Do we have to spell it out?

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (ET), or SETI, to know the nature of life, intelligence and the place of humanity in the Universe, is discussed. It is expected that ET have inserted a message into the genomes of terrestrial organisms, perhaps by delivering carefully crafted viruses in tiny space probes to infect host cells with messenger laden DNA. To minimise the effects of mutations, it is suggested to incorporate the message into highly conserved segment of DNA. The commissioning of the long-awaited Allen Telescope Array in northern California will bring a much larger volume of the galaxy within the scope of current search techniques.