A newly named species of Hawaiian caterpillar sneaks up on a resting snail and quickly spins silk strands around it, lashing it to the spot, and then eats it. (p. 51)

A bacterial species that typically colonizes people's noses may win out over another bacterium by tattling to the host's immune system. (p. 51)

Compressing a common iron-bearing mineral to the pressures found deep within Earth makes the material much stiffer, which might explain why seismic waves travel particularly fast through some zones of rock. (p. 52)

After creating arrays of nanovalves, each made from a single molecule, chemists used them to generate minuscule chemical discharges. (p. 52)

Seismic shock waves from a large meteor impact on the asteroid Eros might have rearranged surface rubble, destroying crater structures over much of the asteroid. (p. 53)

Capuchin monkeys don't react to their own mirror images as they do to strangers, perhaps reflecting an intermediate stage of being able to distinguish oneself from others. (p. 53)

Some tumor cells use a newfound mechanism to prompt neighboring cells into forming blood vessels that then nourish the cancer. (p. 54)

Scientists have discovered not only three new mechanisms by which an alga species in Florida water can poison but also a trio of natural antidotes produced within that same species. (p. 56)

Green leafy moms take care of their offspring in ways that go beyond wrapping them in nice, snug seed coats and packing a nutritious lunch for them. (p. 59)

Despite new images from the Hubble Space Telescope, the brightest known supernova of the past 400 years remains a puzzle for astronomers. (p. 61)

Early Australian settlers may have altered the continent's landscape around 50,000 years ago, leading to the extinction of many animal species. (p. 61)

New tests show that as the protein yields of soybeans rise, the growth-enhancing quality of that protein as a food or feed decreases. (p. 61)

A young professional baseball catcher, who may receive more than 100 pitches per game thrown at more than 90 miles per hour, may be virtually certain to develop circulatory abnormalities in his catching hand. (p. 61)

The bright-yellow pigment that tints the bacteria that cause staph infections is pivotal to the microbe's virulence. (p. 62)

When food gets scarce, multicolored Asian ladybugs lay extra dud eggs that can end up as emergency rations for their young. (p. 62)

Astronomers have detected the most distant cosmic mirage ever recorded. (p. 62)

Ultrasound treatment of water can generate reactive chemicals that destroy potentially lethal algal toxins. (p. 62)

(p. 63)