Issue 1706 | Magazine cover date: 3 March 1990

This week's magazine

3 March 1990

Issue 1706

On the cover

Features

Replicating the expert: What constitutes human skill? How can we devise computer programs that encapsulate such knowledge, with the aim of enhancing skills rather than replacing them? In Scandinavia, philosophy is being used to help to create 'human-cent

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Technology: Japan sets its video standard

Opinion

A European guest list

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New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Replicating the expert: What constitutes human skill? How can we devise computer programs that encapsulate such knowledge, with the aim of enhancing skills rather than replacing them? In Scandinavia, philosophy is being used to help to create 'human-cent

Features

The rise and fall of Mount Etna: A volcano's shape candetermine where on its slopes people are at the greatest risk from eruptionsof lava and ash. Monitoring and interpreting these subtle distortions hasproved worthwhile on Etna; the same techniques could

Features

Matrimony, mattresses and mites

Features

Soviet energy . . . power and the people: Mikhail Gorbachovcelebrates five years as leader of the Soviet Union. His ambitious programmeof reform depends on an expansion of the country's energy network – Anotheraspect of the economy's revitalisation

Features

Life

Microbes on the move

Features

Moldan's new ministry

Features

The remaking of Czechoslovakian science: Since 1968, dissident scientists in Czechoslovakia have struggled to keep up their research. Now they have begun the mammoth task of reorganising their institutions

Features

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Technology

Technology: Japan sets its video standard

JAPANESE companies making VHS home video recorders have finally agreed a standard for technology which allows people to tape high-quality digital stereo sound along with the pictures. This comes after two years of discussions and technical tests. The difficulty has been in finding a system which can squeeze over 2.5 million bits of digital code …

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Technology

Technology: Quick stop for bikes

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Technology

Technology: Scanner hears the sound of wounded knees

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Technology

Technology: Floating dye for sea rescues

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Technology

Technology: Lifelike computer hits on a brainwave

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Technology

Technology: Solar carpet rolled out for space telescope

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Technology

Technology: Uterine heat treatment may save women fromhysterectomy

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Science: Experiments weaken Japanese gyro claim

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Science: 'Superflare' makes star 6000 times as bright

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Science: A nuclear winter would 'devastate' Australia

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Technology

Technology: Tasmanian catamaran cuts Channel crossing time

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Science: Krypton atoms cling together in 'shells'

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Science: El Nino events devastated two ancient civilisations

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Science: Coral reefs will thrive in the greenhouse

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Science: Is distant quasar really in our own backyard?

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Off the scale

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Foreign income boosts green research

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Crack troops

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Missing head

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Global warning

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The American Association for the Advancement of Science

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The American Association for the Advancement of Science

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The American Association for the Advancement of Science

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Growing greenhouse

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Beams of peace

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Can pay, won't pay

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The American Association for the Advancement of Science

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Australia backs demands to bring bones home

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Too little equipment in British universities

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At last . . . Welsh island becomes marine reserve

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British policy boosts ivory poaching, says Leakey

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Guyana fights a new battle to control malaria

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Soviet brain drain may overwhelm Israel

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Tricksters steal from Chernobyl fund

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Protest groups move to halt space mission . . .

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. . . while experts ponder Ariane explosion

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Inquiry deepens on conduct of American AIDS expert

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Fusion programme 'must stay in military control'

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Drug firms in dispute over side effects of ulcer treatments

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NASA allowed precious data to rot, says report

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Opinion

A European guest list

YOU CANNOT have a successful dinner party if you invite too many people. Nor can you make new friends if all you ever go to are intimate dinners with the same crowd. The metaphor applies to Europe at the moment. A dozen friendly people have just moved into the east. What is a host to …

Opinion

Market failure

Opinion

Features

Replicating the expert: What constitutes human skill? How can we devise computer programs that encapsulate such knowledge, with the aim of enhancing skills rather than replacing them? In Scandinavia, philosophy is being used to help to create 'human-cent

A STUDY TO rediscover some of the techniques devised by carpenters in ancient Egypt may seem a long way from any of the issues involved in introducing new forms of advanced automation. The link, according to researchers at the Swedish Centre for Working Life (Arbetslivscentrum) in Stockholm, is the need to understand the nature of …

Features

The rise and fall of Mount Etna: A volcano's shape candetermine where on its slopes people are at the greatest risk from eruptionsof lava and ash. Monitoring and interpreting these subtle distortions hasproved worthwhile on Etna; the same techniques could

Features

Matrimony, mattresses and mites

Features

Soviet energy . . . power and the people: Mikhail Gorbachovcelebrates five years as leader of the Soviet Union. His ambitious programmeof reform depends on an expansion of the country's energy network – Anotheraspect of the economy's revitalisation

Features

Life

Microbes on the move

Features

Moldan's new ministry

Features

The remaking of Czechoslovakian science: Since 1968, dissident scientists in Czechoslovakia have struggled to keep up their research. Now they have begun the mammoth task of reorganising their institutions

Features

A spy in the machine / Review of 'The Cuckoo's Egg' by Clifford Stoll

'The Cuckoo's Egg' by Clifford Stoll, Bodley Head, pp 326, Pounds 12.95 COMPUTER departments in research institutions have a problem. Do they leave their systems open to free communication, or censor the data traffic to trap hackers? In this true-life detective story, Clifford Stoll wrestles with the dilemma. An astronomer seconded to help to run …

Books & Arts

The scenic dinosaur / Review of 'An Odyssey in Time: The Dinosaurs of North America' by Dale A. Russell

Books & Arts

Lost to history's view / Review of 'Reconstructing Babylon: Essays on Woman and Technology' edited by Patricia Hynes

Books & Arts

Count the sieverts before they hatch / Review of 'Radcount', a radiation counting system for A-level and GCSE

Books & Arts

Forum: Serendipity and scientific progress - Chance is a fine thing and it's essential to the progress of science

Forum

Forum: Animal rights; human wrongs - Some animals are more equal than others

Forum

Forum: Conflict? I see no conflict - How to reconcile science with religion

Forum

Forum: Let your shrink alone - Why won't people take psychology seriously

Forum

Thistle Diary: More comment from Westminster - Loans, embryos and trees on the move

Forum

Canada's guiding light and champion of science / Review of 'E. W. R. Steacie and Science in Canada' by M. Christine King

Books & Arts

In praise of the potato / Review of 'The Good Potato Guide' by Lawrence Hills

Books & Arts

Not all bees are vegans / Review of 'Ecology and Natural History of Tropical Bees' by David Roubik

Books & Arts

Regulars

Ariadne

A FEW years ago there appeared on the market a cheap, directional microphone and amplifier. This gadget was advertised to coincide with the annual mild panic at Christmas over what presents to buy for children, and was aimed at them: a million laughs and so on. With it, any precocious little sneak could eavesdrop on …

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This week's magazine

3 March 1990

On the cover

Replicating the expert: What constitutes human skill? How can we devise computer programs that encapsulate such knowledge, with the aim of enhancing skills rather than replacing them? In Scandinavia, philosophy is being used to help to create 'human-cent

The rise and fall of Mount Etna: A volcano's shape candetermine where on its slopes people are at the greatest risk from eruptionsof lava and ash. Monitoring and interpreting these subtle distortions hasproved worthwhile on Etna; the same techniques could

Matrimony, mattresses and mites

Soviet energy . . . power and the people: Mikhail Gorbachovcelebrates five years as leader of the Soviet Union. His ambitious programmeof reform depends on an expansion of the country's energy network – Anotheraspect of the economy's revitalisation

Life

Microbes on the move

Moldan's new ministry

The remaking of Czechoslovakian science: Since 1968, dissident scientists in Czechoslovakia have struggled to keep up their research. Now they have begun the mammoth task of reorganising their institutions

Table of contents

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Technology

Technology: Japan sets its video standard

Technology

Technology: Quick stop for bikes

Technology

Technology: Scanner hears the sound of wounded knees

Technology

Technology: Floating dye for sea rescues

Technology

Technology: Lifelike computer hits on a brainwave

Technology

Technology: Solar carpet rolled out for space telescope

Technology

Technology: Uterine heat treatment may save women fromhysterectomy

Science: Experiments weaken Japanese gyro claim

Science: 'Superflare' makes star 6000 times as bright

Science: A nuclear winter would 'devastate' Australia

Technology

Technology: Tasmanian catamaran cuts Channel crossing time

Science: Krypton atoms cling together in 'shells'

Science: El Nino events devastated two ancient civilisations

Science: Coral reefs will thrive in the greenhouse

Science: Is distant quasar really in our own backyard?

Off the scale

Foreign income boosts green research

Crack troops

Missing head

Global warning

The American Association for the Advancement of Science

The American Association for the Advancement of Science

The American Association for the Advancement of Science

Growing greenhouse

Beams of peace

Can pay, won't pay

The American Association for the Advancement of Science

Australia backs demands to bring bones home

Too little equipment in British universities

At last . . . Welsh island becomes marine reserve

British policy boosts ivory poaching, says Leakey

Guyana fights a new battle to control malaria

Soviet brain drain may overwhelm Israel

Tricksters steal from Chernobyl fund

Protest groups move to halt space mission . . .

. . . while experts ponder Ariane explosion

Inquiry deepens on conduct of American AIDS expert

Fusion programme 'must stay in military control'

Drug firms in dispute over side effects of ulcer treatments

NASA allowed precious data to rot, says report

Opinion

A European guest list

Market failure

Features

Replicating the expert: What constitutes human skill? How can we devise computer programs that encapsulate such knowledge, with the aim of enhancing skills rather than replacing them? In Scandinavia, philosophy is being used to help to create 'human-cent

The rise and fall of Mount Etna: A volcano's shape candetermine where on its slopes people are at the greatest risk from eruptionsof lava and ash. Monitoring and interpreting these subtle distortions hasproved worthwhile on Etna; the same techniques could

Matrimony, mattresses and mites

Soviet energy . . . power and the people: Mikhail Gorbachovcelebrates five years as leader of the Soviet Union. His ambitious programmeof reform depends on an expansion of the country's energy network – Anotheraspect of the economy's revitalisation

Life

Microbes on the move

Moldan's new ministry

The remaking of Czechoslovakian science: Since 1968, dissident scientists in Czechoslovakia have struggled to keep up their research. Now they have begun the mammoth task of reorganising their institutions

More

A spy in the machine / Review of 'The Cuckoo's Egg' by Clifford Stoll

The scenic dinosaur / Review of 'An Odyssey in Time: The Dinosaurs of North America' by Dale A. Russell

Lost to history's view / Review of 'Reconstructing Babylon: Essays on Woman and Technology' edited by Patricia Hynes

Count the sieverts before they hatch / Review of 'Radcount', a radiation counting system for A-level and GCSE

Forum: Serendipity and scientific progress - Chance is a fine thing and it's essential to the progress of science

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