Featured articles

News from several fronts in the treatment of prostate cancer is summarized by Tabitha M. Powledge, including a study suggesting that more aggressive treatment isn't necessarily better: "British scientists studied more than 1,600 men for 10 years. The men had been randomized into groups that had surgery or radiation or underwent only 'active monitoring.' Most of the men survived no matter which group they belonged to." Also, evidence of prostate cancer in ancient times.

Sometimes, Jane C. Hu writes, a story just isn't ready to be written yet, despite a lot of reporting: "It can take months for writers to gather story elements and wrangle them into a compelling narrative. On top of that, writers may hit other speed bumps, like waiting for a key research paper to be published, for a main character of a story to agree to an interview, or for a news peg to appear." Hu surveys writers for advice on how to recognize and overcome the gaps.