Missing black holes found, number of solar systems with moons like ours and Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Hundreds of "missing" black holes have been found lurking in dusty galaxies billions of light-years away. See article.
g Abodes - Astronomers have found that moons like ours are likely to be uncommon in the universe, and arise in only 5 to 10 percent of planetary systems. The study could have implications in the search for habitable planets beyond our Solar System. See article.
g Life - Sucking up to win the support of the boss dates back to our furry ancestors. The motivation, for monkeys, is life and death. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA Administrator Mike Griffin recently told a Senate panel that the United States could field the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle and its Ares I launcher within three years of the space shuttle's retirement, but meeting that earlier delivery date would require an extra $2 billion over the next couple of years. See article.