© Scotsman.com
The hunt for ET is on at Edinburgh University.
For stargazing students, it's a course which is proving to be out of this world.
Classes in "astrobiology and the search for extra-terrestrial life" are among six modules which have seen more than 300,000 new enrolments at Edinburgh University - each taking in lessons from the comfort of their own home.
The institution's free remote learning courses have proved an international hit, with the number of people signing up rising by 50 per cent in just two months.
Professor Charles Cockell said the response to his lectures in the hunt for aliens had left him overwhelmed.
He said: "I think people are interested in the history of life on Earth and whether there could be life elsewhere, but I was surprised by the response.
"The course asks questions about how life originated and how it came to be on Earth, life in extreme environments and the possibility of the existence of life on other planets like Mars. Right at the end of the course there's a discussion about extra-terrestrials, what the consequences of detection would be and the possibility of life beyond.
"Anyone can sign up from anywhere but I have been quite astonished by the sheer diversity of people who have.
Comment: A country that goes to war to sustain itself is a country that has only one place to go: down.