Science scene.

The first concrete evidence for how gene duplications can lead to functional diversity in organisms has been produced by Ben Blackman, postdoctoral fellow at Duke University, Durham, N.C., who has identified four Flowering Locu T genes in sunflowers. Each has a unique genetic sequence, but is similar enough to the others to conclude three of them were the result of DNA duplication events roughly 30,000,000 years ago. All flowering plants have at least one FT gene. A longer flower growth period means a bigger sunflower--presumably an attribute of great value to the plant's first breeders.

"I believe in the convergence of science and biblical truth," contends creation geologist Andrew Snelling. "The relationship between a literal translation of the Bible and scientific fact, relating to monumental natural events such as the Creation and the Flood, is not a mutually exclusive one. Science and the Bible complement each other in telling one cohesive story of the history of the Earth;' adds the author of Earth's Catastrophic Past: Geology Creation, and the Flood, in which he discusses the contention that today's earthquakes and tsunamis are linked to ancient events.

Given a choice between their absolute favorite food or a buffet of options, capuchin monkeys will opt for variety. In fact, these primates will eat a less-preferred item from a buffet even when their favorite fodder is on it. The implications of this simple experiment, published in Behavioural Processes, shed some light on consumer behavior, notes researcher Dan Ariely, who points to earlier work on variety-seeking that found people eat 43% more M&M candies when there are 10 colors in the bowl instead of just seven.

Two recently diverged populations of the dark-eyed junco, a California songbird, produce unique odors in their preen oil, suggesting that smell could contribute to the reproductive isolation that accompanies the origin of new spades. Preen oil is...