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Focuses on sleep research and the learning potential of sleep. Finding that getting more sleep helps students do better in school; Role of the sleeping brain in solidifying memories and processing newly learned lessons; Views of sleep researchers; Findings of sleep studies; Diseases connected to sleep deprivation; How those most at risk for heart problems due to bad sleep are people with apnea; Use of the body's sleep-wake clock by cancer researchers. INSET: HOW TO GET A GOOD SLEEP.

Focuses on cloning, the outlook for human cloning, and "therapeutic cloning". The view of Shin Yong Moon of Seoul National University about reproductive cloning; Timeline on cloning from the July 1996 birth of the sheep, Dolly, to February 2004 when a South Korean group reveals they have cloned human embryos; Concern about regulating the procedure; The limited ban on human cloning in South Korea; Details of the research led by Woo Suk Hwang in South Korea, which extracted stem cells from a cloned embryo; Discussion of why the Korean team was successful; Benefits of cloning research; The role of Jose Cibelli, a cloning expert at Michigan State University, in the Korean study; The ban on this kind of embryo research in the United States; Concern that Hwang's embryos will be put in a woman's womb; Comments from various researchers.

Discusses how doctors can help families affected by hereditary diseases conceive a healthy child by genetically screening embryos. Use of blood from the new child's umbilical cord to provide life-saving cells for a sick sibling; How use of an aborted fetus is illegal as a source of tissue; Curing power of stem cells from matched siblings; Concern from lawmakers that women may get pregnant with the intention of aborting their fetuses to obtain transplant tissue for sick relatives; Ethics of the transplantations.

Discusses how physicist Erwin Schr&oumldinger made important discoveries with regard to understanding deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). How scientists James Watson and Francis Crick worked out the structure of the double helix; Complexity of the structure of DNA; Speculation from scientists about how DNA evolved from ribonucleic acid (RNA); Consideration of how the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sponsors different types of DNA research. INSETS: DNA'S TWISTS OF HISTORY;HOME-BREWED DNA.

Report on increased cases of West Nile Virus and other, more-dangerous insect-carried diseases in the United States. Increase in the number of insect sprays and repellent candles being sold; Suggestions for how to prevent insect bites and associated diseases; Importance of DEET in combating insect bites.

Comments on the debate surrounding the cloning of pets, following the creation of a cloned cat named cc by Advanced Cell Technology (ACT). Potential that so-called designer pets could tap into a huge market; Moral and ethical questions surrounding cloned pets; Companies involved in cloning, including Lazaron BioTechnologies and Genetic Savings & Clone; Scientists involved, including Richard Denniston, who cofounded Lazaron.

Discusses biotechnology companies in the United States. Details on investment in several biotechnology companies; Genentech, a company that has developed Rituxan, a treatment for lymphoma; Amgen, the industry's largest company, which has developed the arthritis drug Kineret; Decision to buy Immunex.

Reports on fears of anthrax exposure and infection in the United States following the mailing of letters containing anthrax to various locations. Preparedness of the public-health system in the United States for a biological weapons attack; Views from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Director Jeffrey Koplan; Prevention, symptoms and treatment detailed for likely bioterrorist agents such as anthrax, botulism, plague, and smallpox.

Reports on fears of anthrax in the United States. The effect of government warnings concerning bioterrorism and biological weapons preparedness on the public consciousness; Fear and hysteria concerning instances of anthrax exposure to major public figures; View that terrorists behind the anthrax delivery have succeeded in their goal to create fear.

Reports on bioterrorism in the United States. Envelopes containing white power sent to a Microsoft office in Reno, Nevada, National Broadcasting Co. Inc.'s offices in New York, and to American Media Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida; Difficulties in launching biological terrorism attacks. INSET: A once and future scourge.

Focuses on the efforts of New York City firefighters and others to find survivors of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Number of firefighters who have died in the building's collapse; How the firefighters have become heroes; Courage of those helping others to escape from the building; Loss of Reverend Mychal Judge, a fire department chaplain; Details of acts of bravery at the Pentagon in Washington D.C., which was also hit by a hijacked airplane. INSET: A grim search for the lost, by Stacey Schultz and Nancy Shute.

Reports on the development of a drug, which will keep the vision of children from deteriorating. Rising rates of myopia in the United States; Severe myopia which causes a greater risk of glaucoma and retinal detachment; Discussion of researchers on what causes myopia, including children who spend a vast amount of time on a computer; Atropine drug which stops myopia.

Reports on research involving people in persistent vegetative states. Identification of those who are in persistent vegetative states; The use of positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict which patients were in persistent vegetative states; Articles in the 'British Medical Journal,' vol. 313 and 'The New England Journal of Medicine,' vol. 334.

Discusses studies aimed at discovering if calorie restriction can extend the lifespan of human beings. SIR2 gene as having the power to make yeast cells live longer; Changes induced in the body by caloric restriction; Suppression of age-related changes in gene activities; Caution about embracing gene silencing as a mechanism for staying young.

Discusses studies on coffee and caffeine. Reason for caffeine's ability to make people alert; Addictive properties and health risks of caffeine; Caffeine withdrawal; Health effects of how coffee is prepared.

Interviews controversial Australian philosopher Peter Singer. His observation that humans as a species are more protective of human beings than they are of non-human animals; Comment of Singer on his views of euthanasia expressed in his book 'Practical Ethics'; Role of Singer as a pioneer of the modern animal rights movement.

Describes how the human body processes ethanol. Factors influencing the different effects of alcohol; Amount of ethanol processed by the liver per hour; Ability of fructose and similar nutrients to speed up the breakdown of alcohol in the liver; Influence of the strength of a drink on how alcohol gets absorbed. INSET: Untitled (introduction of gin to Great Britain), by Celia....

Reports on the discovery of nanobacteria. Size of this type of bacteria; Where it has been found such as within the human body and in rock samples from outer space; Possible link established between a certain type of nanobacteria and polycystic kidney disease.

Interviews Janet Larson, a scientist from the Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation in New Orleans, Louisiana, who successfully cured cystic fibrosis in laboratory mice. Reasons her work is viewed with skepticism; Questions regarding genetic changes made within the womb; Fears people have regarding gene therapy; Further testing Larson plans to do.

Discusses the claim that humans can literally die of fright if the body's fight-or-flight response fails. Research conducted on cardiac deaths after an earthquake occurs compared to normal cardiac deaths by Robert Kloner; The factor of a predisposing condition that causes a greater risk for heart failure; The difficulties in understanding what causes death from fear; How the fight-or-flight response works; The different types of heart attacks; Research being conducted by Richard Verrier, Martin A. Samuels, Charles Hirsch and others.