A Russian mathematician has proposed a proof of the Poincaré conjecture, a question about the shapes of three-dimensional spaces. (p. 259)

Genetic analysis suggests that a textbook example of a tight buddy system in nature—fig species that supposedly each have their own pollinating wasp species—may need to be rewritten. (p. 259)

During a long-term research project in a Central American rain forest, mature trees grew more slowly in warm years than they did in cooler ones. (p. 260)

A gene defect that causes accelerated aging may provide insight into normal aging. (p. 260)

A group of new and previously excavated fossils in South Africa represents 4-million-year-old members of the human evolutionary family, according to an analysis of the sediment that covered the finds. (p. 261)

A new scaffolding material stimulates bone regeneration. (p. 261)

Rubbery materials prove tougher than theory predicts because cracks trying to penetrate those stretchy materials grow blunt at their tips. (p. 261)

The newly identified SARS virus is the product of a long and private evolutionary history, clues from its genome suggest. (p. 262)

Recent research has upended a 130-year-old, previously unchallenged theory about how the semiprecious stone called tiger's-eye is formed. (p. 263)

A new origin-of-life theory holds that life began within the confines of iron sulfide rocks surrounding hydrothermal vents at the ocean bottom. (p. 264)

Researchers are gearing up to create cells with computer programs hardwired into the DNA. (p. 267)

The first analysis of what the mouths of begging birds look like in the ultraviolet spectrum reveals a dramatic display that birds can see but people can't. (p. 269)

Minute amounts of lead in blood are worse for children than had been realized. (p. 269)

Magnets can act like vascular switches, increasing or decreasing blood flow to a region of the body. (p. 270)

New data suggest why exposure to nicotine in the womb can put an infant at greater risk of sudden infant death syndrome. (p. 270)

Dietary supplements coupling whey and creatine promote the development of bigger, stronger muscles in experienced body builders. (p. 270)

The epidemic of adolescent obesity may owe more to a paucity of exercise than to a growing intake of calories. (p. 270)