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Scientists have discovered an astonishingly simple method of producing the "fuel of the future" from ordinary green algae, but Americans may have to learn to love pond scum. A "metabolic switch" discovered by researchers at UC Berkeley causes the algae to stop producing oxygen and release hydrogen instead, offering the promise of cheap production of a renewable fuel that could someday power everything from cars to cell phones.

We know what the Internet is doing for us, at least in terms of communication and access to prodigious amounts of information. But what is it doing to us? Are we communicating less by substituting e-mailed one-liners for serious discussions with our colleagues? Are we relying too much on quick and easy access to Web pages instead of doing labor-intensive research? Is the American political process being helped or hindered by the communications revolution?

We've heard it all before: Headsets with tiny display screens that will allow us freedom of movement while viewing high-resolution images. But most of the headsets we've seen in the marketplace are awkward to wear, provide disappointing images and eat batteries for breakfast. That's about to change, according to major players in the imaging field.

Wouldn't it be handy if you could go to the beach, take an object the size of a fountain pen out of your pocket, unfold a 15-inch monitor and surf the Web or watch the Dodgers beat up on the Giants? If Ghassan Jabbour has his way, one of these days you will be able to do just that. Jabbour, an assistant research professor in the optical sciences department at the University of Arizona in Tucson, is developing thin screens that are so flexible they can be folded and tucked away.

A postcard of scenes from the thawing northern territory, as nearly 500 high school students, including nine seniors from El Camino Real in Woodland Hills, competed on the second of the U.S. Academic Decathlon's three days: Class System Each decathlon team must be stocked with an even mix of A, B and C students, and it's not hard to spot the ones who earn Cs.

A newsroom is a place where you jam a lot of sensitive people into a crowded space, work them like firefighters and expect them to still be creative. At first blush, it doesn't seem like it would work. But new research shows that not only does that setting lend itself well to collaborative and creative efforts, it can actually increase productivity. This revelation didn't surprise researchers at the University of Michigan. Working with software developers at Ford Motor Co.

At 10 a.m. on July 14, Joseph Ledlie, managing director of the Atlanta office of public relations firm Manning Selvage & Lee, phoned his New York boss and quit. Two other top Manning executives were quitting, Ledlie told a nonplussed Richard Funess. Faxes to follow. By the time the faxes stopped that morning, Funess had learned that nine of the 16 employees in Manning's most profitable office were leaving to form a competing company, Jackson, Spalding and Ledlie.

Using an old idea and new technology, researchers are developing systems that promise to bring down the cost of using energy from the sun to produce electricity. The technology could finally bring electricity to isolated villages around the world that are beyond the reach of urban power grids. One system is scheduled to be installed on an Indian reservation in the Southwest this winter, providing power to pump water and irrigate land that now lies fallow.

Oceanus, ancient god of the sea, rises from the deep with titanic force. His hair is a mass of heavy, wet tendrils, like seaweed dragged onto shore by the surf. Coral branches and lobster claws grow from the top of his head. Dolphins swim out of his beard. Water streams from the corners of his mouth. With gray-streaked brows and a pensive gaze, this Oceanus is an old man with a mission.

Just what you always wanted: a computer that talks back. Computer scientists have struggled for years to develop a voice-recognition system that would respond to human speech patterns so flawlessly that all you have to do is say the right word. Then, like magic, your computer will fetch the information you need, or your television set will turn down the Rolling Stones video, or your cell phone will automatically dial your boss.