Scientists announced the discovery of the partial skeleton of a small-bodied Homo species that inhabited an eastern Indonesian island from at least 38,000 years ago until about 18,000 years ago. (p. 275)

By coaxing a silicon microstructure into acting as a laser, engineers have achieved a long-sought and important step toward microchips capable of simultaneously manipulating electrons and light. (p. 275)

A study of wild guppies suggests that life in a dangerous place does not automatically push evolution toward rapid aging as previously thought. (p. 276)

A form of table salt manufactured to contain iron can fight off anemia among children living in rural North Africa and could expand the role of salt fortification around the world. (p. 276)

Acid-blocking drugs seem to boost a person's chances of getting pneumonia. (p. 277)

A fatty acid commonly found in soap and vegetable oil assembles into microscopic, potterylike structures when it crystallizes. (p. 277)

With technology commonly used in oil fields, engineers could inject large volumes of seawater into sandy strata deep beneath Venice, Italy, to reverse the ground subsidence that plagues the city. (p. 277)

Young mice exposed to a common type of antidepressant, known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), showed symptoms of anxiety and depression in adulthood. (p. 278)

Inserting genes for extra strength or speed could give athletes an unbeatable, and perhaps undetectable, advantage in competitive sports. (p. 280)

With the vision of a hydrogen economy looming ever larger in people's minds, scientists have picked up the pace of their pursuit of materials that use solar energy to split water and make clean-burning hydrogen fuel. (p. 282)

A childhood filled with psychological or physical tribulations contributes to one's risk of developing heart disease as an adult. (p. 285)

Some stars in the neighborhood of the sun may be renegades from the center of our galaxy. (p. 285)

Pollutants known as dioxins, furans, and certain chemically related polychlorinated biphenyls have additive cancer-causing effects when mixed together, as has been assumed in calculating the chemicals' health risks. (p. 285)

The upside-down installation of four switches intended to signal the Genesis spacecraft to open its parachutes is the likely cause of the craft's crash in the Utah desert on Sept. 8. (p. 285)

Merck's recall of rofecoxib, a COX-2 inhibitor drug for arthritis, raises the question of whether similar drugs might also increase the risk of heart attack. (p. 286)

The male bluebirds with the bluest (and most ultraviolet) plumage turned out to be the toughest competitors in a study of who won the rights to prime nest boxes. (p. 286)

Self-propelled strands of a muscle protein coated with gold offer a way to arrange and control the nanoworld. (p. 286)

The sight of the face of a familiar sheep seems to reduce stress in troubled sheep. (p. 286)

(p. 287)