NASA said a Russian Soyuz spacecraft would replace the three-person crew currently manning the International Space Station with a two-person crew sometime this spring. (WaPost)

The U.S. and China have joined an international project to develop a nuclear fusion reactor capable of generating electricity. The International Thermonuclear Energy Reactor is expected to cost $5 billion over 10 years. (BBC)

VaxGen Inc. reported that an AIDS vaccine it had tested did not protect most subjects from infection, but that some African-American and Asian-American volunteers did appear to be protected. The vaccine was the first to ever be tested on people. (Reuters)

A satellite measuring cosmic microwave radiation left over from the big bang produced a highly detailed picture of the universe's early beginnings that answered many questions about how it evolved, scientists said. (NASA, WaPost, NYT)

Scientists reported that they had successfully removed individual genes from embryonic human stem cells and replaced them with different genes. The process could be helpful in creating techniques to regenerate parts of the human body. (WaPost)

A study linked a recent rise in the temperature of tropical ocean waters in the western Pacific and recent droughts in parts of the U.S., Europe and southern Asia. Scientists believe the higher ocean temperatures are due to global warming caused by emissions of greenhouse gases. (Nature)

A malevolent computer program that overloaded hundreds of thousands of computers on the Internet last weekend by exploiting a known security hole in Microsoft software also affected computers run by Microsoft Corp. itself, the New York Times reported. Microsoft has defended its software by saying that users who properly maintained their software would not have been susceptible to the attack. (NYT)

Scientists discovered a previously unknown breathing mechanism in crickets, beetles and ants. (Nature, WaPost)

Researchers in China discovered six specimens of a dinosaur with birdlike feathers on its four limbs and tail. The feathers are believed to have been used for gliding from trees. The discovery may also shed light on the evolutionary ancestry of birds. (Nature)

The U.S. government will upgrade existing outdoor pollution monitors so they can detect the presence of deadly pathogens that might be used in a terrorist attack, officials said. The monitoring system will be able to detect a pathogen released in a U.S. city "within a matter of days." (NYT)

Concerns about the health risks associated with the smallpox vaccine have led some hospitals to decide not to administer the vaccine to their staffs. More than 80 hospitals across the country have resisted health officials' requests that they do so as part of the Bush administration's plan to vaccinate 11 million Americans against smallpox. There are some 3,000 hospitals involved in the plan. (USAT)

A village in Switzerland conducted the country's first legally binding vote to tally ballots cast over the Internet. 323 of the 741 recorded votes were cast electronically. (IHT/AP)

Microsoft Corp. said it would share the proprietary source code of its Windows operating systems with the Russian government. Access to their underlying code will help lower the cost of protecting the operating systems from attack. The source code for a competing operating system, Linux, is freely available. (Wired/AP)

Microsoft Corp. said it had developed a method for creating audio CDs that can be played back normally on a stereo or computer but cannot be copied digitally. The company said it has invested $500 million in digital rights management for music. (CNet/Reuters)

Local residents around North Long Lake in Brainerd, Minn., have several conflicting theories as to why a half-mile-long patch of water in the middle of the lake hasn't frozen. Scientists remain at a loss for an explanation, however. (ABCNews)

Dell Computer is exploring computer recycling as a means of addressing an enivornmental concern and boosting business. (Yahoo/Reuters)

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it had shut down six email marketers and charged them with selling fake international drivers' licenses. (CNN/Reuters)