Golden Girls
The Gray Lady treats Ma Bell to a largely laudatory article. Though slow to commercialize its bright ideas, says the New York Times, Bell Labs succeeds by supporting fundamental scientific research while its competitors slash basic R&D spending.

Such Exquisite Taste

The novel industry of consumer genetics is sequencing our sense of smell, writes the Washington Post.

Dateline Redmond
CNET pulls out all the stops in its coverage of Microsoft’s latest release: Office XP. Though short on surprises (aside from “Clippy lives!”), the package features some interesting analysis.

Get Ben Affleck on the Phone
The U.S. is girding for space warfare, reports New Scientist. It’s easy to kill satellites, says the article, but no one’s figured out how to defend them, so expect the first battle to look like Pearl Harbor in space.

The Bread Also Rises
Is that lovin’ in the oven? Nope. It’s gluten, whose secret recipe is now known, researchers tell the Times.

They Said I Was Mad
In this month’s Scientific American a scientist explains why his giant robot fly is a good idea and not just nightmare fodder. Short answer: bugs still fly better than we do.

Last Week: The Best of the Rest