNA...//

Carbon chauvinist.

The chances are that we would have been far more advanced and probably exploring space right now if we worked together as a species and not been held back for centuries by mindless dogma and superstition held over from the Bronze Age.

Technological advances are accelerated by wartime demands and find wider applications in times of relative peace which provides little hope for meaningful progress unless there's a dollar to be made from it.

The fact that there are people who still today believe the earth is flat and that the moon landings were faked also suggests that there will not be much significant progress for quite a while yet.

Until we churn over he last of our natural resources and convert them into landfill, there's no demand to do anything else.

Very interesting, i can say

SR,

"Imagine intelligent life forms on a planet with constant high level clouds blocking out the heavens, or even a water world"

Well let's hope they never find out about what's beyond those clouds...

"They flew out of the cloud.

They saw the staggering jewels of the night in their infinite dust and their minds sang with fear.

"It'll have to go," the men of Krikkit said as they headed back for home.

On the way back home they sang a number of tuneful and reflective songs on the subjects of peace, justice, morality, culture, sport, family life, and the obliteration of all other life forms."

http://sites.google.com/site/h2g2theguide/Index/k/krikkit

Dear mhaze,

Or that waterborne creatures are not planet bound. So long and thanks for all the fish.