I was discussing with a friend how a scientist has a theory about how matter never really goes away -it just changes form. Take for instance a black hole, the common misconception is that matter goes into a black hole and disappears forever, the scientist new theory is that it just passes through to another galaxy or universe. In a time of great loss to me this is somehow very comforting. Take a look at this article from CNN today:

Galaxy may be full of 'Earths,' alien life

As NASA prepares to hunt for Earth-like planets in our corner of the Milky Way galaxy, there's new buzz that "Star Trek's" vision of a universe full of life may not be that far-fetched. There may be 100 billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way, or one for every sun-type star in the galaxy, said Alan Boss, an astronomer with the Carnegie Institution and author of a new book. full story