Cockroaches that don’t fall for traps’ sweet poisons have evolved taste cells that register sugar as bitter.

In certain groups of the widespread German cockroach (Blattella germanica), nerve cells that normally detect bitter, potentially toxic compounds now also respond to glucose, says entomologist Coby Schal of North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The “bitter” reaction suppresses the “sweet” response from other nerve cells, and the roach stops eating, Schal and his colleagues report ... 05.23.13 | more >>

A new bird flu that has killed 36 people in China can spread from ferret to ferret through the air. A laboratory test showing airborne transmission of the H7N9 avian influenza virus between the animals has raised fears that the virus is poised to become a human pandemic. 05.23.13 | more >>

Long a mystery, the sensation of itch has yielded a clue. The neurons that detect itch rely on a newly identified chemical to send the “I need to scratch!” message to the brain, according to a study in mice. Remove the molecule, and the mice don’t itch, researchers report in the May 24 Science. 05.23.13 | more >>

When scientists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics scheduled a conference called “Exoplanets in the Post-Kepler Era,” they figured that era would still be several years away. But after last week’s malfunction of a crucial piece of equipment on NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler space telescope, the May 20 gathering of more than 100 astronomers in Cambridge, Mass., proved all ... 05.23.13 | more >>

People with high IQs see the world in their own way. Their brains seamlessly separate the visual wheat from the chaff, allowing them to home in on the most relevant information, a new study finds. 05.23.13 | more >>

For house-hunting fungi, feet are prime real estate.

More than 80 different types of fungi make human feet home, researchers report May 22 in Nature. The tiny organisms stake claims all over a person’s skin, but only the feet carry such a diverse group of settlers, says study coauthor Julie Segre, a geneticist at the National Human Genome Research Institute in Bethesda, Md. 05.22.13 | more >>

A catchall flu shot is a step closer to reality. Researchers report May 22 in Nature that they have engineered a vaccine that immunizes mice and ferrets against decades’ worth of influenza viruses. They say it could protect people for several years — and from many different flu viruses — without having to be reformulated and delivered annually the way current flu vaccines are. 05.22.13 | more >>

NEWS IN BRIEF Complete genetic blueprints collected for several conifer species 05.22.13 | more >>

Chaser isn’t just a 9-year-old border collie with her breed’s boundless energy, intense focus and love of herding virtually anything. She’s a grammar hound. 05.21.13 | more >>

The last thing most people would want in their bodies is mucus laden with viruses. But a new study suggests that viruses called bacteriophages, or phages, grab onto mucus and then infect and kill invasive bacteria. The finding, reported May 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Forest Rohwer of San Diego State University and colleagues, could mean that some viruses ... 05.20.13 | more >>

NEWS IN BRIEF New cell-based computers do division and logarithms the old-fashioned way 05.17.13 | more >>

NEWS IN BRIEF An enormous tree's enormous genome, genes for strong-swimming sperm and more presented May 7-11 in Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 05.16.13 | more >>

More evidence has just dropped into place suggesting that frogs once imported to the United States for pregnancy testing could have spread a fungus deadly to many native amphibian species. 05.16.13 | more >>

NEWS IN BRIEF Minerals assemble on demand into tiny, complex shapes like flowers 05.16.13 | more >>

NEWS IN BRIEF Easy technique uses inexpensive equipment to make three-dimensional rendering 05.16.13 | more >>

NEWS IN BRIEF Thawing ice contributes nearly as much water to oceans as massive sheets at poles do 05.16.13 | more >>

The telescope that has discovered thousands of exotic, quirky worlds — and a few tantalizingly Earthlike ones — orbiting distant stars is no longer capable of finding planets, at least temporarily and probably for good. Officials with NASA’s $600-million Kepler space telescope announced May 15 that an essential piece of hardware on the spacecraft has failed. 05.15.13 | more >>

The notoriously crafty parasite that causes malaria may have yet another trick up its sleeve scientists have learned: It makes mosquitoes that carry it more attracted to human body odor, a new study suggests. Compared with noninfected mosquitoes, those carrying Plasmodium falciparum, the most dangerous of the parasites that carry malaria,visited a fabric covered with a person’s sweat far ... 05.15.13 | more >>

VIEW THE VIDEO For the first time, scientists have created human embryonic stem cells by transferring the nucleus of a mature cell into an egg. The cloning technique could nudge the dream of personalized medicine closer to reality, researchers suggest May 15 in Cell. 05.15.13 | more >>

A low-energy alternative to traditional lasers is finally available in plug-in form, a crucial step toward developing a practical alternative to the comparatively inefficient devices in use today. These so-called polariton lasers could soon find a niche in telecommunications and medical applications. 05.15.13 | more >>

COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. – Taming foxes changes not only the animals’ behavior but also their brain chemistry, a new study shows. 05.15.13 | more >>