Frozen Fuel November 14, 1998 | Volume 154 | Number 20 Cover: Japanese and Canadian engineers drilled a well in arctic Canada this year and pulled up gritty sediments filled with a frozen form of natural gas.  Several countries and oil companies are now exploring whether these methane hydrates deposits in the permafrost and under the seafloor could provide a vast new source of energy. (Photo: Scott Dallimore, Geological Survey of Canada)

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News of the Week:

Fish-Eating Dinosaur Found in Africa

Paleontologists discovered a large, 100-million-year-old dinosaur with an extremely long, narrow snout.

 

Light powers molecular piston and cylinder

A device of molecular dimensions moves like a simple machine when stimulated with light.

 

Young, nearby supernova remnant shows up

Observations of a newly discovered supernova remnant indicate that the explosion from which it arose was the nearest one to Earth during the past 1,500 years.

 

Lock-on-a-chip may close hackers out

Engineers have created a miniature, electromechanical combination lock that presents a stronger barrier than security software.

 

Faraway comet spins into the light

The 6-hour spin cycle of a grayish-blue ball of ice orbiting the sun out beyond Neptune and Pluto may hold clues to the formation of the solar system.

 

Superstud grass menaces San Francisco Bay

Through superior pollen power, an invasive salt-marsh species from the East Coast threatens to overwhelm the native cordgrass of San Francisco Bay.

 

Cholesterol-busting products provoke FDA

The Food and Drug Administration argues that a margarine substitute known as Benecol is not a cholesterol-lowering dietary supplement but a food subject to regulation.

 

Tongue ties across continents draw fire

A controversial report concludes that a language family in Siberia and another in North America share a common origin in central Asia.