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A Tufts University researcher says TV really is an educational tool -- even for babies.

Researchers say they have used genetic engineering to create a mouse that is abnormally anxious and aggressive -- a strain that could help explain why some people are prone to anxiety or panic attacks. NPR's Jon Hamilton reports on new research published in the journal Neuron. Watch videos of normal mouse behavior, and the violent behavior of a genetically modified mouse.

The Federal Reserve has just released its analysis of the nation's wealth. The net worth of the typical family, according to the report, rose more than 10 percent in 2001. As in past years, though, the gap between rich and poor widened. NPR's Robert Siegel talks about the Fed's report with Nancy Kimmelman of SEI Investments in Oaks, Pa.

With this year's Sundance Film Festival under way, we revisit a success story from last year's festival. The film Better Luck Tomorrow, about delinquent, affluent Asian-Americans in Orange County, was championed by film critic Roger Ebert and finally makes it to theaters next month. Beth Accomando of member station KPBS reports.

NPR's Ivan Watson in Istanbul reports that Turkey hosted talks among key Middle Eastern states Thursday, searching for ways to avert a new war in Iraq. Representatives from Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt and Jordan are expected to send Baghdad a message, urging compliance with U.N. disarmament demands.

Scientists have manipulated cells of duck and quail embryos so that the duck would have the beak of a quail and the quail would have the bill of a duck. To find out why, NPR's Lynn Neary talks with Jill Helms, associate professor, department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, and senior author of "The Cellular and Molecular Origins of Beak Morphology." The article is in the current issue of Science magazine.

Scientists fear that widespread disease will mean that key species of banana will go extinct within a decade. As NPR's Eric Niiler reports, genetically modified bananas that can resist disease have already been created. But growers don't want to plant them because Europe and some other nations are firmly opposed to GM foods.

The image of Denmark is of a tolerant Scandinavian nation, one of the world's most generous donors of foreign aid. In reality, a xenophobic populist party has successfully played on the public's fears in the national debate about immigration. The country has adopted new rules to limit the number of asylum-seekers by making it harder for Danes to marry foreigners... pushing some loving couples abroad. Nick Spicer reports.

NPR's Lynn Neary talks to Vinny Boulanger, who runs the Broken Spoke Saloon in Laconia, N.H., about the frigid temperatures there, and the hot drinks people have been ordering.

NPR's Guy Raz reports from London that British Prime Minister Tony Blair's close alignment with the White House on Iraq is increasingly making Blair the odd man out in Europe. Analysts say Blair risks damaging Britain's relations with Europe. What's more, the British public is strongly opposed to war in Iraq and the tabloids have taken to calling Blair "Bush's poodle."

Edouard Vuillard was not as widely known as the Impressionist masters, but he created more than 3,000 paintings between the late 1800s and his death a half-century later. NPR's Susan Stamberg tours the most comprehensive exhibition of the French artist's works, premiering at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Host Scott Simon talks with Lee Dassler, Director of the McLaughlin Garden in South Paris, Maine. Friends of the Garden misplaced their clothes to be photographed in the nude for a 2003 calendar titled "Altogether for the Garden." Proceeds from the calendar sales are paying down the Garden's debt.