Science

Extraterrestrial detection inspired by firefly communications could distinguish alien signals from pulsars

Source: Phys.org · Published 30 Oct 2026, 12:50

When we think of extraterrestrial intelligence that might be out there among the stars, we tend to think of creatures not too unlike us, though maybe with gray skin, probably bald and with big black eyes. We focus on the familiar, humanoids. But there are many intelligent species on Earth that are nonhumanoid: dolphins, crows, pigs and—with swarm if not individual intelligence—ants and bees. The…

Key points

When we think of extraterrestrial intelligence that might be out there among the stars, we tend to think of creatures not too unlike us, though maybe with gray skin, probably bald and with big black eyes.
We focus on the familiar, humanoids.
But there are many intelligent species on Earth that are nonhumanoid: dolphins, crows, pigs and—with swarm if not individual intelligence—ants and bees.

Extraterrestrial detection inspired by firefly communications could distinguish alien signals from pulsars

Key points

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