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Reports on the potential use of the septic tanks of spacecraft to keep in touch with ground control. Description of a biofuel cell that creates a constant, low-power electricity supply by feeding glucose to common bacteria such as Escherichia coli; Research of the project; Use of the biofuel cell as a backup method of maintaining communications in remote areas such as space.

Reports on the efforts of scientists to prevent bacteria from communicating with one another and therefore stopping their spread. Studies done on the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa which can infect wounds and kill patients with severe burns; Use of genes which produce specific enzymes; Creation of autoinducers.

Discusses the harmful side effects of St John's wort and sunlight to the eyes, which can lead to cataracts. Hypericin, the active ingredient in St John's wort, and its production of free radicals; Damage to the transparency of the eye from the radicals, which causes cloudy lenses; No damage when Hypericin was in the dark; Recommendation not to sunbathe without eye protection, and to avoid light therapy; Possibility that the strong reaction of Hypericin to light may lead to a treatment for skin cancer.

Focuses on a drug called nevirapine, which can prevent infants from contracting HIV from their mothers for a very low cost. The study, which compared the effectiveness of AZT and nevirapine and found nevirapine to be better at preventing the contracting of HIV during labor and in the first days of life; The high cost for AZT to prevent infantile HIV, compared to the $4 it costs to adminster the two doses of nevirapine which seem to stop transmission; Rates of child HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa versus the world.

Reports the discovery of a receptor in the brain for a hormone that regulates appetite. Research into the role of the brain receptor SLC-1; Finding that SLC-1 binds to melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH), which regulates appetite and energy balance; Mice without MCH which ate less and were leaner than normal mice; Implications for drug design of MCH inhibitors for obese people.

Focuses on the invention of an innovative test tube and its advantages over the traditional upright tube. Flat side and upward tilt at the neck; Usefulness in eliminating the need for test tube racks; Allows direct placement on balances, hotplates or microscopes; Lukewarm reception among chemists; Prediction that it will have limited acceptance; Other innovations of lab equipment that initially flopped and then took off.

Discusses the genetic and ethical issues involved in helping men with sperm counts too low to have children normally through the technique intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Warning that allowing such men to have children also allows them to pass their defective genes to their sons, avoiding genetic weeding; Unconcern of most infertile couples about their sons' inability to have children naturally.

Highlights the development of a ten-minute testing device for the presence of Salmonella typhimurium. Dangers of S. typhimurium; Design of the testing device; How, when the bacteria are present, they interfere with a laser beam pattern and indicate their presence; This rapid test as a substantial leap over existing eight-hour or day-long microbiological tests.