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We would see more than human-sized aliens if we ever came across an extraterrestrial world. Every environment capable of supporting life relies on a multitude of extraterrestrial microbes. Paul Davies, Arizona State University's astrobiologist, warns that extraterrestrial viruses are also a part of any environment.
Davies explained to The Guardian that viruses are part of the web which holds all life. If you have microbial life on another world, it is likely that you will also have the ability to exchange genetic information.
Davies claims that even though viruses are not considered to be alive by many biologists, they still play a vital role in ecosystems due to their ability transfer genetic material between organisms. This could potentially drive evolution forward.
Although viruses from space sound like a good idea for a horror movie, Davies reminds The Guardian that a dangerous alien virus would be more harmful to humans than it would to its host planet. This is because it has not evolved to infect other people.
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Davies explained to The Guardian that dangerous viruses are those which are closely related to their hosts. There is no danger if the virus is truly alien.
Of course, this is only a hypothetical possibility. Even the most ardent (human) scientists have failed to discover any evidence that another world exists with an ecosystem as complex as Earth's.
Davies' warning, despite the potential dangers of alien pathogens is an interesting reminder that extraterrestrials would not exist in a vacuum and that there would likely be many forms of life there, just as we have here.
