According to a new proposal, the solar system has 12 planets instead of the familiar 9, with several dozen more to come. (p. 115)

In two studies, AIDS clinicians found that standard three-drug regimens fight HIV as well as four-drug treatments do, and that a single drug might maintain a patient's health once the virus is suppressed. (p. 115)

Incense and candles release substantial quantities of pollutants that may harm health. (p. 116)

Investigators have discovered a gene that shows signs of having evolved rapidly in people and of having made a substantial contribution to the emergence of a uniquely human brain. (p. 116)

New compounds make oil mix with water, or not, depending simply on which gases are bubbled through the water. (p. 117)

People with chronic pain that has no underlying disease have low concentrations of proteins in the cytokine family that restrain inflammation. (p. 117)

A biodegradable coating could add a temporary splash of color to sports fields, buildings, or even people's bodies. (p. 118)

A new computer map of the sun's outer atmosphere and spacecraft ready for launch are expected to shed new light on the origin of solar eruptions and provide more accurate warning of their impact on Earth. (p. 120)

New and experimental methods of screening for colorectal cancer that patients find less unpleasant than current tests could take a bite out of the malignancy's toll. (p. 122)

An invasive-species action team has eradicated one of the world's worst weeds, a marine alga, from a California lagoon, its only known foothold in North America. (p. 125)

Etching nanoscale, concentric ridges around a lamp-on-a-chip known as a light-emitting diode, or LED, brightens the device's glow seven-fold. (p. 125)

Global warming predicted for the coming decades may decrease winter heating bills in some parts of the United States, but producing the extra electricity needed for summertime air conditioning will create increased emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide. (p. 125)

Lithium atoms added to buckyball surfaces bestow on these molecules a remarkable capacity to store hydrogen. (p. 125)

A new, easy-to-fabricate sensor made from carbon nanotubes detects when automobile-engine oil needs replacement. (p. 126)

Sooty shearwaters that breed in New Zealand have set a new record for off-season travel, covering 64,000 kilometers between visits to their mating ground. (p. 126)

The population of humpback chub, an endangered fish found only in the Colorado River and its tributaries, may be stabilizing in some sections of the Grand Canyon. (p. 126)

Mulch made from recycled construction and demolition wood can release arsenic into the environment. (p. 126)

(p. 127)