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The article discusses the ecological research conducted in 2007 suggesting environmental hazards of birth control on local fish populations. Details are given regarding the studies of river ecologist Karen Kidd pointing to the mass elimination of minnow fish populations due to exposure to sewage containing synthetic estrogens from birth control.

The article reports on environmental conditions in Australia throughout 2007, highlighting the continuation of a severe 7 year drought. Theories regarding the connection of the drought to global warming issues are discussed. Details are also provided outlining Australia's industrial response to the water shortage.

The article discusses the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument, the world's largest area of fully protected ocean. The region harbors many species, including critically endangered Hawaiian monk seals. The area was established as a national monument by U.S. President George W. Bush. The national monument designation of the area eventually will ban all commercial and recreational fishing within its borders.

The article discusses a report filed by the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force that described the engineering lapses, design failures, and decades of neglect that led to antiquated structures neither high nor strong enough to withstand Hurricane Katrina of 2005. The task force evaluated what went wrong with the levees that were built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect New Orleans, Louisiana from hurricanes.

The author reports that rheumatologist Bruce Rothschild and paleontologist Larry Martin have found fossil evidence that shows that forerunners of cows brought the tuberculosis bacterium to North America long before European colonists introduced the disease. They found that only bovids with origins in Asia, such as bison, bighorn sheep and musk ox, were afflicted. Bovids that were native to the Americas, as well as all other types of mammals, tended to be disease free.

The article announces the discovery of an underwater volcano rising from the bowels of another volcano in American Samoa. The volcano was discovered by geologist Hubert Staudigel of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and geochemist Stan Hart of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. It was discovered that the volcano is rising about eight inches per day. Liquid carbon dioxide is being spewed by the volcano's hydrothermal vents.

The article reveals new microorganisms discovered by scientists in 2005. One is a single-celled organism found by a team from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Shizuoka University and the Southampton Oceanography Center in England. These organisms are found living below the surface at Challenger Deep in the Madana Trench. Another discovery of the DNA of the ancestral microbes called archaea by Paul van der Wielen and colleagues from Kiwi Water Research in the Netherlands.

Presents information on the difference of redheads from black-haired people. Vulnerability of readheads to skin cancer; Pain threshold of natural readheads.

Focuses on the identification of sinkers as a source of food for animals and life-forms that live at the bottom of the ocean. Information on larvaceans; Technique used by oceanographers to measure the food; Amount of carbon contributed by sinkers to the seafloor each year.

Reports on the link between red uniforms and victory in sports tournaments, according to a study by Durham University evolutionary biologist Russell Hill and his colleague Robert Barton. Result of their study on four combat events at the 2004 Athens Olympics; Applicability of their research results; Comments from Hill.

Deals with the research conducted by Alessandro Lugli, a history buff and pathologist in Switzerland, on the real cause of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's death. Theories surrounding Bonaparte's death; Views of Lugli on the autopsy conducted on Bonaparte; Link between Bonaparte's weight loss and his death.

Offers a look at the genome. Components of a human genome's chemical string; Number of genes contained within the body of a laboratory rat; Information on the DNA base pairs of the roundworm and fruit fly.

Focuses on the possible extinction of bird species. Percentage of birds on the planet threatened with extinction, according to the World Conservation Union; Possible ecological impact of their extinction on the environment; Factors that contribute to their extinction, including the loss of birds' native habitat; Views of conservation ecologist Cagan Sekerciogiu on the ecological contribution of birds.

Recalls an article on the market introduction of computers, published in the December 1980 issue of the periodical "Discover." Observation of writer John Leo on the rise of computerphobes and technopeasants; Concern raised by publishers and journalists.

Recalls the launch of Columbia, the first U.S. space shuttle, previewed in the March 1981 issue of the "Discover." Remarks from author Dennis Overbye on the spacecraft; Accident encountered by Columbia; Discussion of the plans to launch another space shuttle.

Presents a tabular representation of the research and development budget of various government agencies in the U.S. as of 2005. Comparison of the budget of the U.S. National Science Foundation between 2004 and 2005; Budget of the U.S. National Institutes of Health for 2005; Percentage of increase in budget received by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Presents major calamities and natural disasters in different places in the world in 2004. Iceland; Italy; Australia.

Reports on the discovery of the worm species Osedax on whale carcasses by a team led by Robert Vrijenhoek of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in 2004. Events that led to their discovery; Description of the worms; Revelation made with the dissection of the worms.

Focuses on a study that examined the impact of surface weather conditions on sea creatures. Details of the study on El Nino; Comment from researcher Henry Ruhl on the effect of climatic fluctuations on ecosystems on the ocean floor.

Features the CoreControl cooling system that lowers body temperature invented by animal physiologists Craig Heller and Dennis Grahn. Price of the system sold by AVAcore Technologies which was founded by Craig and Grahn; Soccer teams that used the system in order to improve the endurance of players; Function of the rubber seal and vacuum pump in the system.