Âé¶¹´«Ã½

Letter: The extraterrestrial potential of lichens

Published 14 January 2026

From Dyane Silvester, Arnside, Cumbria, UK

Your article “Lichens unleashed” paints a picture of lichens as complex symbiotic communities with the ability to survive in space and thus potentially undertake interplanetary travel (27 December, p 38). Has anyone considered they could, in fact, be intelligent and highly developed aliens – albeit on a microscopic scale – living peacefully on Earth?

How like humans to spot and explore the potential to enslave them for our own benefit!

Issue no. 3578 published 17 January 2026

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