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Birds are drawn to the blue berries of the tropical Pollia condensata plant; scientists are just as intrigued with the small shiny fruits. A recent study shows that the berries are more intensely reflective than any other living thing.

An influenza virus that only infects pigs could very quickly lead to a dangerous flu pandemic in humans, a recent study reports. Results of an experiment in ferrets, a model for flu in humans, suggest that a swine flu virus can mutate into a contagious and fatal disease within 10 days.

A Facebook message, distributed during the 2010 United States congressional elections, influenced the voting behavior of millions of recipients and their friends. New research in the journal Nature highlights the potential of online social networks for shaping real-world behavior on a massive scale. Melissa Block talks to Shankar Vedantam.

The teams played a long, long, time Tuesday (and Wednesday). But in 1920, a game lasted 26 innings — and ended in a tie.

Software mogul Larry Ellison, who recently purchased the Hawaiian island of Lanai, is finding out that owning an island is not all Mai Tais and hammocks. Along with the island, Ellison bought a relationship with the 3,000 people who live there.

Roosevelt, N.J., born in the economic tumult of the 1930s, was designed to be a utopia: Bauhaus-style ranch homes built around the communal industry and agriculture. It was one of 99 cities the federal government built. On the town's 75th birthday, the results of that experiment are mixed.

The BBC has issued an apology for revealing details of a private conversation one of its reporters had with Queen Elizabeth II in which she expressed concern over why it was so difficult to arrest Abu Hamza al-Masri. The British radical Muslim cleric just lost his fight against extradition to the U.S., where he faces terrorism charges.

With less than six weeks left until Election Day, both presidential campaigns are focusing their efforts on reaching out to voters in crucial swing states. Campaign observers and insiders weigh in on how strategies change as candidates race toward November.

U.S. astronaut Sunita Williams is now in command of the International Space Station, after receiving control of the facility this weekend. Three departing astronauts whose capsule left the station early Monday landed safely three and a half hours later.

Experts tell us the passwords for our myriad accounts and devices should be long, and contain numbers, letters and symbols, and not include personal information. Oh, and you're supposed to remember them all, too. In The Atlantic, Rachel Swaby argues the system is unsustainable and offers a solution.