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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2>Hawking warns over alien beings </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2>Aliens almost certainly exist but humans should avoid
making contact, Professor Stephen Hawking has warned. </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2>In a series for the Discovery Channel the renowned
astrophysicist said it was "perfectly rational" to assume intelligent life
exists elsewhere. </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2>But he warned that aliens might simply raid Earth for
resources, then move on. </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2>"If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when
Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native
Americans," he said. </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2>Prof Hawking thinks that, rather than actively trying
to communicate with extra-terrestrials, humans should do everything possible to
avoid contact. </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2>He explained: "We only have to look at ourselves to
see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet."
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2>“ The real challenge is to work out what aliens might
actually be like ” <BR>Stephen Hawking </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2>In the past probes have been sent into space with
engravings of human on board and diagrams showing the location of our planet.
</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2>Radio beams have been fired into space in the hope of
reaching alien civilisations. </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2>Prof Hawking said: "To my mathematical brain, the
numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational.
</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2>"The real challenge is to work out what aliens might
actually be like." </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2>The programme envisages numerous alien species
including two-legged herbivores and yellow, lizard-like predators.
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2>But Prof Hawking conceded most life elsewhere in the
universe is likely to consist of simple microbes. </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2>Story from BBC NEWS:<BR><A
href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/8642558.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/8642558.stm</A></FONT></STRONG></DIV></BODY></HTML>