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• Discovery of Two New Planets Raises Questions
  MSNBC
  
  The discovery of a Jupiter-like planet and another about the size of Saturn has astronomers suggesting that solar systems like our own may be common. The newfound worlds both appear to be gaseous and are about 80% the sizes of Jupiter and Saturn, the...��[view full summary]
  The discovery of a Jupiter-like planet and another about the size of Saturn has astronomers suggesting that solar systems like our own may be common. The newfound worlds both appear to be gaseous and are about 80% the sizes of Jupiter and Saturn, the astronomers said today. They orbit a star that is about half the size of our Sun and is dimmer and much cooler.
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• Is "Beam Me Up, Scotty" Possible?
  ABC News
  
  While teleportation has figured prominently in science fiction, physicists say that teleportation is possible now, at least on a small scale, and the applications for the future are far from fictitious. But pop culture's depictions of "beaming" people...��[view full summary]
  While teleportation has figured prominently in science fiction, physicists say that teleportation is possible now, at least on a small scale, and the applications for the future are far from fictitious. But pop culture's depictions of "beaming" people from one place to another have significantly mangled the perception of what's actually possible under the laws of physics. According to physicists, teleportation in its most basic sense is not about sending matter, but about sending information.
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• Map Shows Toll on World's Oceans
  BBC News
  
  Only about 4% of the world's oceans remain undamaged by human activity, according to the first detailed global map of human impacts on the seas. A study says that climate change, fishing, pollution, and other human factors have exacted a heavy toll on...��[view full summary]
  Only about 4% of the world's oceans remain undamaged by human activity, according to the first detailed global map of human impacts on the seas. A study says that climate change, fishing, pollution, and other human factors have exacted a heavy toll on almost half of the marine waters. Only remote icy areas near the poles are relatively pristine, but they face threats as ice sheets melt. The authors say the data is a "wake-up call" to policymakers.
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• "Junk" RNA May Have Played Role in Vertebrate Evolution
  Scientific American
  
  Genetic material once dismissed as "junk" may be responsible for the evolution of simple invertebrates into more complex organisms sporting backbones, according to a new study. Tiny snippets of the genome known as microRNA were long thought to be genomic...��[view full summary]
  Genetic material once dismissed as "junk" may be responsible for the evolution of simple invertebrates into more complex organisms sporting backbones, according to a new study. Tiny snippets of the genome known as microRNA were long thought to be genomic refuse because they were transcribed from so-called "junk DNA," sections of the genome that do not carry information for making proteins responsible for various cellular functions. Now, researchers report that these tiny genetic segments could be responsible for the evolution of animals with backbones, noting that they found a surfeit of microRNA in the genomes of the earliest vertebrates, such as lampreys, when compared with invertebrates like sea squirts.
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