The actual stories are linked at the URL below. Udhay
http://discovermagazine.com/columns/top-100-stories-of-2008 #1: The Post-Oil Era Begins 12.22.2008 Electricity may be what fuels our future—electricity from renewables, nuclear, and even from burning biomass. #2: The LHC Begins Its Search for the "God Particle" After many years and billions of dollars, the LHC had its fateful first test run. 12.22.2008 #3: The FDA Tackles Tainted Drugs From China The realities of globalization hit the U.S. drug industry. 12.22.2008 #4: Slime Is Turning the Seas Into Dead Zones Pollution, overfishing, and the rise of microbes spell doom for many bodies of water. 12.22.2008 #5: Nations Stake Their Claims to a Melting Arctic Undiscovered oil and gas reserves below the ice set off a polar gold rush. 12.22.2008 #6: Phoenix Lander Strikes Ice on Mars Finally, positive confirmation of what we long thought and hoped for 12.21.2008 #7: Invisibility Becomes More than Just a Fantasy Researchers are cloaking materials from light, sound, and even matter itself. 12.21.2008 #8: Cavemen: They're Just Like Us Neanderthals were a sophisticated bunch, according to new research. 12.21.2008 #9: Your Genome, Now Available for a (Relative) Discount The first cost around $1 million; now, it's more like $200,000. 12.21.2008 #10: Coming to the Americas Several studies sharpen the picture of life and migration through the Arctic and into the New World. 12.21.2008 #11: Effective Kidney Transplants Without a Lifetime of Powerful Drugs A new technique help transplant patients live, even with mismatched organs. 12.20.2008 #12: Plastics Come Under Fire The BPA debate rages on as the public demands action. 12.20.2008 #13: China Takes Its First Space Walk A nation delights in its pioneering venture. 12.20.2008 #14: All Flus Lead to Asia The Far East is the incubator of every strain—and the key to treating the disease. 12.20.2008 #15: The Lost Cities of the Amazon What is now sparsely populated jungle held large urban settlements hundreds of years ago. 12.20.2008 #16: Researchers Produce Human Blood from Stem Cells It's not quite the same, but lab-generated blood gets the job done. 12.19.2008 #17: Cell Reprogramming Could Help Cure Diabetes—and Other Diseases Stem-cell guru says reprogramming adult cells might actually work better. 12.19.2008 #18: Two Alzheimer’s Drugs Show Promise The new drugs use a totally different mechanism than most would-be treatments. 12.19.2008 #19: Salmonella Outbreak Shines Light on Food Safety Two deaths and countless dollars later, the chinks in the food system are exposed. 12.19.2008 #20: The “Doomsday Vault” Stores Seeds for a Global Agriculture Reboot Humanity's chances to survive global warming and nuclear attacks just increased. 12.19.2008 #21: Plants Inspire a Better Way to Store Solar Energy Using the principles of photosynthesis, scientists create more efficient storage for solar power. 12.18.2008 #22: Mercury Reveals Its Secrets The planet comes into focus during NASA's first visit in 33 years. 12.18.2008 #23: Black Holes Birth Baby Stars Computer simulations reveal the source of mystery constellations. 12.18.2008 #24: Gene Therapy Returns (Some) Sight to (Some) Blind People Genetic tinkering helps repair one rare form of congenital blindness. 12.17.2008 #25: EPA Searches Soul, Tries to Figure out If It's a Climate Cop The agency moves toward acting on greenhouse gases, but change will probably wait for Obama. 12.17.2008 #26: Sun Catcher Promises Cheaper Solar Power Using laser technology, scientists build a low-cost solar concentrator. 12.17.2008 #27: Astronomers Spy the Youngest Planet Ever Found The latest, newest protoplanet is a "dusty, rocky, gaseous lump." 12.17.2008 #28: Lithium May Be the Answer for Lou Gehrig’s Disease A new study brings some hope that the disease can be treated. 12.17.2008 #29: A New Law Bans Genetic Discrimination After over a decade, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act becomes law. 12.17.2008 #30: Magpies Recognize Themselves in the Mirror The birds pass the test for "rudimentary sense of self." 12.17.2008 #31: Fish Farming Threatens Wild Salmon Lice, interbreeding, and contaminants are killing off the species. 12.16.2008 #32: DNA Sleuthing Cracks the Anthrax Case Microbial forensics seems to have solved an infamous whodunnit. 12.16.2008 #33: The First Known Case of Virus-Attacks-Virus Sputnik virus seems to have influenced evolution of the Mamavirus. 12.16.2008 #34: Anti-Malaria Gene Boosts HIV Vulnerability An adaptation against tropical disease makes people of African descent more prone to AIDS. 12.16.2008 #35: Scientists Find the Key to Bringing Dead Zones Back to Life Phosphorus levels can make or break a lake, it turns out. 12.16.2008 #36: Creationism Lurks in Public High Schools One in six teachers say they believe the earth is 6,000 years old. 12.15.2008 #37: Shorebird Population Is in Rapid Decline Australian and Asian birds are a clear example of population collapse. 12.15.2008 #38: Cholesterol Drugs Are Prescribed for High-Risk Kids 8-year-olds can now take statins to reduce the chances of heart disease. 12.15.2008 #39: Amazonian Tribe Doesn't Have Words for Numbers The Pirahã people overturned scientists' belief about human cognition. 12.15.2008 #40: The First Known Binary Black Hole System One of the most massive things in the universe turns out to have a little buddy. 12.15.2008 #41: A Synthetic Genome Is Built From Scratch The art of recreating an entire bacterial genome. 12.14.2008 #42: Geneticists Uncover the Origin of Blue Eyes A single genetic mutation gives life to baby blues. 12.14.2008 #43: Next-Level Quantum Spookiness Photons instantaneously send signals over 11 miles. Einstein remains perplexed. 12.14.2008 #44: The Baffling Bee Die-Off Continues Colony Collapse Disorder continues its relentless march. 12.14.2008 #45: Huge Population of Lowland Gorillas Found For once, researchers come up with good news for an endangered species. 12.14.2008 #46: FDA Approves Food From Cloned Animals Meat and milk products from cloned livestock may soon hit the shelves. 12.13.2008 #47: Biologists Watch HIV Replicate in Real Time Using fluorescent proteins, researchers observer the virus forming. 12.13.2008 #48: Cyber Attacks May Be Connected With Real War As tensions with Russia mounted, Georgia got slammed by hackers. 12.13.2008 #49: Plant Migration Tied to Climate Change When the going gets hot, vegetation runs for the hills. 12.13.2008 #50: Confirmed: 1969 Meteorite Brought Genetic Building Blocks From Space More evidence that asteroids may have led to the emergence of life on earth. 12.13.2008 #51: Physicists Build the World’s Smallest Transistor The tiny device measures an astonishing 10 atoms by 1 atom. 12.12.2008 #52: Musical Ability Seems to Be 50 Percent Genetic Beethovens of the world may have innate advantages like better signaling from inner-ear hair cells. 12.12.2008 #53: Bizarre Aquatic Creatures Are Secretly "Lesbian Necrophiliacs" Asexual bdelloids aren't really asexual after all. 12.12.2008 #54: An “Elite” Immune System Can Prevent AIDS A select few infected with HIV never become ill. 12.12.2008 #55: Polar Bears (Finally) Make the Endangered Species List At long last, the government acknowledges the species is threatened. 12.12.2008 #56: Memory Training Can Make You Smarter Your intelligence isn't just what you're born with. 12.11.2008 #57: Schizophrenia Linked to Large Genetic Alterations Some sufferers of the disease have entirely unique DNA duplications or deletions. 12.11.2008 #58: Smart People Are Better Able to Keep a Beat Good neural functioning is good neural functioning. 12.11.2008 #59: Low-Fat Is Officially Inferior to Low-Carb A comprehensive study gives a big piece of ammunition to the Atkins crowd. 12.11.2008 #60: Mars Became Lopsided After Massive Asteroid Collision After 30 years, the debate over the red planet's shape may be over. 12.11.2008 #61: A New Drug Delivers “Fitness” Without the Workout Take a pill and simulate the effects of exercise. 12.10.2008 #62: Researchers Discover Why Wound-Licking Works Compounds in saliva actually do speed healing. 12.10.2008 #63: Lizardlike Tuatara Sets a Speed Record for DNA Change The reptile undergoes rapid molecular evolution but is largely unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs. 12.10.2008 #64: Spain Gives Great Apes Legal Rights The animals have the right to life and protection from harmful research practices. 12.10.2008 #65: Long-Prophesied Circuit Element Could Revolutionize Computing Instant booting and decreased power consumption may soon be realities with the new "memristor." 12.10.2008 #66: Natural Selection Helped Indonesians Find the Perfect Canoe Darwinian-style evolution pushes cultural change, a new paper argues. 12.10.2008 #67: Drilling, Not Earthquake, Caused Giant Hot Mud Volcano Some claim an earthquake caused this mud river, but new research says otherwise. 12.10.2008 #68: Solved: The Mystery of Gravity-Defying Sap One synthetic tree accomplishes what loads of scientists never could. 12.10.2008 #69: Physicists Create a Perfect Place to Store Electricity New "superinsulator" can hold a charge forever without leakage 12.10.2008 #70: A Single Electron Is Caught on Film Scientists make one of the world's most remarkable movies. 12.10.2008 #71: Slime Molds Show Surprising Degree of Intelligence A creature with no brain can learn from and even anticipate events. 12.09.2008 #72: Prozac Cures Lazy Eye The antidepressent might be the answer to wiping out amblyopia for good. 12.09.2008 #73: Giant Ice Meteors Fall From Clear Skies 20-pound chunks of ice falling on a sunny day? It's no urban myth. 12.09.2008 #74: Viruses Are Put to Work Building Superbatteries Engineers turn viruses into little engineers. 12.09.2008 #75: Chilies' Fire Is Self-Defense Against a Surprising Foe Capsaicin keeps fungus from chomping on pepper plants but does nothing to dissuade hungry bugs. 12.09.2008 #76: Europe’s Oldest Hominid Makes Its Debut Archaeologists in Spain uncover the remains of a 1.2-million-year-old human. 12.09.2008 #77: X-Rays Reveal Ship-Wreckage to Be 2,000-Year-Old Astronomy Computer The Antikythera Mechanism tracked heavenly movements like clockwork. 12.09.2008 #78: The Galaxy that Spins a Giant Magnetic Web This "fiery spiderweb" uses magnetic fields to survive tough storms. 12.09.2008 #79: The Ancient Rat as Big as a Bull This giant rodent weighed as much as a compact car. 12.09.2008 #80: Invented: Self-Healing Rubber Made From Vegetable Oil and Pee Ingredient Hydrogen bonds let ripped material re-form. 12.09.2008 #81: Smart-Matter Robots Reassemble Themselves Like the Terminator T-1000, these robots can fix themselves after being scattered. 12.08.2008 #82: The New Immune System Weapon: A DNA Catapult in Your Gut Triggered by harmful bacteria, cells fling killer webs of DNA to ensnare the intruder. 12.08.2008 #83: Bulletproof Paper Is Stronger Than Kevlar New nanopaper is not only super-strong, but made from renewable materials. 12.08.2008 #84: 9,000-Year-Old Milk Cartons Found A new study examines the world's oldest cattle ranchers. 12.08.2008 #85: Smackdown Over Ancient "Hobbit" Continues A mysterious skeleton puzzles scientists who wonder if it was human. 12.08.2008 #86: You, Too, Have a Photographic Memory When put to the test, your brain remembers images with astonishing accuracy. 12.07.2008 #87: Speedy Sperm Explains Flower Power The quickest out of the gate, angiosperms dominate the plant world. 12.07.2008 #88: Bacteria Can Control the Weather The tiny organisms may play a big role in causing precipitation. 12.07.2008 #89: Archaeologists Find the World’s Oldest Arrowheads While others were still hurling spears, these ancient people were felling prey with arrows. 12.07.2008 #90: The Platypus Genome Is a Mash-Up of Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals One animal, three completely different ancestors. 12.07.2008 #91: Humans Have 5 Universal Facial Muscles—and 10 Optional Ones For the first time, psychologists mapped muscle variation in the face. 12.05.2008 #92: A 380-Million-Year-Old Fish Gives Birth Paleontologists unearth a prehistoric pregnant skeleton. 12.05.2008 #93: Physicists Discover the Source of Earth’s "Mystery Hiss" A strange electromagnetic wave follows the path of sound waves through water. 12.05.2008 #94: Seaweed Creates Its Own Sunscreen The soggy brown kelp protects itself with iodides. 12.05.2008 #95: Organic Matter Found in Saturn's Mystery Moon Icy Jets from the planet's sixth-largest moon contain primitive components of life. 12.05.2008 #96: Ancient Traders Sailed the South American Seas Using no more than sail-bearing rafts, these travelers carried goods almost 4,000 miles. 12.04.2008 #97: All-Powerful Astronomers Turn "Dwarf Planets" Into "Plutoids" Faced with an outcry over ungainly titles, the IAU comes up with a better alternative. 12.04.2008 #98: You're More Like a Sponge Than a Comb Jelly A gelatinous zooplankton can now trace its roots back to the world's first life. 12.04.2008 #99: Jupiter Grows (and Loses) a New Spot The massive planet passed behind the sun and arrived with a brand new decoration. 12.04.2008 #100: This Animal Has the Strongest Bite on Earth A bite from the biggest great white sharks leaves nearly every other species—both alive and extinct—in the dust. 12.04.2008 -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))