Compared to regular white rice, "golden" rice, at the top, has been genetically modified to produce beta carotene, a precursor to vitamin A. International Rice Research Institute via Wikipedia
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1,783*: the number of peer-reviewed safety studies that GMO foods have undergone. Learn more about the research behind GMOs in this month’s Popular Science.

$550: how much it will cost you to build a drivable tank for your goldfish. So worth it.

16 years: how long this new prototype hormonal birth control implant is designed to last. A remote control lets users click the implant on or off, depending on whether they want to get pregnant at a certain time.

Fish on wheels

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Goldfish can’t walk on land. But this robotic tank, developed by design firm Studio diip, lets them roll in any direction they choose: When the fish moves to a different spot in the water, the tank changes direction to reflect its pilot’s new position.

6: the number of vials U.S. federal labs found this month containing unauthorized samples of smallpox virus.

7: the number of new dwarf galaxies astronomers recently discovered.

8: the number of lenses on the telescope the astronomers used.

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305: the number of exoplanets that will be up for public naming next year. Sign up to vote!

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3.5 million: the number of guinea worm infections reported around the world annually in the 1980s.

17: the number of guinea worm infections reported around the world so far this year.

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The Guinea Worm. Creepy, but still here… for now. Coastal Courier

42 percent: the proportion of English words that are loanwords from other languages.

91 percent: similarity between the proteins found on the surface of dog tumors and on the surface of human tumors. The discovery helped researchers develop the first antibody therapy for canine cancer.

*This article originally stated, incorrectly, that there have been 1700 peer-reviewed safety studies. The correct number is 1783.