CT scans of preserved individuals show hardening of arteries similar to that seen in people today.

Some were pets whose bodies and appetites apparently got too big for their owners to support. Most are probably descendants of released pets. Today, thousands of really big non-native snakes — we’re talking boa constrictors, anacondas and pythons — slither wild in southern Florida. And there’s nothing holding them in the Sunshine State. Which is why a report that was released today contends they pose moderate to high ecological threats to states on three U.S. coasts. Indeed, the homelands of these snakes share climatic features with large portions of the United States — territory currently inhabited by some 120 million Americans. Based on comparisons of the temperatures, rainfall and land cover found in the snakes’ native range, it’s possible that these slithering behemoths could stake claims to territory as far north as coastal Delaware and Oregon.

A new technique allows scientists to map the 3-D structure of the entire human genome. (p. 14)

Ada Yonath, Thomas Steitz and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan will share the prize for unmasking the structure of the ribosome. (p. 14)

An infection known to afflict modern birds may have led to starvation in several dinosaurs.

Hot fingers: That appears to be one consequence of big bodies.

If he were starring in a campy horror flick, Tim Rowbotham might have gasped and whispered, “It’s alive!” As a microbiologist with Britain’s Public Health Laboratory Service, he had isolated an unknown microorganism from an amoeba growing in a water tower in Bradford, England. Rowbotham baptized the entity “Bradford coccus.” He added his new specimen to the collection of bacteria that live within amoebas and continued the search for the cause of a pneumonia outbreak plaguing the citizens of Bradford. But Rowbotham hadn’t discovered a bacterium. He had actually found a gigant... (p. 22)

Toothless Asian whales find themselves being protected by fairly toothless regulations.

Study tracks European eels for the first 1,300 kilometers of their migration.

It took herculean effort, but Madagascar crafters created an extraordinary piece of woven art from spider silk.

Most of the birds in California’s Sierra Nevada range are on the move in response to recent climate changes.

Considering that food is full of foreign proteins, it makes sense that the intestine is the immune system’s version of Grand Central station. It’s the largest organ to regularly sweep up and annihilate molecules that don’t belong. And because food comes from outside, it’s no surprise that some people have allergies to it. The bigger mystery is why most don’t. Somehow during evolution, the immune system and food components developed a secret handshake that allows munchables to pass without a fuss. Most of the time, that is. Once relatively rare, serious allergies to peanuts, milk,... (p. 20)