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This is Science in the News, in VOA Special English. I'm FaithLapidus.

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SARS has become a major international health concern.

And I'm Bob Doughty. This week, welook back at the major science stories of two-thousand-four. We lookat safety questions about some popular medicines and strugglesagainst SARS, bird flu and other diseases.

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We also tell about the bones of small human-like creatures foundin Indonesia. But first, a look at the powerful tsunami Sunday thatkilled tens of thousands of people.

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People in many countries are recovering from the effects of apowerful earthquake Sunday in the Indian Ocean. The underwaterearthquake created huge waves that struck coastal areas fromIndonesia to Somalia. The earthquake caused a series of huge,destructive ocean waves, also called a tsunami.

In the Japanese language, the word tsunami means "harbor wave."Earthquakes are a major cause of tsunamis. But landslides on theocean floor also can cause huge ocean waves. Other causes areexploding volcanoes and even explosions.

Experts say a tsunami can travel as fast as seven hundred twentyfive kilometers an hour. And, the waves can be more than thirtymeters high as they move toward land.

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Tsunamis can form near the center of an earthquake and travel outin all directions. This means they can affect countries thousands ofkilometers from each other.

Tsunamis are most common in the Pacific Ocean. Japan has had themost tsunamis. In the past hundreds of years, one hundred thousandpeople have been killed by tsunamis in Japan. Six years ago, morethan two thousand people died when a tsunami struck Papua NewGuinea.

American scientists say the earthquake in the Indian Ocean Sundayreached nine-point-zero on the Richter system of earthquakemeasurement. They say it also was the fifth strongest earthquakemeasured since nineteen-hundred.

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Another major story of two-thousand-four was the progress beingmade against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. SARS is a kind oflung infection. It may cause higher than normal body temperature.Patients have difficulty breathing. Their body wastes become softand watery.

SARS is caused by a coronavirus. Some members of the coronavirusfamily can cause the common cold.

The first case of SARS was reported in southern China two yearsago. Since then, the disease has infected eight-thousand people inalmost thirty countries. It killed more than seven hundred seventyof them.

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Research scientists in several countries are attempting todevelop medicines to prevent SARS. This month, Chinese researchersreported success in the first human test of a preventative vaccinefor the disease.

The test involved thirty-six healthy people. Half received asmall amount of experimental SARS inactivated vaccine. The othersreceived a stronger version of the medicine. The researchers saidall thirty-six people produced antibodies for fighting the disease.Those taking the vaccine suffered minor side effects, such as ahigher than normal temperature.

Chinese media say at least ten different kinds of SARS vaccinesare being developed. In the United States, tests of an experimentalvaccine have begun at the National Institutes of Health, nearWashington, D.C.

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Another medical story this year involved a virus experts say ismore deadly than SARS. It is bird flu. This year, the bird flu viruskilled at least thirty-two people in Thailand and Vietnam. The WorldHealth Organization says that almost all the victims got the birdflu from infected chickens. Millions of chickens and other birdshave been destroyed across Asia to prevent the disease fromspreading.

Health experts fear the bird flu virus will change into a kindthat can move from person to person and spread throughout the world.Recently, a W.H.O. official warned that the virus could infect up tothirty percent of the human population. Shigeru Omi also said birdflu could kill between two million and seven million people. Henoted that some experts believe that up to fifty million peoplecould die.

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This month, the World Health Organization held a meeting todiscuss efforts to develop a vaccine to prevent infection by thebird flu virus. Health officials from around the world met inSwitzerland. They said experts are concerned about the recentappearance of the virus and infection rates. They warned of apossible pandemic. A pandemic is when a disease spreads around theworld.

Scientists are developing two vaccines based on the current birdflu virus in Asia. Testing both of these within a year will costabout thirteen million dollars each.

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Another major story is one of the biggest health threats of all.The United Nations reports that about thirty-nine million peoplearound the world are living with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS.That is up from almost thirty seven million two years ago.

This year, about three million people died of causes linked toAcquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Five million became infected.These numbers are the highest yet.

Southern Africa remains the most severely affected area. Morethan sixty percent of all people with H.I.V. live there. The islandsof the Caribbean Sea have the next highest rate.

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Almost half of all people infected with H.I.V. are women andgirls. And, the virus is spreading faster among women than men inmost areas. U-N officials say East Asia has the sharpest increase inthe number of women infected with H.I.V. in the past two years.

AIDS experts say women are at greater risk because it isphysically easier for the female body to become infected during sex.They also say many women cannot demand that their partners useprotection. And marriage is no protection if the husband has had sexwith someone who is infected. These reasons often combine withsexual violence, a lack of money or education for women.

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Another story this year was the discovery of ancient bones inIndonesia. The bones were found last year in a cave on the island ofFlores.

A team of Australian and Indonesian scientists reported thediscovery in October. The scientists say the bones represent a newkind of human-like creature. They say the creatures stood just lessthan one meter tall and lived as recently as twelve thousand yearsago.

Some experts said the discovery could change the known history ofhuman beings on earth.

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Recently, an Indonesian scientist, Teuku Jacob, borrowed most ofthe bones for study. He says the bones came from human beings withsmall bodies, not a new creature.

Indonesians had been searching in the Flores area in the nineteenseventies, but stopped their work because of a lack of money. Now,Australian scientists who found the bones fear the Indonesians willkeep them and limit who can study them in the future.

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Another story this year was the withdrawal of the pain medicineVioxx. The United States Food and Drug Administration approved Vioxxfive years ago. But in September, Merck and Company stopped sellingit following a long-term study. The study suggested that people whoused Vioxx had an increased chance of heart attacks and strokes.

One recent study found that Vioxx users were nearly three timesmore likely to suffer a heart attack than people taking a similardrug called Celebrex. America's National Cancer Institute stoppedanother study this month because Celebrex was found to increase therisk of heart attack. And, a separate study raised safety questionsabout the pain medicine naproxen, sold as Aleve.

The United States Food and Drug Administration says it is tooearly to say what action might be taken on Celebrex and Alleve. Theagency can legally remove, or recall, a harmful product from themarketplace. Or a company can withdraw its product.

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SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm BobDoughty.

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And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for more newsabout science in Special English on the Voice of America.