Skeptic Mocks NASA Researcher With ‘Flying Pig Award’ for Finding Life on Meteorites

David Moye - When NASA astrobiologist Richard Hoover announced, again, last month that he'd found evidence of microscopic life on meteorites, he probably didn't expect to receive the high honor of a Flying Pig Award.

But now, the man who some claim is the scientific equivalent of the boy who cried wolf, is getting honored for an achievement some say is dubious.

Every April 1, the James Randi Educational Foundation hands out Flying Pig Awards to dubiously honor what founder James Randi describes as "the most deserving charlatans, swindlers, psychics, pseudo-scientists and faith healers -- and on their credulous enablers, too."This year, the Flying Pig Awards are going to "lucky" recipients in five categories, including Hoover, who has claimed to find evidence of life in meteorites three times in the last 14 years.

Hoover's theory is that life began before the first stars formed and was spread throughout the early universe on meteors. Although AOL News and others reported on his findings, Randi's foundation points out that the theory is unsupported by scientific evidence -- or by many scientists.

It doesn't take a pseudo-psychic to predict that Hoover, who is based in Huntsville, Ala., is not amused by the honor.

"I've never heard of them, but they might be able to make more intelligent claims if they actually read the paper," Hoover told AOL News. "There are a number of papers in peer-reviewed literature detailing this research. There's nothing that hasn't already been reported by independent research." ...

via Skeptic Mocks NASA Researcher With ‘Flying Pig Award’ for Finding Life on Meteorites.