We've got some artificial body parts, some bad brains, and some serious toxic sludge in the state of Washington for you in today's science news headlines.

• General Electric is investing in artificial spinal discs that could replace parts of your diseased backbone. The springy metal discs are inserted directly into your spine and use a bearing to create motion. [Spinal Motion]
• Apparently brain surgeries aren't going very well in Rhode Island, where doctors have operated on the wrong side of people's brains three times this year. [WSJ] After the break, a gene that kills cancer cells and Washington's nuclear waste.
• Cancer-resistant mice have been created who won't grow tumors even when bathed in radiation. The secret? A gene that stops cancer in its tracks. Could a human version of the gene be next? [Science Daily]
  
• What has happened to the millions of gallons of toxic waste stored underground near Hanaford in Washington State? Apparently nobody thought to check until a bunch of scientists wondered the same thing. Find out what horrors they discovered. [Eurekalert]
  
• Viruses are getting nastier. A new strain of the common cold virus is causing severe pneumonia and has already killed 10 people. Time to start wearing those surgical face masks everywhere you go! [New Scientist]

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