JK Rowling praises film company as it works its magic on Harry Potter. She’s “delighted at the authenticity of the characters.” Guardian Unlimited [via RobotWisdom]

Best Glimpse Yet of Milky Way’s Monster Black Hole: Theoretical predictions that black holes lie at the center of galaxies have been so appealing that they are astrophysical gospel. Now, with the high resolution of the orbiting Chandra X-Ray Observatory, “(a)stronomers said on Wednesday they have pinpointed a tiny area at the Milky Way’s heart where a black hole with the mass of 2.6 million Suns is likely to lurk.

This does not absolutely confirm the existence of the mysterious matter-sucking drains known as black holes, but it appears to rule out any other explanations scientists can imagine for the weird cosmic behavior at our galaxy’s center.” The region, 26 million light years distant, is just 10 light minutes, or 93 million miles, across — by cosmic coincidence, in the ballpark of exactly one AU (astronomical unit), the distance from the earth to the sun. Reuters

Cory (at boing boing), you’re so right: “Researchers are creating transgenic, true-breeding mosquitos that are biologically incapable of vectoring malaria, dengue and other pest-borne, millions-slaying illnesses. The trick here is “true-breeding” — if the planned release into the wild goes as planned, the transgenic vampires will mate with their disease-prone cousins and birth non-carrying offspring. I think the next step should be breeding a skeeter whose saliva doesn’t evoke a histamine reaction.” [emphasis added. –FmH]