Understanding long-term changes in wildfire patterns challenges scientists from multiple disciplines. (p. 26)

Personal genomics companies offer forecasts of disease risk, but the science behind the packaging is still evolving. (p. 16)

Researchers study secrets of microbes' locomotion and how to mimic that movement. (p. 22)

The giant black holes at the cores of massive nearby galaxies may be two to four times heftier than estimated. (p. 5)

Male hummingbirds set record for extreme plunges out of the sky. (p. 7)

Combination of friction and push propels snakes forward on flat surfaces. (p. 7)

Researchers link the motion of two ion pairs through “spooky action at a distance.” (p. 8)

long-proposed method of searching for extrasolar planets has finally discovered one — a body six times heavier than Jupiter that orbits a dwarf star 20 light-years from Earth. (p. 8)

A new study assesses the chances that two planets will collide or a planet will plunge into the sun in the next 5 billion years. (p. 9)

A familiar star, visible to the naked eye, has shrunk dramatically in just 15 years. (p. 9)

A speedy stellar neighbor may be a refugee from another galaxy. (p. 9)

The mutant protein implicated in Huntington’s may rely on a second protein. The finding could help explain why only some neurons are vulnerable to the disease. (p. 10)

Researchers have developed a new way to see where the molecules are active. (p. 10)

Scientists show how change happens when cells responsible for colorful hair lose their self-renewing abilities. (p. 12)

The tuberculosis microbe makes compounds that alter basic systems inside key immune cells, facilitating the bacterium’s survival in the body, new research shows. (p. 12)

Replacing missing microRNAs in cancer cells may open up a new field for cancer treatment. (p. 13)

Laparoscopic banding surgery to limit appetite improves several health markers in obese adolescents. (p. 13)

Study finds a lack of chemical tags near a prostate cancer gene in African American males. (p. 13)

New archaeological evidence shows signs of prehistoric hunting and other human activities on now-submerged portions of Lake Huron. (p. 14)

Caring for teens and young adults with autism not only creates intense psychological pressure on mothers but may promote sharply decreased production of a crucial stress hormone, a long-term study suggests. (p. 14)

Life-size 3-D versions of children can draw kids with autism into social encounters and more news from the annual meeting of the Jean Piaget Society in Park City, Utah, June 4-6. (p. 14)

A new survey may have unveiled the birthplace of the world’s largest ice sheet. (p. 15)

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Review by Sid Perkins (p. 31)

Review by Rachel Zelkowitz (p. 31)

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Nobelists to students: Being wrong may be just right (p. 32)