Fossil find sheds new light on origins of marsupials December 2, 1998 Web posted at: 7:36 p.m. EST (0036 GMT) LONDON (CNN) -- The discovery of 80 million-year-old fossils in Mongolia is shedding new light on the evolution and migration of marsupials, mammals who develop their young in a pouch. http://cnn.com/TECH/science/9812/02/marsupial.fossil.02/index.html

Botany breakthrough: Oldest-known flowering plant discovered 142 million-year-old remains found in China November 26, 1998 Web posted at: 8:42 p.m. EST (0142 GMT) WASHINGTON (AP) -- Researchers believe they have discovered fossil evidence of the world's oldest flower, at 142 million years: a spindly twig with peapod-shaped fruit and a woody stem that looks nothing like a rose, an apple blossom or a daisy. http://cnn.com/TECH/science/9811/26/oldest.flower.ap/index.html

November 28, 1998 Gene Triggers New Hair in Adult Mice By J. Travis In research that could one day suggest ways to combat baldness or curb excessive hair growth, scientists have created mice whose skin continues to sprout new hair follicles long after birth. However, proliferating cells within the follicles sometimes give rise to tumors as well. http://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arc98/11_28_98/Fob1.htm

November 28, 1998 It�s a Girl! Is sex selection the first step to designer children? By KATHLEEN FACKELMANN Some parents-to-be hope for a girl. Some wish for a boy. The outcome, however, has always been pretty much a matter of chance. Researchers at the Genetics & IVF Institute in Fairfax, Va., recently announced a technique that helps stack the odds in favor of parents getting what they want. Using a mechanical sperm sorter, the Fairfax team reported that nearly 93 percent of the babies born were of the desired sex. http://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arc98/11_28_98/Bob2.htm