PASADENA-The California Institute of Technology's Yaser Abu-Mostafa, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, received the Kuwait State Award in Applied Science on November 29.

The $50,000 award includes a gold medal, and recognizes original and fundamental research in a designated area of applied science. This year's area was information science and technology. Abu-Mostafa's work on neural networks, learning from hints, and computational finance was cited as the pioneering contribution that merited the award.

PASADENA-Plasma physicists have long wondered why the geometric shape, or topology, of magnetic fields immersed in plasma sometimes changes very suddenly, when according to the laws of magnetohydrodynamics the magnetic topology should change only very slowly or not at all.

Certain effects of aging could be caused by mutations in the DNA molecules of the energy-producing engines of cells known as mitochondria, according to new research from the California Institute of Technology and the University of Milan.

Cosmic gamma-ray bursts, the brightest known explosions in the universe, may come from the fiery deaths of very massive stars in supernova explosions, a team of astronomers said today.

PASADENA-For a male nematode, the LOV-1 gene couldn't be more aptly named. The millimeter-long roundworm, if its LOV-1 gene is functioning properly, has the eagerness to mate and the instincts to perform successfully.

But if the LOV-1 gene is disabled, the male nematode is truly clueless. The fact that "LOV" is an acronym for "location of vulva" pretty much says it all.

The California Institute of Technology will participate in a multi-institutional effort, funded by the National Science Foundation, to advance the field of adaptive optics, which promises to revolutionize astronomy.