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Gangs turn cocaine into clear plastic products
Smugglers may be trying to incorporate cocaine into host of innocent-looking plastic consumer products, such as fish tanks and DVD cases

All the pleasures of alcohol, with no downsides
There is no reason why a cocktail of drugs to mimic the good effects of a few drinks cannot be made right now - it's an idea worth toasting

Are prions the real cause of BSE and vCJD?
Abnormal prions - misshapen versions of normal brain proteins - may not be infectious agents, but a consequence of "prion diseases"

Tenth planet as bright as fresh snow
It is only slightly larger than Pluto, new images prove - but this means the distant world must be incredibly reflective, suggesting it is constantly being resurfaced

Mamma mia! Eurovision voting scandal uncovered
Mathematical analysis has revealed what everyone watching it already knew - conspiracies are afoot in the Eurovision song contest

Eagle-cam provides aerodynamic insights
Cameras and sensors mounted on a free-flying eagle may help the shape-shifting aircraft of the future to perform dare-devil aerobatics

Fast language learners boast more white matter
The research is part of a growing understanding of how scans of brain shape and structure can give information about people's abilities

Invention: Wing-sprouting drone
This week's patents feature the drone that saves launch-fuel by being fired from a gun before inflating its wings, and transistors made of pure diamond

Genome-in-a-day promised as DNA is put through hoops
It took a decade of hard slog to produce the first, momentous, human genome readout - but a new device may soon do the job in just 24 hours

Europe's Venus Express pulls into orbit
The first European spacecraft to visit Venus settles safely into orbit around Earth's "evil twin", poised to peel away its hothouse mysteries

Will replanting coasts protect against tsunamis?
Some experts say fewer lives would have been lost in the 2004 tsunami, had the coasts been protected by dense coastal forests - but is it true?

Hybrid comet-asteroid in mysterious break-up
New images reveal something substantial has broken off an icy 50-kilometre object beyond the orbit of Saturn - it could have blown up or been hit

AND FINALLY ...
This week's Feedback column considers the radio-blocking power of tin hats, the perils of letting environmentalists make SUV commercials, and the mystery of "Lubricated Fair-Clips"...MORE