In a finding that’s sure to get cheese lovers yakking, researchers in Nepal and Canada report that cheese from the milk of yaks, a big, hairy cow-like animal, may be better for you.

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For years, scientists have tried to build an electronic tongue, a robot that could taste and smell food like we do. But before machines learn to taste their food, they first need to learn how to chew it. Scientists recently designed an artificial mouth that mimics the first vital steps of human digestion -- chewing, saliva release and the initial breakdown of food.

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For almost 70 years, doctors have given people antibiotic medicines to help people defeat invading germs, or microbes. But there is a constant tug-of-war between these microscopic monsters and people.

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Earthlings are about to visit Mars again to search for traces of life. But since we can’t go in person, we are sending another robot spacecraft. Named Phoenix, the vehicle is scheduled to land on Mars on May 25 after a 420 million mile, 9-month voyage from Earth. An article on the Phoenix by Elizabeth K. Wilson appears in the May 25 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, the American Chemical Society's weekly newsmagazine.

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Scientists are working on ways of using gator blood to put the bite on germs that make cuts get infected and turn red and puffy with pus and pain.

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Now for some shocking news about plants: Scientists in Arizona report that exposing plants to low doses of electricity can boost levels of useful plant chemicals. Their finding could lead to cheaper and faster ways to produce useful plant-based materials such as medicines and pesticides.

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For almost 25 years, chemists and other scientists have tried to build an electronic nose that can take a whiff of the air, food or other objects and say whether the odor is nasty or nice.

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Have you ever heard someone say they have an allergy to eggs? Thousands of children and adults cannot eat that egg-straordinary food. Thankfully, chemists in Germany and Switzerland now are reporting some good news for the egg-allergic.

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For more than 100 years, scientists have tried to discover the full chemical recipe for the pitcher plant’s digestive juices. Now two Japanese scientists have finally figured out this complex cocktail of digestive juices.

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Researchers have created a new blend, or hybrid, of rice by mixing a common species with a wild one. The result is high in protein and might help feed millions of poor and malnourished people around the world.

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