EMBARGO: NOT FOR PUBLICATION BEFORE:
14:00 EST WEDNESDAY, 31 MAY 2000
NEWS THIS WEEK:
CAUGHT RED-HANDED
Australian researchers are racing to validate a blood test for an illicit sports drug, erythropoietin, just in time for the Sydney Olympics. The test will be able to catch out those athletes who use the blood-boosting hormone to improve performance in endurance events such as running or cycling. Page 18
THE BODY THAT NEVER WAS
Tests on a woman born without forearms or legs have for the first time shown that people born without limbs can experience "phantom" limbs. A Swiss team shows that the woman's brain has an innate sensory map of the missing limbs, forcing a rethink about how the nervous system develops. Page 22
RAISING A STINK
Far from being "green", many hydroelectric dams actually release more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than coal-fired power stations. This is the conclusion of the World Commission on Dams who report that rotting vegetation in stagnant reservoirs decays to methane, 20 times as potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide. Page 4
ROCKETS OR RAINFOREST
Guyana's agreement to sell a large patch of swampy rainforest to a Texan rocket-launch company has angered environmentalists. Critics say the launch site will destroy ancient archaeological remains, drain the pristine swamp and throw families out of their homes. Page 5
STOP THE BLEEDING
Doctors may eventually use sound waves to halt hemorrhages deep within the body without having to slice into a patient. A team in Seattle has discovered that high-intensity ultrasound beams can accelerate natural clotting and stop bleeding. Page 11
DEADLY SLOW
Officials from Russia and the US have told The Hague that they will not be able to keep their promises to destroy their chemical weapons by April 2007. Russia simply hasn't got enough cash while the US has a lack of clean disposal technology. Page 6
LOOK AT IT THIS WAY
Digital camera makers in Japan say that the effect of gravity on photographs has been ignored for too long. Fuji is now changing camera design by boosting horizontal and vertical camera resolution to allow digital cameras to take sharper pictures. Page 14
SECOND SIGHT
A revamped Hubble Space Telescope could peer back in space and time. Astronomers and telescope builders in the US have come up with a plan to give the aging Hubble Telescope a new lease of life by sending up huge new mirrors, instead of rebuilding an entirely new space telescope. Page 21
HUGELY CORNY
Thermodynamic equations have been used to make giant popcorn. Physicists of Pennsylvania hope their mathematical recipe will be used to save manufacturers and consumers money and make a fatter, fluffier snack. Page 18
SHORT STORY : DROIDS ARE COOKING
Chicago's restaurateurs have been wowed by the world's first robotic chief, Flipper, who has been trained to cook eggs, pancakes and burgers-at 500 burgers per hour. Page 15
NETROPOLITAN - PENNIES FOR YOUR THOUGHTS
Ideas have become big business on the Internet with the arrival of www.ideadollar.com. The site pays users for their ideas in gift vouchers for spending at other sites such as www.amazon.com. Page 17
FEATURES:
BEFORE THE BIG BANG
Was the Big Bang the beginning of the Universe? According to one physicist, the Big Bang was merely an important turning point in the Universe's history. But what would the pre-big-bang period be like? Pages 24-27
RHYTHM AND BLUES
The 24-hour society offers convenience and instant access-buying groceries at midnight, booking holidays on the Internet at 3am. But scientists are warning that if we ignore the body's natural clock we may be endangering our health. Pages 29-31
SO YOU WANT TO BE AN EXPERT
The World Wide Web is nurturing a new breed of individuals with extraordinarily detailed knowledge in any imaginable field. Rather than merely telling their friends about their hobby, sport or trivia, the Internet has now given these people a global audience. Pages 34-36
WE CAN WORK IT OUT
Human conflicts are surely too unpredictable to even guess where events will go next-or are they? A game theory called TOM could give insights into situations ranging from a mugging to the Northern Ireland conflict. Pages 36-40
SCARY MONSTERS SUPER CREEPS
Algal biologist JoAnn Burkholder tells New Scientist how she became the victim of Pfiesteria piscicida, a shape changing single cell organism that normally preys on fish. Its powerful neurotoxin caused memory loss so severe that she was unable to string words into a sentence for a week. Pages 43-45
TURN BACK THE POLLEN CLOCK
Why are allergies more common than they were just 20 years ago. Pollen is to blame, says Thomas Ogren, especially the increasing use of wind-pollinated plants and trees to landscape our urban environment. Pages 46-47
WHIP UP A FROTH (BOOK REVIEW)
Why do foams make shaving easier, cushions squishier, firefighting safer, wound repair quicker and drug production cheaper? T W Clyne find the answers in Universal Foam by Sidney Perkowitz. Pages 48-49
- ENDS -
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ISSUE DATE: 3 JUNE 2000
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