Organic Farming “Benefits Biodiversity”
… but has lower yields.
—Antonio Regalado, senior editor, biomedicine

A Way to Brew Morphine Raises Concern over Regulation
Federal drug regulatory authorities may have a new challenge on their hands: yeast genetically modified to make morphine.
—Mike Orcutt, research editor

New Patent Lawsuits Are Down for the First Time in Five Years. Here’s Why That’s a Huge Deal.
Patent lawsuits remain at astronomical levels. But they might be getting a bit rarer.
—Brian Bergstein, executive editor

This Is What Happens After You Die
An entomologically oriented and slightly morbid breakdown of how the human body decomposes after death.
—Kyanna Sutton, senior Web producer

What You Need to Know About Twitter
This podcast offers an amusing two-man take on the evolution of Twitter.
—Kyanna Sutton

Altering Course
Physicist Mara Prentiss thinks a shift away from fossil fuels is “not only possible, but probable.”
—J. Juniper Friedman, associate Web producer

Americans’ Attitudes About Privacy, Security and Surveillance
“A cloud of personal ‘data insecurity’ looms over many Americans’ daily decisions and activities,” says a new report that surveyed people’s trust in the corporations and government agencies holding their personal data.
—Tom Simonite, San Francisco bureau chief

Why Won’t Twitter Forgive Suey Park?
Monica Lewinsky aside, the Internet doesn’t pardon everyone.
—Nanette Byrnes, senior editor, Business Reports

A Giant, Fake City in the Middle of the Desert
Pegasus Global Holdings is spending a billion dollars on a ghostly uninhabited town—perhaps complete with public art—to test technologies and products for the cities of the future.
—Linda Lowenthal, copy chief