True, but the sentiments of ugordan's post ring true. We should be cautious about using the range of conditions that life exists on Earth today to predict whether there is life in the extreme environments seen elsewhere in the solar system. Evolution is a powerful process.

In case someone wants to hear the telecon before the audio is posted on the JPL website, here's an MP3 I made (thx Audacity):

Phoenix telecon, Aug. 8, 2008 (14MB mp3 file)

A significant number of scientists are going to have to develop new skill sets in the communications area! We are just in the middle of a particularly fascinating lesson in the basics! New ground is always unsettling! ....Especially watching the social and political implications of all this playing out.... and the funding implications! Openness has its costs. Yet imagine a general trend of widespread openness leading to a significant proportion (5-10%) of the general population being positively stimulated to move to a broader view beyond the generally held myth that science is pretty well cut and dried etc. etc. to the fact it hinges on empirical/intellectual exploration. Passive acceptance could become active interest. Interest become active support.