One of the things that gets a lot of coverage in the news these days is the search for exo-planets circling around other stars in our galaxy and in the universe at large. Recent advances in technology have allowed astronomers to perform ever more sophisticated surveys and analyses on behalf of that search. And indeed, recent results suggest that a sizable number of stars appear to have planets rotating around them. Beyond that, our search is preoccupied with how many of those

Favorite quotes about life, death and evolution Peter A. Hempel Steve Jobs (last words) – “Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow.” Richard Feynman (last words) – “I’d hate to die twice.” Woody Allen: “I’m not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens.” “Life is. It goes. And it does not count. That was the hurtling truth that comes to rattle everyone as they grow up, grow old.” Jim Crace, Being Dead (quoted in a book review in Men’s Journal, March 2000, p. 56) "The mean