Their ability to consume other organisms or organic matter helped them rebound quickly after low light returned, perhaps similar to the clouds of dust and debris finally beginning to clear.

The madman returned on his footsteps to seek anew the lost treasure, with his strength gone, his body bent, and his heart in the dust, like a tree uprooted.

In July, planetary scientists announced two candidate dust particles from the Stardust spacecraft, which returned to Earth in 2006 after seven years of collecting dust samples in space.