Hi All

A review of the current status of red dwarf planets...

A Reappraisal

...which is quite interesting. Seems flares aren't the major issue for red dwarfs as once thought and tide-locking is a non-issue because atmospheres redistribute the heat enough to keep from freezing out. What might be problematic is the surface getting enough photosynthetically active light to keep a biosphere ticking over.

In conclusion: red dwarfs are back on the table - for now.

A somewhat related article, now we've found Neptune-mass planets around red-dwarfs, is whether they can form liquid water oceans...

Wet Neptune

...for Neptune itself the odds are currently against it, but there's not enough data to say for sure. Different Neptunes with different water contents will improve the odds. I can't imagine what a hydrogen-rich liquid-water planet would mean for life's odds, but it seems like a decent environment for pre-biotic chemistry. Perhaps there will be a lot of convection and a slow abiotic creation of vast oil-slicks as hydrocarbons are thermally processed.

Adam