Scientists are modeling the immediate and long-term effects of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck west of Indonesia the morning of Dec. 26, 2004, and triggered tsunamis that killed tens of thousands of people. (p. 19)

Tissue engineers have for the first time used genetically modified human stem cells to repair damaged hearts in guinea pigs. (p. 19)

A boom in temple construction on two Hawaiian islands around 400 years ago marked the surprisingly rapid formation of an early political state. (p. 20)

The toxicity of an insecticide or how long it persists in the environment depends on which mirror-image form of the chemical is present. (p. 20)

Certain widely used antidepressants and a woman's own genes might diminish the effect of tamoxifen, a frontline breast cancer drug. (p. 21)

Besides allowing geckos to cling to walls and ceilings, the millions of tiny fibers on the undersides of these lizards' toes clean themselves with each step. (p. 21)

A pair of decades-long studies of birds moving into other birds' neighborhoods show that immigration can have a quirkier effect than predicted by the usual textbook view. (p. 22)

As evidence mounts that drug-safety trials can miss dangerous effects, scientists are building living, miniature models of animals and people to enhance drug and chemical tests. (p. 24)

Many deeply hued plant pigments appear to offer health benefits, from fighting heart disease and obesity to preserving memory. (p. 27)

Physicists have snapped the first real-time pictures of the exploding core of the world's most powerful X-ray source other than a nuclear bomb. (p. 29)

Scientific publishers and research organizations are preparing to launch a Web site that will make new research findings available to the public in an easy-to-understand context. (p. 29)

Oceanographers seeking to deploy an armada of 3,000 robotic probes to take the pulse of Earth's oceans have passed the halfway mark and hope to have the full array of sensors in place by 2007. (p. 30)

The Hubble Space Telescope has examined in unprecedented detail a ring of debris around a star that could be the nearest and youngest known home for planets outside the solar system. (p. 30)

The pulse of the real estate market in a given area turns out to be a powerful indicator of how many exotic plant species have invaded the neighborhood. (p. 30)

Images taken by the Cassini spacecraft provide graphic evidence of Saturn's moon Prometheus stealing particles from the planet's narrow F ring. (p. 30)

(p. 31)