Broken Nests March 7, 1998 | Volume 153 | Number 10 Cover: Greater flamingos have high divorce rates -- one study reports that 100 percent of pairs fail to reunite. At the other extreme, waved albatrosses almost never split. Scientists are studying divorce as part of a new interest in bird family life. (Photo montage: Mark Gilvey/Design Imaging)

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News of the Week:

A rare type of radioactive decay reveals that certain atomic nuclei are shaped more like flattened globes than true spheres.

Differences in the genes that encode dopamine receptors may account for the range of people's attraction to cigarette smoking.

Taters for tots provide an edible vaccine 

A genetically engineered potato raises expectations that people may someday get vaccinated by eating appropriate foods.

The sharpest images ever taken of Europa, an icy satellite of Jupiter, offer fresh evidence that it possesses either a vast ocean or a partially frozen sea.

Bone marrow cells can build new muscle

The soft tissue inside bone may harbor a population of cells capable of forming new muscle.

Dyslexia tied to disrupted brain network 

A new brain-imaging study indicates that a widespread network of neural regions malfunctions in people who have difficulty in applying sounds to the letters that make up written words.

Fossil soil has the dirt on early microbes 

Fossil deposits from South Africa suggest that life had colonized the land surface at least 2 billion years ago.

Heterosexual women have noisy ears 

Differences in the auditory systems of heterosexual and homosexual women may reflect prenatal brain changes that may also presage sexual orientation.

Research Notes
Astronomy

A Voyager goes the distance 

On Feb. 17, the Voyager 1 spacecraft became the most distant explorer in the solar system.

Solar eclipses—on Jupiter

In a rare event recorded last November, three of Jupiter’s moons cast their shadows within the same small region on the giant planet.

Behavior

Rethinking mental disorder rates 

Rising rates for mental disorders may reflect changes in diagnostic conventions rather than a widespread need for increased treatment.

Family shroud for the mentally ill 

Many families try to conceal the condition of a mentally ill member from friends and neighbors.

Biology

Proteins that produce hunger 

Two newly discovered brain proteins stimulate feeding behavior in mice.

A gene that causes hair loss 

Scientists have discovered the first gene associated with human hair loss.

Environment

Radon–lung cancer risk high for smokers

On Feb. 19, President Clinton unveiled his Clean Water Action Plan, a strategy for protecting the nation's waters and cleaning up polluted aquatic areas.

Articles:

When Birds Divorce
Who splits, who benefits, and who gets the nest

 Ornithologists, who belong to a species that divorces at about the same rate as the masked booby, are now studying what snaps the pair bonds among birds.

Not-So-Deadly Force
The search for a kinder, gentler knockout punch

Development of less-than-lethal weapons has proliferated, promising alternative means of bridging the gap between verbal warnings and the use of deadly force.

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