Open thread: do you believe aliens exist? It's not difficult to find examples of hoaxes relating to the discovery of alien life: The often mentioned UFO sightings at Area 51 and the national panic caused by Orson Welles' radio broadcast of the War of the Worlds in 1938, an event that duped the American public into believing an extra-terrestrial invasion was underway, shows many people are all too ready to believe in the existence of alien life, and often on the filmsiest of evidence. This time however, researchers at the University of Sheffield and Buckingham University claim they have scientific proof that alien organisms are living in the atmosphere 16 miles above Earth's surface. Discovered after they created a balloon to gather samples in the stratosphere during the Perseid meteor shower, researchers say fragments of the single cell algae could explain how life arrived on Earth from space. However, other experts in the field insist that the microorganisms were simply carried up into atmosphere by storms and other natural processes, and have disputed the findings. What do you think about the discovery by the Sheffield scientists? Is it simply bad science, or is there a real chance that alien life exists somewhere in the universe? Participate in our open thread by voting on our poll or by leaving a comment below: Do you think alien life exists?