An as-yet-unnamed species of snail living around hydrothermal vents deep beneath the Indian Ocean bears a suit of armor forged from the minerals dissolved in the hot fluids that spew from its seafloor environment. (p. 291)

Aided by a gravitational zoom lens, astronomers have discovered the hottest, brightest, and most crowded star-forming region ever observed. (p. 291)

A protein called stem cell factor enables the liver to regenerate and may even protect people from acute liver failure. (p. 292)

Planting crops in south Florida may have increased the risk of the freezes farmers hoped to avoid. (p. 292)

A common biological mechanism may boost memory for emotional events and block recall for what happened just before those events occurred, at least over the short run. (p. 293)

A protein on the surface of cholera-causing bacteria enables the pathogens to clump together in seawater and to scatter when they enter fresh water, perhaps facilitating seasonal outbreaks of cholera in coastal areas. (p. 293)

The poisonous brown recluse spider may turn out not to be a fearsome hunter so much as a scavenger. (p. 294)

The sole U.S. manufacturer of two widely used brominated fire retardants pledged to phase out its production of both products by the end of next year. (p. 294)

The debate over the shape of space has taken some new twists with the analysis of satellite snapshots of the universe's temperature waves. (p. 296)

If all goes according to plan, three spacecraft—one in December, two in January—will land on the Red Planet, looking for evidence that liquid water once flowed on its surface. (p. 298)

Bite-size pieces of plastic chipped from wave-battered consumer products work their way up marine food chains, suggests a study of fur seals in Australia. (p. 301)

The presence of large amounts of olivine, a mineral that undergoes rapid chemical transformation when exposed to liquid water, argues against ancient oceans or lakes on Mars. (p. 301)

Researchers have identified a gene that influences the growth of crystals in the inner ears of zebrafish and found that modifying this gene can cause the fish to lose their sense of gravity. (p. 301)

A new United Nations treaty that seeks to phase down or eliminate production and use of 16 persistent, toxic pollutants has gone into effect. (p. 301)

The same pollutants that appear to shorten the length of a grown-alligator's phallus actually lead to this organ's lengthening in baby gators. (p. 302)

Releases from sewage treatment plants appear to impair reproductive tissues in fish. (p. 302)

Coincident exposure to ultraviolet light and an estrogen-mimicking pollutant severely jeopardized the chance a tadpole would reach adulthood. (p. 302)

Soy-stress compound interferes with estrogen activity, possibly pointing the way to a new breast-cancer drug. (p. 302)

Letters from the Nov. 8, 2003, issue of Science News. (p. 303)