The most readily available drugs against influenza have abruptly declined in effectiveness in the past decade. (p. 211)

If a male barn swallow's plumage is more attractive than that of other males, his mate is less likely to have furtive flings with other wooers. (p. 211)

Chemists have devised a new approach that creates crystalline material with some of the largest pores yet. (p. 212)

Scientists have developed a technique to mass-produce a type of pancreas cell needed for transplants into people with type 1 diabetes. (p. 212)

Reducing tobacco use curbs the risk of lung cancer, but smoking even a few cigarettes a day puts a person at three to five times the risk faced by a nonsmoker. (p. 213)

High-resolution X-ray images of the Tycho supernova remnant offer new evidence that supernova shock waves generate most cosmic rays that bombard Earth. (p. 213)

With the help of satellites, scientists have obtained the first-ever photos of an expanse of seawater filled with bioluminescent bacteria. (p. 213)

A brief course on how to pay attention boosts children's scores on either intelligence or attention tests, depending on their age. (p. 214)

Bacteria and fungi living on artworks and artifacts often cause extensive damage. (p. 216)

Biofuels made from waste agricultural plant matter are gaining prominence as new technologies make them increasingly competitive with petroleum fuels. (p. 218)

A backpack enhanced with springs, gears, and a generator converts the up-and-down motions of the wearer into enough electricity to power portable electronic gadgets. (p. 221)

A cancer-suppressing gene, which is often shut down in colorectal cancer, is sometimes silenced in healthy colorectal tissues as well. (p. 221)

Analyses of DNA of the Irish elk, which died out after the last ice age, may settle a long-running debate about the creature's place on the deer family tree. (p. 221)

Treatment with antibiotics for acne might predispose an individual to getting severe upper respiratory infections. (p. 221)

Investing $44 million in tuberculosis-control programs in Mexico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic might save the United States nearly triple that amount over the next 20 years. (p. 222)

Researchers have drafted a proposed $400 million research-and-rescue plan for the world's amphibians, at least half of which are in decline or even facing serious risk of extinction. (p. 222)

A new microscale ultraviolet-light sensor could help shrink the size of some military field systems used for detecting biowarfare agents and clandestine communications to the dimensions of a cell phone. (p. 222)

An amateur astronomer analyzing images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory has found the 999th and 1,000th comets detected by the craft. (p. 222)

(p. 223)