A selection of this week's stories from Science's policy blog

The mosquito produces a love song, and scientists are entranced.

AP - The activist animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has asked school officials to change the name of Spearfish High School to "Sea Kitten High School." The new name would "reflect the gentle nature of its current marine namesake," the organization said in a letter to Steve Morford, Spearfish High School principal.

(AP) -- There are so many parents in this free-spirited, unconventional small town who won't get their kids vaccinated that federal researchers are paying money just to hear their side of things. On Saturday, 80 locals will get $50 apiece to talk about their worries over the risks of childhood shots.

(AP) -- The decision by the Food and Drug Administration to allow U.S.-manufactured infant formula contaminated with melamine or its byproducts onto store shelves is "seriously flawed" and medically risky because parents may feed their babies more than one product, scientists at the nonprofit group Consumers Union said Friday.

(AP) -- Congressional auditors say that NASA's in-house financial watchdog is doing little to unearth waste and abuse at the space agency.

Many of the battles to desegregate Southern colleges and universities were fought in public, but efforts to desegregate the standardized testing that is often a prerequisite to admission have, until now, received little attention. Now, a new University of Georgia study reveals how two men traveled the Deep South, facing hostility and risking violence, to ensure that students received fair and...

We've all experienced the feeling of not knowing where we are. Being disoriented is not pleasant, and it can even be scary, but luckily for most of us, this sensation is temporary. The brain employs a number of tricks to reorient us, keeping our confusion to a minimum and quickly pointing us in the right direction. Research has suggested that animals and young children mainly rely on geometric...

Now, a pair of Scripps Research Institute scientists has taken a significant step toward answering that question. The scientists have synthesized for the first time RNA enzymes that can replicate themselves without the help of any proteins or other cellular components, and the process proceeds indefinitely.

(AP) -- The Blu-ray disc, the high-definition successor to the DVD, was one of the few products that did well in the just-ended holiday season, with sales tripling from the previous year.

AP - Congressional auditors say that NASA's in-house financial watchdog is doing little to unearth waste and abuse at the space agency.

U.S. telecommunications company AT&T and rental car company Avis Budget Group announced a deal Thursday that would allow travellers to rent vehicles equipped with satellite television service.

AFP - The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on Friday slammed Athens over plans for a second bluefin tuna-fattening farm the group fears will exacerbate over-fishing of the species in the...

Reuters - The world's first billboard running solely on wind and solar power is ready to make its debut in the capital of all billboards -- New York's Times...

Whaling groups in Iceland argue for the expansion of catch quotas.

(AP) -- In less than six weeks, the nation's television broadcasters are due to shut off their analog signals and begin transmitting in digital - potentially blacking out as many as 8 million U.S. households that rely on analog TV sets to pick up over-the-air channels.

With New Year's resolutions still fresh, here's some advice from local therapists on putting bad habits to rest:

Downhill from the I.M. Pei-designed, Ponce de Leon-inspired and worm-saturated Buck Institute for Age Research lies the rustically tony downtown of this Marin County, Calif., city.

Fossil collectors picked up some deals at Vancouver's Science World on Thursday after an auction of prehistoric bones failed to draw expected bids.

(AP) -- As budget cuts force many U.S. newspapers to retrench on their foreign coverage, veteran journalist Charles Sennott saw virtually no chance of getting another assignment abroad.

Samsung today announced a new mobile phone accessory, the award-winning MBP200 Pico Projector. The Samsung MBP200 is the ultimate wireless accessory, offering advanced features designed to enhance the mobile experience.

U.S. president-elect Barack Obama is pushing to delay his country's switch to digital television broadcasting from analog transmission because he believes too many consumers aren't ready for proposed Feb. 17 change.

(PhysOrg.com) -- Squeeze it hard enough and hydrogen, the most abundant and lightest element in our Universe, strangely takes on a metallic nature. During this state, as it loses hold of its electrons, hydrogen is believed to display unique characteristics including high-temperature superconductivity and properties that could be useful in developing new methods of energy production using nuclear...

Continuing the U.S. space shuttle program past its planned retirement in 2010 would cost $3 billion US a year, NASA's chief said.