Weekly Science & Politics News Roundup

• The Olympics are here! We may not miss a chance to knock China's political regime, but we're more than happy to make money on the games—and discuss the smog problem ad nauseum. • Americans aren't the only casualty of a shrinking federal budget: Facing lack of funds, the National Center for Atmospheric Research shut down a program focused on helping poor countries forecast and deal with droughts, floods, and other climate-related disasters. • The latest in obesity research technology: virtual reality studies. • Researchers have created ten different stem cell lines that can be used for research on diseases from Down's syndrome to Parkinson's. And any protesters can relax: They're all adult stem cells. • The ethanol/corn prices debate continues, with the EPA denying Texas governor Rick Perry's request to temporarily suspend the law requiring that a minimum amount of ethanol be mixed into U.S. gasoline. • And, in an astonishing case of Too Little Too Late, the Bush administration's Climate Change Science Program has finally decided that human activity is indeed responsible for global warming. Just in case you were wondering.