EMBARGO: NOT FOR PUBLICATION BEFORE:-14:00 HRS EST (19:00 HRS GMT) WEDNESDAY, 21 FEBRUARY 2001
NEWS THIS WEEK:
HEAD TO HEADPeople with inherited diseases are gaining a global voice through a new movement set to support and control medical research into these illnesses. The new alliance will attempt to win the moral high ground from anti-abortion and antivivisection groups. Pages 4-5
ARMED AND READYRobotic arms that crawl around your walls could give disabled people much more independence. Flexibots, created by a British robotics company, can stretch from one wall socket to another doing jobs that would be beyond easy reach of someone in a wheelchair. Page 20
MIND READERA controversial computer program modelled on the human brain aims to pick out early signs of schizophrenia. The system, developed by Canadian researchers, has had amazingly accurate early trials and hopes to be able to diagnose the condition before subjects show any symptoms. Page 23
MUSCLING INThe first robot to be powered by real muscles has been developed by American researchers. They hope that their robotic fish built with real frog muscles will lead to better prosthetic limbs. Page 22
BACK SEAT LEARNERSIf you're a menace behind the wheel of a car then your children will probably be bad drivers too. American researchers found that if the parents had traffic violations, the offspring were more likely to have broken traffic laws themselves. Page 12
CANDID CAMERAResearchers in New Zealand have found that hidden speed cameras not only slowed down traffic but reduced the number of crashes. Their results fly in the face of British plans to make speed cameras even more visible. Page 12
A TRICKLE OF HOPELast month's devastating earthquake in India could have resurfaced long lost ancient rivers. Water has suddenly appeared in north-west India and could help rejuvenate the arid wasteland. Page 13
STOPPED IN ITS TRACKSSome conservation techniques could actually be reducing rhino numbers. Researchers studying rhinos in Zimbabwe say that putting radio collars on rhinos harms the animals and could even reduce their fertility. Page 17
FOLLOW MY LEADERAfter thousands of years of evolution, the social achievement that separates humans from other animals is - the ability to form an orderly queue. And American researchers have shown that it's our habit of mimicking others that keeps us toeing the line. Page 7
BIG TURN-OFFMotorola has devised a way to stop unofficially imported electronic goods working. They plan to nobble these "grey" imports by fitting equipment with a device that secretly checks where it is, and shuts it down if it's outside a pre-programmed region. Page 18
SHORT STORY - IT'S SAFE TO TALKA British company has developed a brand new hands-free mobile phone unit that claims to eliminate microwave radiation from the phone before it reaches the user's head and neck. Page 21
FEATURES:
MACHINE HEADWill science journals soon be citing computers as co-authors on papers? Working as research partners, computers have been suggesting entirely new ideas in medicine and chemistry, unexplored by the human mind. Pages 27-29
GEEK CHICThe hi-tech clothing of the future will not only keep you warm but will organise your life. Right now, teams of scientists and designers are busy creating clothes that you won't need to wash, that pump out smells to uplift your mood, or that can actually record your daily goings-on. Pages 30-33
WATER TORTUREIf you've ever tortured yourself listening to a tap drip, you'll know that there is never a pattern. But now an American scientist can put us all out of our misery - he's solved the key equations governing fluid drips. Page 34-37
YOUR BEST SHOTEvery cancer cell hides the secrets your body needs to kill it. Now the secrets are out, and a personalised cancer vaccine is right behind. Pages 39-41
- ENDS -
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ISSUE DATE: 24 FEBRUARY 2001
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