The most-distant gamma-ray burst ever found hails from 900 million years after the birth of the universe, around the time when stars and galaxies first flooded the universe with light. (p. 179)

Researchers have devised a one-step process for making the primary ingredient of nylon. (p. 179)

Some common flowers fluoresce but the glow most likely has little effect on pollinators. (p. 180)

Tiny platinum coils inserted into a ruptured brain aneurysm to seal off the bleeding appear safer in the long run for some patients than traditional brain surgery does. (p. 180)

A language disorder that affects a substantial number of elementary school children arises from a difficulty in picking out basic elements of speech, such as consonants, from streams of sound. (p. 181)

Three proteins have been shown to function as master regulators that shut off differentiation and enable stem cells to retain their capacity to develop into any type of cell. (p. 181)

Using a simple mathematical model, scientists may have pinpointed the key aspects of human locomotion that make ordinary walking and running the most energy-efficient ways for people to get around on foot. (p. 182)

New research suggests that, as global warming proceeds, hurricane winds will gain speed and the storms will dump more rain, but controversy lingers as to how much more violent the storms will become and when they will occur. (p. 184)

Scientists are taking advantage of the components in spit to develop new, saliva-based diagnostic tests. (p. 187)

A new form of carbon created in an anvil and composed of microscopic needles of diamond has emerged as the strongest known material. (p. 189)

When the Amazon River swells in flood each rainy season, the immense weight of the water causes Earth's surface in the region to sink dozens of centimeters. (p. 189)

Contaminated spices, purchased from poorly regulated sources, can explain some cases of lead poisoning that involve several members of a family. (p. 189)

Radiocarbon analyses of material from a French cave indicate that Neandertal and modern human occupations of the site overlapped around 36,000 years ago, possibly explaining why Neandertals began to employ some new toolmaking techniques around that time. (p. 189)

Scientists are working on an environmentally benign water-filtering process that uses the nopal cactus. (p. 190)

Chemists have found a new way to produce hydrogen using only water, an organic liquid, and a metal catalyst. (p. 190)

Scientists have created heat-sensing polymers that indicate exposure to high temperatures by changing color under ultraviolet light. (p. 190)

(p. 191)