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A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of being exposed to various air-borne diseases and severe acute respiratory syndrome and influenza and his friend Steven Welty, who is a designer of airflow systems.

Focuses on the methods for diagnosing diseases. Importance of DNA testing to the assessment of one's health condition. Implications of mapping the human genome on the single-nucleotide polymorphisms; Features of the Philips Brilliance CT 16 CAT scanner.

Focuses on the use of global positioning system (GPS) in stalking. Kinds of stalkers according to a 1999 study published in the "American Journal of Psychiatry"; Comments from Tracy Bahm, director of the Stalking Resource Center for Victims of Crime, on the awareness of people on GPS; Information on several entrepreneurs that sell spy devices on the Internet.

The article presents information on the role of a Shock Trauma in the drop in murder rate in Baltimore, Maryland. Statistics at Shock Trauma are impressive. The overall mortality rate — for violent and nonviolent trauma — dropped from 7 or 8 percent a decade ago to 3 percent today, and doctors there have accomplished this feat while seeing twice the number of patients, many with more severe injuries resulting from the increasingly widespread use of high-caliber automatic weapons. Only about 200 patients out of 7,000 treated die at Shock Trauma these days, versus about 200 deaths out of 3,500 patients a decade ago.

This article reports on medical research that may help autistic patients increase their social skills. Psychiatrist Eric Hollander and psychologist Jennifer Bartz found that inhaling oxytocin, a hormone that occurs naturally in the body, could alleviate the more debilitating symptoms of autism. Children with autism have tow blood levels of oxytocin, which could explain their poor social skills.

The article discusses the significance of facts, as what writers and authors focus in their career, including Alva Johnston, a famous reporter of the "New Yorker" in 1922. According to sources, Johnston is considered to have the gift of the unexpected phrase and the drive of the conscientious and insatiable police reporter. He was followed in his efforts to collect as many facts as he could about subjects. Moreover, he writes about his subjects the way he founds them, without passing judgment.

The article discusses the effects of the counterfeit drug industry in developing countries and the U.S., with information on devices that detect counterfeit medications. Hand-held counterfeit identifier products are discussed including the PharmaCheck scanner developed by biomedical engineer Muhammad Zaman of Boston University; the CD-3 scanner developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); and products being developed by chemists at Indiana's St. Mary's College and the University of Notre Dame.

The article focuses on the concept of prosthetic arms and also offers information on surgical technique developed by Todd Kuiken, director of Center for Bionic Medicine of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. As reported, prosthetic arms better known as artificial arms are controlled by transforming residual movements of shoulders or muscle signals into simplest movement commands and cannot do two things at once, much less either three or four. As cited, the surgical technique developed by Kuiken provides amputees an exceptional degree of dexterity when paired with motorized prosthetic arms and experimental bionic arms developed through the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program. Information on experimental approaches to improve prosthetic arms is also given.

The article highlights the ultimate operating room for brain surgery, the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas in Houston, Texas, named the BrainSUITE. The center's neurological center features ceiling-mounted cameras, and an extra-wide Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner. This center increases the surgeon's chances of removing the right amount of the tumor.

The article presents questions and answers related to general science topics. One person asks about the difference between male and female fighting. The author states that a gene has been isolated that controls aggression in fruit flies. Scientists are not sure how that research will relate to humans. Another question refers to the legitimacy of businesses requesting optional surcharges from consumers to pay for environmental groups.

The article reports on the makeover made by Topps Co. managing director Paul Cherrie to Bazooka Joe, the mascot of Bazooka bubble gum. Cherrie set out to spruce up Joe's appearance and to surround him with a new group of friends. So Joe became taller, his blond hair grew out, and started wearing his cap backward. To keep him company, Topps artists developed 5 new sidekicks. The only old friend Joe was allowed to keep was Mort. Topps executives hope that the makeover will revive sales and mollify shareholders.

The article discusses the effectiveness of propranolol to wipe away the trauma of bad memories. The drug is said to block the effects of stress hormones. Many people in the U.S. are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Several studies in rats conducted by scientist Karim Nader showed that memories do not become completely fixed in the brain.

Focuses on the Hybrid Assistive Leg (HAL)-3, an exoskeleton invented by Yoshiyuki Sankai, a professor at the University of Tsukuba in Japan. Concern about HAL-3; Features of HAL-3; Components of the device.

Focuses on the defamation lawsuit filed by crusader Jack Ass against Viacom International Inc. for the production of the MTV television program 'Jackass' in the U.S. Crusade of Ass against drunk driving; Difficulty of finding an attorney; Response of Johnny Knoxville, creator of the television program.

The article evaluates the Lamy Dialog 3 fountain pen, designed by Franco Clivio.

The article discusses Canadian filmmaker Rob Spence’s decision to replace his false eye with a wireless video camera. The camera was developed in collaboration with electrical engineer Kosta Grammatis, and it consists of a battery-powered camera with a Wi-Fi transmitter that transmits recorded footage to a computer.

The article looks at research on the effects of Internet usage on brain activity. A study found that searching for information on the Internet generates brain activity in the frontal, cingulate, and temporal areas. The author compares the brain activity of frequent Internet users to that of older, inexperienced Internet users.

The article looks at the Toshiba Aquilion ONE computed-tomography (CT) scanner. The device works by using 320 high-resolution x-ray detectors to create a picture of organs and their blood flow from all possible angles. While the machine costs twice as much as traditional CT scanners, the ONE is expected to prove itself cost and time efficient by reducing the number of auxiliary tests required.

This article reports that engineers at Osaka University and Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding in Japan have invented a "wave pen" that can draw every letter in the English alphabet, along with simple shapes and Japanese characters, on seawater. To make the whole thing work, researchers ringed the pool with 50 computer-controlled wave generators that independently move up and down like pistons, creating bubble-like waves about an inch and a half tall and four inches wide.

The article presents information on a solar-energy converter for heating water invented by Michael Costen using aluminized Mylar. The converter prototype was installed on the roof of an aluminum foundry in Los Angeles, California. The prototype is beneficial in conserving energy. The converter can generate thermal energy amounting to nine kilowatt-hours per day.

This article reports on the development and implantation of the first mind-controlled bionic arm. For the first time ever, an amputee need only think about a movement-picking up a glass, for instance-and the 12-pound Neuro-Controlled Bionic Arm dutifully coordinates the task. Electrodes intercept the limb's residual nerve firings and feed them to a computer embedded in the forearm, which then commands six motors to move the device's shoulder, elbow and hand in unison.

The article features illustrator Michael Witte and his scientific theory about baseball pitching. He liked playing tapes of old baseball games, and found himself frequently pausing to watch the windups of Hall of Fame pitchers, frame by frame. During the course of his procrastinations, Witte became convinced that he had divined a very important secret: how to safely and dependably throw a ninety-five-mile-per-hour fastball.

Reports on the proposal of Shih-Ger Chang, a senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, to recycle human waste to feed astronauts during space missions. Benefit of burning feces; Applications of activated carbon produced by heating wheatgrass to 600 degrees centigrade.

Reports on the strain of Streptococcus mutans engineered and patented by Jeffrey Hillman's Oragenics, which converts sugar into lactic acid. Effectiveness of the use of the bacteria in curing tooth decay in rats; Mechanism of action of the bacteria; Statement issued by Hillman.

Provides information on the use of an oversized printer to speed up building construction. Status of the contour crafting technology being developed by Behrokh Khoshnevis; Prediction on the growth of press print home by 2005; Comment of Carl Haas, a civil engineer at the University of Texas, on contour crafting.

Statscan is a digital X-ray device that can produce a full-body image in 13 seconds. Statscan was invented in South Africa during the mid-1980s as a quick, low-dose-radiation way to scan diamond miners to make sure they weren't helping themselves to free samples. This summer, the University of Maryland's R Adams Crowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore became the first facility outside South Africa to use Statscan. The secret to Statscan's speed is linear slot scanning technology. Whereas a traditional X-ray machine operates like a flashlight, shooting X-ray photons over a wide area, Statscan functions more like a laser pointer, emitting a focused X-ray beam from two millimeter-wide slots in a scanning arm.

Researchers at the University of Western Australia and the Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) have created the world's first semi-living artist. The project consists of a mechanical arm, housed in Australia and roughly 50,000 rat neurons living in a petri dish at GIT. The cells interact with the robot arm in real time via an array of two-way electrodes that pass neural signals to a computer. The computer then translates these signals into movement commands and sends them to the arm over the Internet. Scientist Steve Potter says that these drawings, though crude are not without patterns and it will take years to train the cells to draw intelligently.

Scientists at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology in Japan have grown genetically engineered coffee plants that contain 70 percent less caffeine than normal. Then it will take a few more years for the crop to brew through the regulatory process in both Japan and the United States. The researcher says his GM coffee will taste dramatically better than normal decaf, which loses much of its flavor and aroma through an extracting procedure that squeezes out the caffeine as well as some of the tasty compounds.

This article focuses on prosthetic devices for the human body. Researchers at the University of Southern California will test the world's first prosthetic brain part in 2003. Biomedical engineer Theodore Berger has created a 2 mm-wide silicon chip that he hopes will one day substitute for damaged or diseased brain regions, holding promise for victims of Alzheimer's disease, stroke and other brain traumas. Berger engineered the chip using mathematical models based on rat brain circuits. There are potential commercial and military applications for the brain chip, which is partially funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Focuses on implantable miniature telescope developed by VisionCare Opthalmic Technologies Inc. in Saratoga, California as a cure for macular degeneration disease. Features of the miniature telescope; Working of the telescope.

Reports on the rejection of a government scientific research contract by Julie T. Norris, director of the Office of Sponsored Programs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. Reason for the rejection; Impact of suspicion of foreign-born scientists by the U.S. government on scientific research; Possibility of resolution of the conflict between scientists and the government.