A new study of Chinese and Greek kids suggests that a Chinese IQ advantage over Westerners stems from superior spatial abilities, possibly because the Chinese learn to read pictorial symbols that emphasize spatial perception. (p. 99)

How much liquids splatter when drops hit surfaces depends on the surrounding air pressure. (p. 99)

Fossils of an ancient egg-laying mammal indicate that the characteristic configuration of the bones in all living mammals' ears arose independently at least twice during the group's evolution. (p. 100)

Emotional stress can lead to symptoms that mimic a heart attack, even in people without coronary artery blockages, possibly by causing an unusual secretion of hormones. (p. 100)

Natural compounds that are chemically akin to certain industrial chemicals wend their way up marine food chains and accumulate in whale blubber. (p. 101)

Certain tree-dwelling ants can direct their descent well enough to veer toward tree trunks and climb back home. (p. 101)

After accounting for inflation, President Bush's proposed research-and-development budget for fiscal year 2006 is down 1.4 percent from FY 2005, a figure that has many science agencies tightening their belts. (p. 102)

Chemists aim to mimic natural systems with the hope of developing more-efficient chemical processes that are also less harmful to the environment. (p. 104)

A mathematical equation helps explain life processes on all biological scales, from molecules to ecosystems. (p. 106)

The National Institutes of Health issued new ethics rules to keep its employees from engaging in potentially questionable relationships with organizations that might have a financial interest in NIH activities or policies. (p. 108)

Insomnia and other serious sleep difficulties plague many people with bipolar disorder, even after medications have eased their extreme mood swings. (p. 108)

A storm of high-speed protons, triggered by a Jan. 20 solar eruption, bombarded spacecraft and was the most energetic such squall recorded in 15 years. (p. 109)

Tobacco used in counterfeit cigarettes is apparently grown using metal-laced fertilizers, making the fake products even more harmful than the real things. (p. 109)

The National Toxicology Program updated its list of human carcinogens to include X rays and several viruses and added lead and some compounds formed in overcooked meats to its list of probable human carcinogens. (p. 109)

Embedding ions of manganese in silicon imparts a magnetic field to the otherwise nonmagnetic semiconductor. (p. 109)

In abalone shells, microscopic tiles of calcium carbonate stack on top of each other in a highly ordered arrangement to create a superstrong material. (p. 110)

A telescope has for the first time detected X rays directly from an ongoing gamma-ray burst, the most powerful type of explosion in the universe. (p. 110)

Certain wind-energy systems that store excess energy for a time using compressed air can be as reliable as and far cleaner than conventional electric-generating plants. (p. 110)

(p. 111)