A new brain-imaging investigation suggests that disturbances in a network of regions involved in regulating actions and attention underlie the childhood psychiatric ailment known as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. (p. 339)

For a pregnant woman carrying a baby to term, inflammation in the womb nearly quadruples the chance her baby will be born with cerebral palsy. (p. 339)

As archaeologists continue to excavate the famous Chinese terra-cotta warriors, a new restoration technique could preserve the figures' paint coats, which normally peel off when exposed to the elements. (p. 340)

The valley of the White Nile in Africa may long ago have held a shallow lake that sprawled 70 kilometers across and stretched more than 500 km along the river. (p. 340)

Microscopic needles may provide a painless alternative to syringes and patches. (p. 341)

A protein that regulates blood pressure also serves as the cellular portal for the SARS virus. (p. 341)

By coating flexible metal fibers with semiconductors, researchers have developed individual threads that act as transistors and that should be linkable into circuits by means of wires included among a fabric's threads. (p. 342)

Several alternatives to the common gasoline additives methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and ethanol could create environmental problems similar to those that MTBE has already caused. (p. 342)

New Orleans' French Quarter has become a central proving ground for new technologies to find and attack the North American invasion of especially aggressive and resourceful alien termites. (p. 344)

Relying in part on a new rapid HIV test, health officials are working to identify and treat more HIV infections earlier in the course of the disease. (p. 347)

Partial results from a new study have pushed the United Kingdom to stop its controversial, decades-old policy of killing local badgers if cattle catch TB. (p. 349)

A new analysis suggests that the amount of ancient plant matter that was needed to make just 1 gallon of gasoline is the same amount that can be grown each year in a 40-acre wheat field—roots, stalks, and all. (p. 349)

Letrozole, which blocks estrogen production, reduces recurrence of breast cancer in women who have exhausted the usefulness of tamoxifen, the frontline cancer drug for this disease. (p. 349)

Nonnerve cells called astrocytes secrete a protein that enables nerve cells to connect. (p. 350)

Eliminating the glutamate released by brain tumors may slow the cancer's growth. (p. 350)

The AIDS virus secretes a protein that interferes with an animal's biological clock. (p. 350)

The brain activity in men and women having an orgasm is very similar. (p. 350)

Letters from the Nov. 29, 2003, issue of Science News. (p. 351)