Press release of issue dated February 22 for New Scientist, the international science and technology weekly news magazine
ORDER #1: WEB BANK ROBBERS POISED TO POUNCE
German hackers have found a way to commit the perfect bank robbery. By exploiting security loopholes in Microsoft's Internet software and a popular financial management program called Quicken, the Chaos Computer Club claims it can make someone transfer money to another bank account without knowing they are doing so. Page 4
ORDER #2: A CHEEKY LITTLE POWDER AND IT TRAVELS WELL
Teetotallers and drinkers of white wine needn't miss out on the protection against heart disease enjoyed by red wine drinkers. According to research unveiled this week, an alcohol-free powdered extract of red wine is equally beneficial. Page 4
ORDER #3: GO ON THEN, HAVE THE BROCCOLI IF YOU MUST
Children as young as 18 months can distinguish between their own desires and someone else's, say researchers in the US and Australia. In experiments involving children's crackers and raw broccoli florets, the youngsters were able to understand that someone else's choice of foods could be different from their own. Page 18
ORDER #4: DID LAX OFFICIALS LET BRITONS DRINK A DEADLY PINT?
People in Britain could be facing an increased risk of cancer from having unknowingly eaten food contaminated by the nuclear accident at Chernobyl in 1986, according to a former government scientist. Page 5
ORDER #5: JAWS BIDS FOR OLYMPIC GLORY
New inhabitants to Sydney Harbour may give Olympic athletes competing on the water in three years' time an added incentive to break speed records. Numerous shark sightings have been made in the last few months, although there hasn't been a fatal shark attack in the harbour since the 1950s. Page 6
ORDER #6: CRACKING THE CODE OF CUSTOM DRUGS
Doctors may soon be able to tailor treatments to match drug doses with individual differences in metabolism and to avoid giving people drugs that disagree with them. Researchers have found that people who are unusually sensitive to particular drugs can be identified by a few simple DNA tests. Page 17
ORDER #7: PLANES AT RISK FROM SPACE INTRUDERS
Cosmic rays could cripple aircraft that rely heavily on computers, say scientists working for the Swedish aerospace company Ericsson Saab Avionics. Page 20
ORDER #8: MIGHTY MOUSE TAKES ON HEPATITIS
Mice containing human tissue are producing antibodies that could save the lives of people with the fatal liver disease, hepatitis B. And they could also be used to test the effectiveness of drugs against a wide range of other diseases. Page 21
ORDER #9: BEST NOSES IN TOWN
After decades of sniffing for clues, the scientists of smell are poised to bring about a revolution in electronic noses. The new noses will be as good as sniffer dogs but more reliable and may one day become as common as microchips. Pages 24-29
ORDER #10: AN AWFULLY DEEP ADVENTURE
Nobody knows what part the ocean floor plays in the carbon cycle. But an underwater rover that will roam the sea floor for months at a time, sniffing for clues, could change all that. Pages 30-32
ORDER #11: AUSTRALIA'S GIANT LAB
Australian scientists have deliberately released a virus to kill the continent's burgeoning rabbit population. Now European and American researchers fear the virus could jump to other species. Pages 34- 37
ORDER #12: WELCOME TO CLUSTERWORLD
Forget single atoms. Clusters of atoms form into nanomaterials with entirely new and bizarre properties that could revolutionise everything from medicine to electronics. Pages 38-41
-ENDS-
February 19, 1997
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