The first gene that influences human intelligence has been found by scientists, a discovery with huge social and educational implications.

The research could herald the development of genetic tests to target potential high-flyers, pave the way to IQ-boosting "smart drugs" and will raise fears that embryos that lack smart genes could be aborted. The gene, believed to be the first of many that contribute to normal intelligence, has been found after a six-year search by a team headed by Professor Robert Plomin of the Institute of Psychiatry in London.

BERNE -- The Swiss government approved the use of genetically altered maize developed by Swiss-based Novartis AG in food for humans and livestock. (Editor: This is only one of a growing number of genetically altered foods that are finding their ways to the supermarket and the supper table.) The decision followed similar approvals from the European Union, the United States, Canada and Japan and echoed their findings that the altered corn was safe for consumption.

But environmentalists, consumer activists and some farm groups say such products may expose people and the environment to newly created organisms that may have unforeseen effects.

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel is scheduled to reopen hearings on the controversial issue of animal-to-human transplants. Companies deeply immersed in research will argue that it should go ahead, while scientists concerned about whether it is safe are expected to call for a temporary ban.

There is a severe shortage of human organs available for transplant. Pigs are considered the most likely candidates for animal-to-human transplants. They are similar in size to humans and are easily bred. But experts told the panel's first hearing that pigs carry viruses known as porcine endogenous retroviruses.

These viruses have made themselves part of the pig's genetic make-up and cause no symptoms in pigs. The worry is that they would pass to people getting transplants and make them ill. Under the worst scenario, they would mutate in people and cause epidemics. "Putting an animal organ into an immune-suppressed transplant patient could open a Pandora's box of new, fatal, infectious agents," critic Alix Fano said.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- It's been a bumpy ride, but Rama the Cama is the offspring of a camel and its Andean cousin, the llama.

Scientists said that it took two years to perfect the artificial insemination technique necessary to breed Rama's llama mom, a petite 165 pounds, with his overwhelming dad, who weighs in at 990 pounds.

"We hope it will have the best qualities of both animals," said Dr. Lulu Skidmore, technical director of the Camel Reproduction Center in Dubai. She said the cama should have the prized fleece of the llama, native to the South American Andes, but because of its larger size it should give more wool.

WASHINGTON -- It won't make people younger or allow them to live forever, but researchers say a laboratory experiment shows that human cells can be made to avoid the normal aging process and cell death.

Dr. Jerry Shay, a researcher at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, said an enzyme that stops cells from aging may be a "cellular fountain of youth" that may lead to correcting or slowing some of the physical ravages of time.

Though it is still in the future, Shay said the work could lead to drugs that stop cells from dying and thus preserve the functioning of body parts that normally decline with age.