The first atomic-resolution map of a ribosome, a cell's protein factory, suggests that RNA catalyzes the formation of proteins. (p. 100)

Having identified the mutated gene responsible for a syndrome involving cleft lip or palate, a research team finds that the recessive mutation also may confer an antiviral advantage to people who carry one copy of this gene. (p. 100)

The common nonprescription drug ibuprofen may lessen abnormal accumulation of beta-amyloid in the brain, perhaps explaining how the drug decreases the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. (p. 101)

Dozens of lightning-sparked wildfires seared the western United States last week, adding hundreds of thousands of acres of charred terrain to a tally that promises to make this fire season the worst in recent decades. (p. 101)

Rubidium atoms intrinsically attract each other, but new experiments near absolute zero have induced the atoms to repel each another instead. (p. 102)

Feelings of hopelessness and other signs of major depression markedly raise a person's likelihood of suffering a stroke. (p. 102)

New images reveal that Comet LINEAR, which passed near the sun late last month, has broken into at least 10 fragments. (p. 103)

Computations show that all even integers up to 4 x 1014 can be written as the sum of two prime numbers, lending support to the Goldbach conjecture. (p. 103)

Galaxy map reveals the limits of cosmic structure. (p. 104)

Adventurous voyages to Antarctica test mathematical models of sea ice. (p. 106)

Infants make better action-oriented decisions when they adopt a familiar posture, such as sitting upright, instead of an unfamiliar one, such as crawling. (p. 109)

Hypnosis uniquely colors the activity of brain areas involved in visual perception, supporting the view that hypnotized people enter a distinct psychological state rather than only play a role designed to please the hypnotist. (p. 109)

In a 9-year test, excluding deer raised the population numbers among bird species, such as hooded warblers, that have a high conservation priority. (p. 109)

A protozoan that infects rats dims their wariness around cats and can even lead to what Oxford researchers call a fatal attraction. (p. 109)

A wasp larva injects a spider with a web-altering drug, driving the spider to spin a shelter just right for a wasp cocoon. (p. 109)

Scientists have combined satellite imagery and detailed census data to develop a worldwide database that can provide estimates of the number of people located in areas on a grid that has boxes with areas of 1 square kilometer or less. (p. 111)

Researchers have discovered the fossil tracks of an otherwise unknown bird in 110-million-year-old sediments, which pushes back evidence of web-footed birds by at least 25 million years. (p. 111)

Long-term fluctuations in pressure at the ocean's bottom may be the driving force for the Chandler wobble, which causes the North Pole to wander about 20 feet every 14 months or so. (p. 111)