Forget SF movies like Alien vs. Predator, where the aliens have humanoid-like shape or behave much like the animals on our planet, only with sharper and more accurate senses. Life ain’t that way in Cosmos.

A National Academy of Sciences panel advised NASA to look beyond the “where-there’s-water-there’s-life” approach and start thinking at other ways of discovering extra-terrestrial life.

Scientists said that life can take shapes and forms so weird that our actual understanding might not be enough to even spot it on outer planets. Recognizing exotic life-forms could prove harder than previously expected since we tend to project our previous knowledge to the things we discover, thus missing potentially new forms of matter-aggregation.

"The purpose of this whole report was to be able to look for life on other planets and moons with an open mind ... and not maybe miss some other life form because we looking for some obvious life form," said John Baross, professor of oceanography at the University of Washington in Seattle, who chaired the committee.

The NAS, comprised of biochemists, planetary scientists, geneticists and other experts, compiled a list of life’s possible morphologies, based on recent findings that suggest extreme conditions (like underwater-volcanoes or icy, dim depths) can spur life in the most unusual manner.

Baross also pointed out the fact that lab research indicates many organisms can find alternatives to water, using compounds like methane, ethane or even more bizarre chemicals.

"If you are a biochemist, Titan is of enormous interest, because it's a carbon moon. It does have clearly some liquid methane or liquid ethane lakes or pools. There could be chemical reactions going on that could be favorable for producing complex biochemicals," Baross said.

"The exploration that could lead to a novel life form ... would be the most profound discovery ever made," Baross said.