Unraveling the DNA of a malaria-causing parasite and of a mosquito that carries it may suggest new ways to combat the deadly disease. (p. 211)

By channeling sunlight down a fiber optic cable, scientists have produced laserlike beams that can burn tumors off major organs. (p. 212)

Mice bred to lack a gene for a certain enzyme exhibit reduced anxiety and greater curiosity in stressful laboratory tasks, suggesting a possible new avenue of research into anti-anxiety medications. (p. 212)

Researchers have created a metal-laced organic solid that acts as a sieve with nanosize pores for capturing molecules. (p. 213)

The browning reaction that imparts flavor to french fries and breads also creates acrylamide, an animal carcinogen. (p. 213)

Investigators have concluded that a young, up-and-coming physicist repeatedly faked data and committed other types of scientific misconduct. (p. 214)

Oxygen treatment for serious carbon monoxide poisoning prevents long-term brain damage best if delivered as pressurized gas. (p. 214)

Sperm contain an unexpected payload of RNA, a discovery offering insight into infertility, cloning, and contraception. (p. 216)

Advances in one of the tiniest of technologies—carbon nanotubes—is bringing the concept of a space elevator closer to reality. (p. 218)

Scientists have found the gene that gives sheep unusually big, muscular bottoms. (p. 221)

The Food and Drug Administration is trying to figure out how blood banks can detect signs of West Nile infection in blood donors and, eventually, test donated blood for the virus itself. (p. 221)

Measurements of erosion in a rocky river channel in Taiwan suggest that the day-to-day flow of water accounts for more rock wear there than occasional catastrophic floods do. (p. 221)

Researchers have devised a cheap, translucent material that, when embedded in credit cards and other items, would endow the items with unique identifiers that are almost impossible to tamper with or copy. (p. 221)

DNA analyses of food remains from the intestines of a 5,000-year-old mummified man found in Europe's Tyrolean Alps indicate that his last two meals included meat from mountain goats and red deer, as well as wild cereals. (p. 222)

Researchers have welded together carbon nanotubes to make junctions that could be useful in the construction of tiny electronic devices. (p. 222)

An unexpectedly large number of supermassive black holes in old galaxy clusters suggests these elderly groupings of galaxies aren't as quiescent as had been expected. (p. 222)

Of the New York firefighters involved in the rescue and recovery effort after last year's terrorist attacks, relatively few have developed chronic coughs and respiratory problems, but among those who did, the problems seem unusually severe. (p. 222)