Acute pancreatitis patients provided nutrition laced with supposedly beneficial gut microbes died at far higher rates than did patients who received just the nutrients. (p. 115)

If climate changes as expected and future water use is not curtailed, there's a 50 percent chance that Arizona's Lake Mead, one of the southwestern United States' key reservoirs, will become functionally dry in the next couple of decades. (p. 115)

After years of searching, researchers have for the first time documented that a star other than the sun flips its magnetic poles. (p. 116)

Twice-a-year administration of the antibiotic azithromycin to Ethiopian villagers greatly reduces cases of trachoma, a blinding eye disease. (p. 116)

Recent studies of spatial reasoning in deaf children support the notion that language helps people encode certain concepts and suggest that using spatial language with children may boost overall reasoning skills. (p. 117)

Government scientists are collaborating to shift the testing of potentially toxic chemicals away from animals to methods that use high-speed automated robots, which should generate data relevant to humans faster and more cheaply than current methods. (p. 117)

Most online sex crimes involve adults seducing psychologically vulnerable teenagers into sexual relationships, a finding at odds with public fears of Internet-using children falling prey to deceptive, violent sexual predators. (p. 118)

The molecular machines of living cells harvest energy out of randomness, and scientists are learning how to do the same with artificial molecules. (p. 120)

Jellyfish have been swimming the seas for at least 550 million years, and research is now revealing how the challenges of moving in fluid have shaped the creatures' evolution. (p. 122)

Starlings in a flock adjust their trajectories to those of their closest neighbors, which helps the flock stay together when under attack. (p. 125)

The anticancer drug retuximab inhibits nerve damage and relapses in multiple sclerosis patients. (p. 125)

Scientists learn how nerve cells sprout new connections by looking at thousands of distinct proteins simultaneously. (p. 125)

Researchers excavating the fossil-rich rocks of northeastern China have discovered yet another paleontological marvel: a flying reptile the size of a sparrow. (p. 125)

Researchers have found the first evidence that a dust ring around another star, the likely vestige of recent planet formation, contains complex organic molecules that could be the building blocks of life. (p. 126)

A quick, on-site test will allow contractors and inspectors to test for asbestos in construction materials such as concrete. (p. 126)

Tolerating human researchers and ecotourists brought a group of chimpanzees a higher risk of catching human diseases but a lower chance of attacks from poachers. (p. 126)

(p. 127)