Changing the odds

Up until recently, one of the great uncertainties in evaluating whether or not we are alone or not in the Universe has been how many habitable planets there are.   Now, I was of the personal opinion, unfounded on any data, that the Universe is so vast, with so many galaxies and stars ("billions and billions") that somewhere else in this multitude of opportunities there has to be at least one more place with at least some algae and amoebas. 

But the recent results from Kepler are changing the odds in the scientific sense, data-wise.  Kepler's data is indicating that a lot of stars have planets, and a lot of these planets fall in the category of "Earth-like".  Which pushes the odds toward the higher likelihood of life of some kind existing on some of them.  Intelligent life?   Well, that's probably much more rare, of course, but the Universe is a big place with lots and lots and lots ... and lots of stars.

Earth-like planets probably much more common than [previously] thought

"The message we’ve been getting from the planet hunting community is loud and clear, and that message is that all stars have planets," said Shostak. Since life is potentially everywhere, he would like to focus more of the institute’s attention on the dense center of our galaxy. "Now that we know that potentially habitable planets can form around virtually any kind of star, it’s important to focus our attention on star-rich areas"