NEW SCIENTIST PRESS RELEASE
EMBARGO: NOT FOR PUBLICATION BEFORE 2:00 PM EST WEDNESDAY, 17 FEBRUARY 1999
ORDER #1: SPECIAL NEWS REPORT ON GM FOODS.
Hostility to genetically modified food has exploded in Britain amid claims that it is being rammed down the public's throat without proper safety testing. At the center of the storm is Arpad Pusztai, who argues that GM foods could create unforeseen hazards. New Scientist looks at the science behind the accusations. Just how worried should we be? See Editorial plus pages 4-5
ORDER #2: DYING SO THAT WE MIGHT LIVE
In the US, animal welfare campaigners and some researchers are up in arms over experiments that are condemning chimps to death by deliberately giving them lethal strains of HIV. Following the discovery that chimps can develop AIDS, several chimps have been infected with the strains with the hope of developing a vaccine for humans. Page 6
ORDER #3: TO ERR IS HUMAN...
An automatic back-seat driver is being tested by researchers in Germany. The intelligent car has been designed to cope with busy urban traffic and can take charge of steering, brakes and even indicate when it is about to change lanes. Page 12
ORDER #4: TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG
The vast majority of drugs have never been tested on children, giving doctors the dangerous task of gambling on suitable doses. The situation is about to change in the US with a new act that will force drug companies to provide them with information on the pediatric use of medicines. Pages 18-19
ORDER #5: GREEN FOR DANGER
Glowing yeast cells could soon tell drugs and water companies when their products contain potential carcinogens. With the help of a gene from a jellyfish, researchers in Britain created yeast cells that fluoresce bright green when exposed to substances that damage DNA. Page 7
ORDER #6: ARTFUL DODGERS
Biologists in Israel have found that cockroaches are the most nimble creatures in the animal kingdom. The researchers concluded that roaches navigate by using the tips of their antennae, giving them the ability to twist and turn their bodies with incredible agility and speed. Page 16
ORDER #7: TURNING TRAITOR
A protein that helps the body fend off cancer appears to cause the immune system to degenerate in old age. Researchers in California say that as the body ages, the protective cells of the immune system become hypersensitive to the protein, called Tumour Necrosis Factor, and go into a sharp decline. Page 17
ORDER #8: PATENT : DOGGY BAG (BRIEF)
For those people who find their pet a nuisance in a moving car - how about a straitjacket? An inventor from Lancashire has designed a sack-like covering which attaches to a car seat, zipping the animal up to its neck to stop it moving around. Page 7
ORDER #9: WHAT'S THIS VOLCANO TRYING TO TELL US?
Listening in on the gurgles and belches coming from the heart of volcanoes could help scientists forecast eruptions. A geophysicist from California has been recording the variations in infrasound coming from volcanoes to develop acoustic models that could be the warning system volcanologists have been waiting for. Pages 26-30
ORDER #10: HOLD IT RIGHT THERE
How do the parts of any animal or plant "know" when they've reached the right size and to stop growing? Scientists believe that it is biological tape measures relying on concentration gradients of a certain protein, that give organisms their characteristic shape. Pages 32-35
ORDER #11: GALACTIC VISIONARIES
A European team of astronomers believe they can build a telescope bigger than all its predecessors put together, and thousands of times more powerful than the best we have today. The OverWhelmingly Large telescope will have a mirror 100 metres in diameter enabling astronomers to zoom in on stars at the edge of the Universe. Page 36-39
ORDER #12: TOTAL CONTROL
Look around your home and you will see a huge variety of plastics and artificial fibers all made from polymer molecules. Now chemists have stumbled on a new molecule which opens the way for a new generation of plastics with exciting possible applications. Pages 40-43
LOCATION INDEX: AK: #9 AL: #2; #4 CA: #4; #5; #7; #9; #11; #12 GA: #2; HI: #9; #11 MD: #2; #4; MO: #1; #12 NY: #2; #10 OH: #6 PA: #10 TX: #11 UT: #4 WA: #10 Canada: #12
- ENDS -
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Issue cover date: 20 February 1999
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