The research is mounting up that we might not be alone in this big wide world Whether it's giant war-mongering spaceships, green humanoid Martians, or creepy beings slithering across uncharted planets, science fiction has painted a very particular image when it comes to aliens. But while you might think it takes a tin-foil-wearing conspiracy theorist to believe in such life outside of Earth, many highly distinguished scientists are believers too. In fact, when surveyed, 86.6 per cent of astrobiologists recently said they either agreed or strongly agreed that extraterrestrial life likely exists somewhere else in the Universe. And why are they so sure we're not alone in this Universe? But what does that have to do with aliens? Well, many who study extraterrestrial life believe that Earth's habitable state, combined with the development of diverse intelligent life, is a sign that the same is possible elsewhere. For instance, our galaxy contains somewhere between 100 and 400 billion stars. Astronomers have already confirmed around 4,000 planets orbiting other stars – and that's in our galaxy alone. Scale that up, and you're looking at roughly 100 sextillion stars (100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) – each potentially hosting planets. For instance, it's not that there's likely more planets in the Universe than grains of sand on Earth, but 13.33 billion times more. “We now know that most stars have a planetary system. That means there are loads of places where life can arise. To me, that's a key sign that it must be happening elsewhere,” says Mike Garrett, chair of astrophysics at the University of Manchester. The basic ingredients for life are more common than you might think. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen – the elements that make up living things on Earth – have all been detected on comets, asteroids and distant worlds. Astronomers have also identified many planets where water, another key ingredient, is present. From acidic hot springs to deep-sea vents and the frozen Antarctic, a host of recently discovered 'extremophiles' show that living organisms can adapt to far harsher conditions than a mild, Earth-like planet. Giant tube worms, for example, thrive in the pitch-black depths of the ocean, clustered around hydrothermal vents that spew out scalding, mineral-rich water at temperatures of up to 350 °C. Despite the intense heat, crushing pressure and complete absence of sunlight, these worms form vast colonies, relying on symbiotic bacteria to turn the vent's chemicals into energy. Even more extreme is Deinococcus radiodurans, a microbe whose name roughly translates to “terrible radiation-surviving berry”. This bacterium can endure radiation levels thousands of times higher than what would kill a human, shrugging off conditions that would sterilise most known life. It has been found surviving not only in radioactive waste sites but also in the vacuum of space during experiments on the International Space Station. "When the Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, at first its surface was hellishly hot. Flowing oceans of magma covered the Earth's surface, creating an inhospitable environment for life. And yet, life arose as soon as the terrain cooled," says Douglas Vakoch, author and founder of METI (Messaging to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence), an organisation researching communication with alien life. The same evolutionary principles that allow life to adapt on Earth should operate throughout the Universe, creating exotic alien lifeforms unlike anything that we can imagine." For example, if you dedicated each member of the human race to search for aliens, every person would have to explore 13,000 planets. Everything is going in the right direction for detection. Especially for the detection of techno-signatures (a measurable signature that shows evidence of past or present technology on a planet),” says Garrett. “Advancements in computing, digitisation, and artificial intelligence mean that we are moving very rapidly towards alien detection because the technology improves so fast now.” "In the next 20 years, we'll have telescopes that can scan the atmospheres of planets that orbit stars as we search for signs of life," he says. "When the European Space Agency's ARIEL mission (a plan to observe and study 1000 exoplanets) launches in 2029, we'll have much greater capabilities to discover life through the chemical byproducts that life inevitably gives off." So if aliens likely exist out there, why haven't we discovered them yet? And why have we never received any extraterrestrial visitors? Over lunch way back in 1950, physicist Enrico Fermi threw out an intriguing question to his colleagues about extraterrestrials: “Where are they?” If intelligent life is common in the galaxy, Fermi argued, then Earth should already have been visited many times over. Those odds are already pretty small, but then you throw in the fact that the nearest aliens could be very far away.” In other words, if life did exist elsewhere, we might just never be able to find it. We've only been around for 0.000002 per cent of its entire history. Other intelligent civilisations could have come and gone, or are in the early stages of development. “But a few decades ago, the same was true for planets orbiting other stars. Today, astronomers have discovered thousands, proving that other worlds are not only possible but abundant. “Then they did the hard work of uncovering them.” For many researchers, alien life feels like it's at the same stage exoplanets once were: strongly suspected, but still unseen. But who knows, maybe somewhere billions of light-years away, on an incredibly distant planet, an intelligent lifeform is sitting contemplating the thought: "Are we alone in the Universe?"

By killing her husband and rejecting social norms, she reclaims her power and defies the patriarchy. Sister Midnight defies genre conventions as it examines home confinement, feminine wrath, and the concretisation of "misfit," directed by Karan Kandhari and starring Radhika Apte. The film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and saw its theatrical release in 2025, examines a woman's mental collapse as she is pushed to the periphery of urban society via the lens of a dark comedy-horror. She experiences deep seclusion until a crucial event at her cousin's wedding. The unfortunate Uma gets bitten by a mosquito—or "vampire fly"—as she vents her frustration at a bug zapper. After this happens, Uma becomes even more savage and unfriendly. She goes from eating little birds to biting a goat on the street as her intolerance to sunlight and appetite for raw meat escalate. This change embodies her fierce defiance of the "docile housewife" stereotype. Instead of allowing the city to overwhelm her, Uma begins to absorb all the life surrounding her. During an unexpectedly intimate moment between Uma and Gopal, the storyline takes a dramatic turn. They try to have sex after months of uncomfortable silences and pent-up stress. Uma bit Gopal to death while performing because her wild side takes control. While Gopal's body decays, she tries to keep up the home illusion by decorating it with marigolds and fairy lights. Uma completes the process of cutting off all ties to social "normalcy" by killing a nosy neighbour who finds the body. Uma begs a band of trans women (hijras) for assistance in the last act, and they help her cremate Gopal outside the city. Thereafter, she takes momentary solace in a Buddhist temple. This part is essential since it provides a counterpoint to the Mumbai shantytowns. The women have likewise "opted out" of conventional domesticity, but they've done it via spiritual tranquillity rather than savage aggression; Uma is welcomed without criticism in the monastery. Uma chooses to believe the story they've made up about her instead of battling or begging for her life. She frightens the audience into submission as she emerges before them, her smeared black lipstick adding to her terrible, gaunt presence. She has transformed into her "undiluted" self-image. The lambs' cyclical nature has led some to speculate that they represent either a dormant feral pregnancy or the persistence of her "pack" in a different setting. The film implies that Uma's situation calls for a woman to transform into a "monster" to gain genuine control over her life. She instead opts to "rot loudly" rather than fade into oblivion as a subservient widow. A reference to an Iggy Pop song in the title further suggests a defiant, nighttime personality. By the conclusion, Uma has transformed from an arranged marriage victim into a legendary figure who torments the patriarchy that sought to control her. Sister Midnight is streaming now on JioHotstar (OTTplay Premium) and Prime Video. Q: Is Sister Midnight a horror movie? A: While it uses elements of horror—such as body horror, blood-drinking, and the supernatural "vampire fly"—Sister Midnight is primarily a dark comedy and a genre-defying character study A: The title is a direct reference to the Iggy Pop song Sister Midnight (co-written with David Bowie). She is supported by Ashok Pathak, who plays her husband Gopal. The film is directed by British-Indian filmmaker Karan Kandhari.

One NFL analyst offered the true explanation, which is much less nefarious than what some fans suggested. Reporter Mike Payton of AtoZ Sports explained that the official seen making that motion is actually a replay official who was conveying to the on-field officials that play would resume and the previous play would not be reviewed. Payton added that other officials can be seen making the same motion at previous Lions games. “He is signaling to the officials that the game can continue on and that the previous play will not be reviewed, and a TV timeout won't be taken. If you watch the Lions on Week 18 against the Bears, you will see a guy in teal do this multiple times per game.” Payton also raised a more obvious question — what would the NFL have to gain by ordering the Lions to commit a false start penalty. The team had a streak of three years without losing back-to-back games, but the loss to Minnesota was their third in a row. After Thursday's game, head coach Dan Campbell said he would be doing a deep evaluation of the team to see what needed to change. “I'm gonna be looking at a lot of things, because I do not like being home for the playoffs, and I know our guys don't either,” Campbell told reporters after the game. “Whenever you lose, it takes a village; everybody's involved. Go here and check the boxnext to Heavy Sports Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football.

This Disney theory is among the wilder fan theories, but it's filled with easter eggs and evidence that'll make you think twice. Fans speculate that Boo experimented with magical properties and landed herself in 10th-century Scotland. Since Boo was obsessed with the Monster World and could teleport through doors (maybe being able to time-travel then too) in Monsters Inc., she could easily have evolved into the elder witch from Brave. Fans strongly suggest that Carl's journey in Up takes place in the afterlife and that Russell was an angel protecting him until he reached heaven. The floating house and balloons heavily suggest ideas of "ascension," — a heavenly reference also supported by the majestic Paradise Falls they travel to. People theorize that Carl never survived the initial heartbreak of his love, Ellie, and actually passed away the night before embarking on his journey. While Tangled is set in Germany, it's not far-fetched to think Rapunzel could've traveled to Arendelle for the ceremony (as it takes place in Norway). So, fans speculating their familial relationship doesn't seem too far off. This connection would make sense since Disney loves to drop little easter eggs in all their movies. Many fans claim that his various 90s pop-culture references, such as his impressions of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jack Nicholson, in the movie prove that Aladdin took place in a futuristic time. In addition, since the Genie was revealed to have been trapped in the magic lamp for nearly 10,000 years, fans have determined Aladdin represents a post-apocalyptic future where society has reverted to older ways. In one of the scenes in Tarzan, Terk is drumming on a set of pots strikingly close to Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast. The teapot set is suggested to be an heirloom passed on for generations. In addition, fans have noticed the character's love for yellow, but that could be a simple coincidence. However, with the love interests of Tarzan and the Beast being more "wild-like" men, people think there's some hope that Jane could actually be a distant great-great-great-grandmother to Belle. This theory hasn't been confirmed, but many fans speculate that there is a connection to these two Disney movies. In The Little Mermaid, we learn that Ariel's mother, Athena, was killed by pirates — possibly Captain Hook himself. Over the years, many fans have been puzzled by Peter Pan being recalled as a protagonist or "hero" of his story, despite his villainous behavior. However, many fans have pointed out how his intentions seem much darker than what lies on the surface. Essentially, Peter "kidnaps" the kids (the Darling family) and brings them to Neverland, where he doesn't want to let them return. While hidden under the innocent youth of not wanting to grow up, people speculate that there are more unsettling reasons for Peter's actions and his "kidnapping ring." In other variations of the story, Captain Hook is actually a lost boy who escaped from Peter and is the only one brave enough to fight against him. This is one of the more eerie Disney fan theories, but people strongly believe that Eeyore is a donkey that escaped from the not-so-innocent Pleasure Island from Pinocchio. Pleasure Island is a place where "delinquent" boys were turned into donkeys and then sold for labor. Fans theorize that Eeyore's clear melancholic and sorrowful behavior could be a result of the trauma faced on Pleasure Island and escaping its trap. Many fans have theorized that Nemo didn't actually survive the initial barracuda attack that killed Coral and the rest of his family. However, this theory is definitely less plausible than some others, as we see Nemo interact with various other sea creatures throughout the movie.