Links for 2008-04-14 [del.icio.us]

• Can micro-scaffolding help stem cells rebuild the brain after stroke? (KurzweilAI)
  Neural stem cell-scaffold combinations could be injected into the brain to provide a framework inside the cavities caused by stroke so that the cells are held there until they can work their way to connect with surrounding healthy tissue, University of No
• Intelligence: A Rare Cosmic Commodity (Astrobiology Magazine)
  A mathematical model taking into account the limited habitable lifespan of the Earth suggests that four evolutionary steps were required for intelligent life to evolve. If this applies to other worlds, intelligent life may be rare in the universe.
• John A. Wheeler, Physicist Who Coined the Term 'Black Hole,' Is Dead at 96 - New York Times
  John A. Wheeler, a visionary physicist and teacher who helped invent the theory of nuclear fission, gave black holes their name and argued about the nature of reality with Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, died Sunday morning at his home in Hightstown, N.J.
• Should We Shout into the Darkness? (Astrogator's Logs)
  How wise is it to announce humanity's presence to the rest of the Universe?
• The Concise Argument For Cryonics (Fight Aging!)
  So very many people will die before the advent of working rejuvenation medicine, largely from aging, and including many of you reading this now. The only viable option open to these folk is cryopreservation, the low-temperature storage of the brain and bo
• Large Hadron Collider - Risk of a Black Hole - New York Times
  Today we require more than prayers that a scientific experiment will not lead to the end of the world. We demand hard-headed calculations. But whom can we trust to do them?