All in the mind

In a monastery in India, the Dalai LamaThe spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. and scientist Christof Koch meet to discuss the nature of the universe. They have very different backgrounds, but surprisingly, they agree on almost everything.

Astronomers have found strange moon-like structures in the habitable zoneAlso known as the Goldilocks zone. The range of orbits where the temperature is "just right" for liquid water. of a dying star.

It is an unusual place to look for life. But the moons are moving in a "highly regular" way, something that doesn't happen "accidentally". Astrophysicist Jay Farihi thinks a planet's gravity is pulling them into formation.

But he says they could also be "engineered". So have we found intelligent life, 117 light-years from Earth?

That depends on what we mean by intelligence. Some think consciousness is not just something that goes on inside our heads. It is part of the universe itself.

To most scientists, this sounds like nonsense. Michael Graziano says consciousness evolved around 300 million years ago in animals. It helps them survive in large social groups. Human minds have developed to see consciousness in "everything around us", from storms and rivers to ghosts and gods.

This argument is a "Great Silliness", says Christof Koch, the scientist who went to see the Dalai Lama. "Consciousness is experience," and bees, bacteria and even atoms have a "tiny glow" of it.

According to Koch, it is everywhere. But he doesn't think universal consciousness means there is a divine creator. He does not believe in Intelligent DesignSupporters believe that the universe and life are too complex to be the result of natural processes. - the pseudoscienceA belief system that claims to be scientific and factual, but does not use the scientific method and cannot be verified. that argues the theory of evolution is wrong.

The James Webb TelescopeLaunched late last year, the NASA telescope will observe the oldest and most distant formations in the universe. is getting ready to take its first photos of deep space. Jay Farihi hopes it will help discover more of these strange structures. But although telescopes are important we also need a theory of consciousness to know what we're looking for.

Is the universe conscious?

Yes: We should not assume that we are special. If we experience consciousness, it is probably very common in the universe.

No: This is religion, not science. Water, rocks and planets don't have thoughts. They are not aware. Saying they are conscious does not help us understand the universe better.

Or... Perhaps consciousness does not exist. Some scientists say it is just a side-effect of the unconscious mind.