NEWS LITE : SEASONAL SCIENCE; GROUNDBREAKING WORK ON PEEPS.

The question baffled two Emory University researchers: What are Peeps - those marshmallow birds that appear in stores around Easter - anyway?

On a sugar buzz after devouring ice cream sundaes with one too many Peeps on top, Gary Falcon and Jim Zimring set out to explain the colorful, spongy creatures.

``We were really just wondering what Peeps were after eating a dozen or two, and so we immediately went to the kitchen and started trying to boil them,'' said Falcon, a computer administrator at the Atlanta school.

Falcon and Zimring, a medical student, were astounded that Peeps didn't dissolve in water. In fact, the only liquid they could dissolve the candy in was phenol, a chemical used for dissolving proteins.

Their conclusion: Peeps aren't mostly sugar after all. They are made of gelatin, sugar and corn syrup.

After that discovery, the researchers decided Peeps deserved a more rigorous examination.

They tested the birds' reaction to cold by submerging them in liquid nitrogen. The result: They froze. They tested Peeps' reaction to low-pressure environments by putting them in a vacuum. The result: They shriveled up.

And because the candy is often found in party environments, they tested Peeps' reaction to alcohol and cigarettes. When a Peep was floated in rubbing alcohol with a lit cigarette in its mouth, it ended up as a ball of charred goo.

The study was featured on CNN last year after the researchers began conducting their sugar-induced studies. They planned new research over the winter and have been busy since Peeps arrived in stores in mid-February.

In a new study for 1999, Falcon and Zimring surgically separated a group of Peeps, which are ``born'' as conjoined quintuplets.

Lest we forget, Newseum remembers

Movers and shakers and writers and editors at the Freedom Forum's Newseum in Arlington, Va., have come up with a list of the 100 least significant news stories of the century. It should be noted that most of them - being easily forgettable - are from the last quarter of the 20th century. Some of our favorites:

Millennium mania. 1999.

Yakov Smirnoff immigrates to America. 1978.

LeRoy Neiman's ``Olympics'' period. 1972.

Wiffle Ball. 1953.

World War II temporarily disrupts production of porcelain pixie Hummel figurines. 1942.

Panda diplomacy. 1972.

Admiral James Stockdale asks ``Who am I?'' - thus redefining vice presidential debating technique. 1992.

Supermodels enter restaurant business. 1995.

Menudo-mania. 1984.

Dutch commercial gets thumbs-down

A Dutch television commercial starring Leslie Nielsen has been criticized for its portrayal of mental patients.

The country's Commercial Code Commission ruled Thursday that the commercials for mobile telephone company Dutchtone are distasteful and unnecessarily harmful.

The spot, set in a fictional mental hospital, is intended to poke fun at the complications of mobile telephone deals by suggesting they can drive people insane. One of the patients claims to be Napoleon.

Dutchtone's offices were closed Friday and officials were unavailable for comment.

The ruling came after the head of a psychiatric hospital complained.

Gates family pledges 1.5 mil to refugees

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, have pledged $1.5 million to aid Kosovo refugees.

The pledge from the William H. Gates Foundation includes $500,000 each to three charities: the American Red Cross International Response Fund, CARE and the International Rescue Committee.

The American Red Cross is working with refugees arriving in Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, providing immediate needs such as food, water, blankets, medicine and temporary shelters.

Di doubles find work again

When Princess Diana died suddenly, so did the market for her look-alikes.

But now the handful of women who sheathed themselves in designer dresses and pretended to be the Princess of Wales are in demand again - as doubles for Prince Edward's bride-to-be, Sophie Rhys-Jones.

Though Rhys-Jones is considerably shorter and a bit rounder than the princess, the resemblance is very much there and.

News Lite is compiled by Karen Duffy from Daily News staff and wire reports.

CAPTION(S):

4 Photos

PHOTO (1) Jim Zimring, left, Gary Falcon and peeps.

(2) GATES

(3) STOCKDALE

(4) Evel Revival

Evel Knievel sits atop his Caesars Palace Signature Series motorcycle in Las Vegas. Only 1,000 such bikes will be built.