Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku(1) returned to chat with Art Bell about civilizations, string theory, space missions and cosmology. He expressed enthusiasm for the Kepler Mission(2), a space telescope launching in 2008, that will be capable of detecting Earth-like planets in other solar systems. During its mission, it may reveal as many as 600 planets similar to ours, he noted.
String theory, which posits a vibrating multiverse, has come under criticism in some quarters. While Kaku conceded that it doesn't currently offer much predictive power, he believes the theory needs more time to be considered and validated. For instance, tests by the Large Hadron Collider(3) in 2007 may reveal new information, he said.
Kaku also forecast into the far distant future when our universe will be dying out. At such a time, a Type 3 or 4 civilization (capable of manipulating huge amounts of energy) might construct a massive machine that could make space and time unstable. With an atom smasher the size of a solar system, he hypothesized it might open up a bubble ten light years across, through which our civilization could escape into another universe.

1. http://www.mkaku.org
2. http://www.kepler.arc.nasa.gov/
3. http://public.web.cern.ch/Public/Content/Chapters/AboutCERN/CERNFuture/WhatLHC/WhatLHC-en.html

The Living House

An MIT architect and his associates have proposed growing a home from living trees. The 'Fab Tree Hab' is based on an gardening method called pleaching, in which tree branches are woven together to form archways, lattices or screens. Using this process to shape the habitat's exterior of crisscrossed vines will take several decades. After that, gaps in the living house can be filled with a clay and straw composite, and flexible windows made from soy-based plastics can be installed. View larger images and read more at Discovery.com(1).
Graphic: Charles Spence

1. http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20060116/treehouse_tec.html