For asthmatics, dust is THE enemy. But for scientists, it's an ally. That is if we're talking about  intergalactic dust. Dust found around the remains of dead stars turn out to be the "prime ingredient" of all living things.

Let us rewind 160,00 years ago.  A humongous star, about 20 times larger than the sun, exploded. In 1987, the first light from the said explosion (known as a supernova) reached our planet for several months, and was called the SN 1987A. Stardust from the SN1987A were seen through an infrared telescope at the Gemini South Observatory in Chile.

The supernova dust were fused with superheated, X-ray emitting gas found within an equatorial ring around SN 1987A, created by stellar winds 600,000 years before the supernova. This ring of gas was invisible for nearly twenty years, until shockwaves from the supernova blast caught up with it. The expansion of the shockwaves heating of the gas and normally cool dust until they glowed in the infrared.

According to Patrice Bouchet of the Observatoire de Paris, "The collision between the ejecta of supernova 1987A and the equatorial ring was predicted to occur sometime in the interval of 1995 to 2007, and it is now underway." Studies reveal that the composition of the stardust is pure silicate, and less dust than expected were seen (a star as enormous as the SN1987 star is expected to produce more dust). It's possible that shockwaves from the supernova blast sent more stellar dust to oblivion than expected. Researchers claim that this discovery may have "broad implications for determining dust origins throughout the universe".

So does the saying, from dust you come and from dust you shall return ring true? Let us await for further words from scientists to find out.

With crude oil now approaching $70 a barrel, and the environmental destruction of Earth-bound mining operations becoming more apparent by the day, asteroids are looking better and better.

Ground-based analyses indicate that asteroids and comets contain substantial amounts of valuable minerals, including semiconductor and platinum group metals as well as water and bituminous hydrocarbons (substances found petroleum sands). The water alone could serve as a fuel source for the vehicles' return trip.

Although most asteroids are beyond Mars, about 10% of them are easier to reach than Earth's moon in terms of time and energy required. According to Professor John Lewis, the resources of the Solar System - the most accessible being in near-Earth asteroids - could comfortably support as many as one quadrillion humans - about 150 times the current population. Since the growth of the human population shows no sign of slowing anytime soon, it is imperative that world governments start planning for this expansion by investing in technology that will allow our species to start moving off-planet.