New Scientist Highlight for April 16, 1997

#1: CHINA UNVEILS FIRST BIRD'S FEATHERED COUSIN For over a century, Archaeopteryx has been the only fossil to shed much light on how birds began to fly. Now paleontologists claim to have found a close relative, Protarchaeopteryx, in China. Page 6 ORDER
#2: THERE IS MORE TO HEREDITY THAN DNA It's official - it's not all in your genes. The discovery by researchers in Europe that a mouse embryo's environment can produce lasting, inheritable changes in the way DNA works is a frontal attack on the prevailing idea that only sequences of DNA itself can be passed on through generations. Page 16 ORDER
#3: BRAIN CLOT WARNING OVER COLD CURESnerations. Page 16 Cold remedies and other products containing decongestant drugs could be causing strokes in otherwise healthy people, say researchers from the University of Pennsylvania. Page 5 ORDER
#4: SMOKERS' DEMENTIA
People who smoke are twice as likely to develop dementia as people who have never smoked, a new Dutch study suggests. This contradicts earlier studies which indicated that smoking protects against Alzheimer's disease. Page 13 ORDER
#5: BOOZING FLIES EXPOSE 'ALCHOLIC GENES'r's disease. Page 13 Fruit flies show a surpising similarity to humans when served a few stiff drinks too many. Because of this, researchers at the University of California, are looking for genes that make fruit flies susceptible to the effects of drink in the hope that this might highlight the genes that lead to alcoholism in humans. Page 20 ORDER
#6: ADD OLIVE OIL, LEMON AND A CLOVE OF GARLIC... Marinating chicken before grilling it can cut the production of carcinogens in the meat, according to results released this week at the American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco. Page 6 ORDER
#7: GAME THEORY BACKS CRACKDOWN ON PETTY CRIME Claims that "zero tolerance" policing - where even the most minor criminal act is pursued by the police - can cut overall crime rates have been bolstered by psychologists using "game theory". Page 18 ORDER
#8: FIGHTING FOR AIRory". Page 18
Dirty fuel is disabling even the best antipollution devices on cars and trucks. But the oil industry is reluctant to do anything about it. Page 14 ORDER
#9: TB CLAIMS SLAMMED AS 'DANGEROUS'nything about it. Page 14 Top TB researchers are furious with the World Health Organisation, following a claim by the organisation that the global tuberculosis epidemic could soon be brought under control. TB experts fear that the WHO's statements will fuel a dangerous complacency that could increase the death toll. Page 4 ORDER
#10: RADAR HOMES IN ON WASTED WATERdeath toll. Page 4 A hand-held radar could soon help water companies to pinpoint leaks in their pipes. Water wasted from leaks in the mains is fast becoming a hot political issue in Britain, as the worst drought in more than 200 years tightens its grip on the country. Page 22 ORDER
#11: A PERFECT RECIPE FOR THE NORTH SEA Cooking oil could soon be cutting the pollution caused by oil rigs drilling in the North Sea. British researchers, who have done laboratory tests on rapeseed oil as a lubricant for drills, believe it will degrade more quickly than the mineral oils that prospectors use at present. Page 23 ORDER
#12: FOUL FARM AIR SICKENS WORKERS AND LIVESTOCK Ammonia, dust and bacterial toxins regularly reach high enough concentrations in Europe's farm buildings to harm both farm workers and animals. Intensive poultry farms are the worst offenders, according to the Silsoe Reasearch Institute in Belfordshire. Page 10. ORDER
#13: A GOOD YEAR FOR THE KAKAPO
Hopes are rising for a large and flightless New Zealand parrot that is one of the world's most endangered species. Four kakapo chicks have hatched, making 1997 the most successful breeding season since 1981. Page 5 ORDER
#14: THE ALIEN SPOTTERS season since 1981. Page 5 The search for extra terrestrial intelligence is being kept alive by a growing band of amateurs working from their backyards. And with equipment costing only a few thousand dollars, anybody can join the hunt. Pages 28-31 ORDER
#15: THE PLAGUE DOGSbody can join the hunt. Pages 28-31 Endangered species are being threatened by diseases they are not supposed to get, say biologists. Already, a third of the population of lions in the Serengeti have been wiped out by canine distemper, a disease usually confined to dogs. And the same condition has pushed the black-footed ferret to the brink of extinction. Pages 32-37 ORDER #16: FLIGHT OVER WALL ST
A type of mathematics, known as Levy statistics, models stock markets far more accurately than normal statistics, according to mathematicians. What's more, Levy statistics are cropping up in everything from the flight of an albatross to the vortices in a turbulent fluid. Pages 38-41 ORDER
#17: THERE'S A HOLE IN MY SPACECRAFT-41 If the International Space Station is holed by space junk, NASA plans to carry out emergency repairs. But the welding equipment that will do the work has not yet been tested in space. Pages 42-44
SPECIAL PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK'S NEW SCIENTIST SUPPLEMENT EMBARGO: NOT FOR PUBLICATION BEFORE APRIL 24, 1997 MENT MIND TRAVELLERS: UNRAVELLING THE MYSTERIES OF SLEEPMENT The April 26 issue of New Scientist will carry a colour supplement including the following articles:
CALLING ALL INSOMNIACS
. . . beaming radio waves into your head might just help. No really, we're serious. SWEET DELIRIUM
Thousands of people are queuing up for sleepless, feverish nights in the sleep clinic.
NIGHT MOVES
Why do we spend a third of our lives unconscious? We burn the midnight oil looking for an answer.
NOISES FROM THE CELLAR
Suddenly, your brother turns into a beautiful woman - but you're not a bit surpised. The brain's basement is combed for clues.
DINING AT THE SHUTEYE CAFE is combed for clues. When it comes to sleep, you can be an anorexic, a glutton or a fast-food junkie. But just how much sleep do we need? GET REAL, SIGGYmuch sleep do we need?
Freud would be furious - hard-nosed pragmatists are taking over his fabulous dream factory. Plus: Dreamy Gorillas * Drinking to Forget * Dolphin Slumber * Sleepless in Iowa * Droopy Insects * Mexican Fantasies * Acts of Creation Note: Fax copies of the Special Supplement stories will be available on Friday, April 18 -ENDS- 18
April 15, 1997
For fax copies of full stories or to arrange an interview, please contact Barbara Thurlow at [email protected] or on 202 452 1178. In Europe please contact Lucy Banwell, Press Office Tel: (0171) 261 6415 or e-mail: [email protected] New Scientist is the winner of 23 major awards, including the 1996 UTNE Reader's Alternative Press Award in the "Emerging Issues" category. Planet Science provides Internet users with news, features, reviews and comment, drawn weekly from the pages of New Scientist magazine. The site can be found at http://www.newscientist.com