Revved-up particles, namely quarks, spinning inside neutrons in the opposite direction to that of the neutrons themselves, challenge the prevailing model of how quarks behave. (p. 3)

A survey along the coast of southern Chile has turned up a previously undocumented blue whale hangout that seems to be a feeding ground. (p. 3)

Most people breathe in substantially more organic contaminants than airborne concentrations of such substances in their homes and communities would suggest. (p. 4)

Researchers have unearthed the partial skull of the oldest known primate, a tiny creature that lived in south-central China 55 million years ago. (p. 4)

A technique that analyzes satellite images to detect subtle ground motions often can perceive subsidence over underground nuclear-test sites, sometimes even if those tests occurred decades ago. (p. 5)

By restraining the action of an immune system protein that can run amok, scientists experimenting on mice have reversed the course of severe sepsis. (p. 5)

Researchers have devised a nanowire sensor that binds to DNA molecules and produces an electrical signal almost instantaneously. (p. 6)

Data recorded by the venerable Voyager 1 spacecraft suggest the craft has either recently encountered or will soon enter a key region near the edge of the solar system. (p. 7)

Desert pavement, a delicate veneer of stones that covers the surface of up to 50 percent of the world's arid lands, is susceptible to being damaged by everything from multi-ton tanks to careless footsteps, and the resulting scars can take thousands of years to mend on their own. (p. 11)

Scientists have identified a protein contributing to the high fevers that are sometimes generated by the drug ecstasy. (p. 13)

A new radar study of craters at the moon's north and south poles reveals that neither region contains substantial amounts of frozen water. (p. 13)

New analyses of old seismic data have distinguished the ground motions spawned by a previously unrecognized type of earthquake—quakes created by brief surges of massive glaciers. (p. 14)

Small pulses in atmospheric pressure detected in Fairbanks soon after the magnitude 7.9 Denali quake on Nov. 3, 2002, suggest that the temblor literally moved mountains. (p. 14)

Tsunami simulations suggest that a newly discovered fault zone beneath the Atlantic Ocean could have released most of the seismic energy from three earthquakes that destroyed Lisbon, Portugal, on the morning of Nov. 1, 1755. (p. 14)

Scientists have developed a quick, easy, portable, and nondestructive way to determine the age of desert varnish, the mysterious dark coating that slowly develops on rocks in many arid regions of the world. (p. 14)

Letters from the Jan. 3, 2004, issue of Science News. (p. 15)