Top news for December 21, 2008

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How Diffractive Solar Sails Could Stop a Killer Asteroid at 100 km/s

Astronomers Confirm Youngest Exoplanet Ever Found

Adding limestone to Mississippi River Basin farmlands acts as a major carbon sink, study finds

Social brains allow animal groups to escape danger

Was there a 'before' the Big Bang? Jim Al-Khalili on the mind-bogglingness of time

'Predatory behavior': Elite mathematicians clash over OpenAI's 'solution' to million-dollar math problem

Scientists build a DNA computer that can perform calculations in a drop of water

'On our way to groundbreaking science': Stars turn neon-green in first test image from NASA's Roman telescope

Southern Taurid meteor shower begins ‪—‬ how to spot blazing 'fireballs' from now till November

The Urgent Mystery of Where Viruses Hide