Issue 2115 | Magazine cover date: 3 January 1998

This week's magazine

3 January 1998

Issue 2115

On the cover

Features

Sniff 'n' shake - How do we distinguish between the sweet smell of a rose and the reek of rotten eggs? One man thinks it comes down to picking up good vibrations, says <IT>Stephen Hill</IT>

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Late bloomers live long and prosper

Opinion

Editorial : We are what we eat - Simple is still best when it comes to fighting food poisoning

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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.

Sniff 'n' shake - How do we distinguish between the sweet smell of a rose and the reek of rotten eggs? One man thinks it comes down to picking up good vibrations, says Stephen Hill

Features

Thumbing a ride into space

Features

Can we tame wild medicine? - To save a rare species, Western conservationists may have to make their peace with traditional Chinese medicine. Rob Parry-Jones and Amanda Vincent report

Features

Health

Fascinating rhythm – If you thought a heart that beats like clockwork is a sign of rude

Features

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Late bloomers live long and prosper

FISH that grow bigger and take longer to reach sexual maturity are more vulnerable to overfishing than their smaller, slower-growing cousins, according to a British study. The finding, which had long been suspected but never proven, could help poor countries without access to detailed fisheries research to manage their fisheries cheaply. A team led by …

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In brief : Wasting away

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In brief : TB laid bare

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In brief : Ever outward

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In brief : Food in the womb

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In brief : Doctor sparrow

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In brief : Prey is in the eye of the beholder

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��è��Ƶwire : ...as Pegasus is grounded

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��è��Ƶwire : Animal alert

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It's a dog's life - National parks do more for lions than endangered wild dogs

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��è��Ƶwire : Shuttle is shielded...

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The force is with them - Are the most energetic cosmic rays neutrinos in disguise?

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Chateau hormone - The life-giving properties of red wine may lie in a chemical that works like oestrogen

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They think it's not moving…

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Technofile : Small talk

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Technofile : Dressing up

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Technofile : Mirror, mirror

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Technofile : Fighting rotaviruses

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Focus : Out of the frying pan - Food irradiation should help to reduce food poisoning, and fears over its safety have proved unfounded. But could it also be used to cover up sloppy hygiene in the preparation of food?

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Sonic the sniffer - In a crisis you need to spot deadly chemicals fast

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Netropolitan : Hot stuff

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Netropolitan :

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Netropolitan :

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Add oxygen

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All too much - Do-it-yourself CDs will hit the music business where it hurts

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Risky business

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Fallow ground - Farmers need better incentives to foster plants and wildlife

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Dowsing on the Moon - An American probe returns to the Moon in search of ice

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Platypus sting spurs on painkiller hunt

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Vicious circles - Rings of DNA can throw a spanner in the workings of the cell and make you old before your time

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Spot the fibre - Keeping track of an airborne killer

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Say it like it is - A special palate makes speech problems melt away

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High anxiety

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Patents : Voice over

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Patents : Floating fleet

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Patents : Feel the noise

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Fear not - Help is at hand for people paralysed by panic

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Is anything safe to eat? - More Britons were poisoned by their food in 1997 than ever before

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In cold blood - Are health officials doing enough to protect haemophiliacs?

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Junk science thrown out of court

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��è��Ƶwire : No more cannibals

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��è��Ƶwire : London's nukes

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��è��Ƶwire : Shark sanctuary

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Opinion

Editorial : We are what we eat - Simple is still best when it comes to fighting food poisoning

AS we gratefully wave goodbye to the remnants of Christmas turkey, what better time to reflect on the cause of all those food safety scares in 1997 and what can be done in the New Year. The year could hardly have got off to a worse start. By January, meat pies tainted with a Escherichia …

Opinion

Features

Sniff 'n' shake - How do we distinguish between the sweet smell of a rose and the reek of rotten eggs? One man thinks it comes down to picking up good vibrations, says Stephen Hill

"HERE, sniff this." The smell wafting from the open ampoule being held out by Luca Turin suggests an unpleasant mixture of rotten eggs and onion soup. It has to be a sulphur compound. "Wrong!" says Turin gleefully, revealing a formula devoid of sulphur atoms. It's a trick he has played on many eminent chemists, and …

Features

Thumbing a ride into space

Features

Can we tame wild medicine? - To save a rare species, Western conservationists may have to make their peace with traditional Chinese medicine. Rob Parry-Jones and Amanda Vincent report

Features

Health

Fascinating rhythm – If you thought a heart that beats like clockwork is a sign of rude

Features

Thistle diary : - More comment from Westminster by Tam Dalyell

THE IDEA of spare-part surgery using pigs' livers must seem attractive to patients waiting for a human liver. Michael Day reports that Imutran in Cambridge and Nextran, in Princeton, New Jersey, have engineered pigs to carry human proteins on the surface of their cells (This Week, 18 October 1997, p 4) . The hope is …

Forum

Forum : Cosmic insurance - What is the chance that there is a large asteroid with our number on it? asks Duncan Steel

Forum

Review : Money-spinner

Books & Arts

Review : Mystic machinery

Books & Arts

Bestsellers : from San Francisco

Books & Arts

Review : Striking back

Books & Arts

Review : Web trotters . . .

Books & Arts

Review : . . . and dataloggers

Books & Arts

Review : Glowing times

Books & Arts

Review : Academic fiefdom

Books & Arts

Review : Flesh on the bones

Books & Arts

Forum : Catch them younger - There is new hope for women with breast cancer, says Debora MacKenzie, but we must act now

Forum

Review : Collected works - Barry Forshaw picks out the time travel plums

Books & Arts

Review : They made it

Books & Arts

Review : Worlds on the edge

Books & Arts

Regulars

The Last Word

Alternative currents Question: I have read that intense solar plasma storms can disrupt electricity supplies, but that advance warning of these could help the suppliers. What happens to the supply and why, and what could suppliers do to avoid the problems? Answer: On occasion, instabilities in the Sun's magnetic field produce large explosions, called flares, …

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This week's magazine

3 January 1998

On the cover

Sniff 'n' shake - How do we distinguish between the sweet smell of a rose and the reek of rotten eggs? One man thinks it comes down to picking up good vibrations, says Stephen Hill

Thumbing a ride into space

Can we tame wild medicine? - To save a rare species, Western conservationists may have to make their peace with traditional Chinese medicine. Rob Parry-Jones and Amanda Vincent report

Health

Fascinating rhythm – If you thought a heart that beats like clockwork is a sign of rude

Table of contents

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Late bloomers live long and prosper

In brief : Wasting away

In brief : TB laid bare

In brief : Ever outward

In brief : Food in the womb

In brief : Doctor sparrow

In brief : Prey is in the eye of the beholder

��è����Ƶwire : ...as Pegasus is grounded

��è����Ƶwire : Animal alert

It's a dog's life - National parks do more for lions than endangered wild dogs

��è����Ƶwire : Shuttle is shielded...

The force is with them - Are the most energetic cosmic rays neutrinos in disguise?

Chateau hormone - The life-giving properties of red wine may lie in a chemical that works like oestrogen

They think it's not moving…

Technofile : Small talk

Technofile : Dressing up

Technofile : Mirror, mirror

Technofile : Fighting rotaviruses

Focus : Out of the frying pan - Food irradiation should help to reduce food poisoning, and fears over its safety have proved unfounded. But could it also be used to cover up sloppy hygiene in the preparation of food?

Sonic the sniffer - In a crisis you need to spot deadly chemicals fast

Netropolitan : Hot stuff

Netropolitan :

Netropolitan :

Add oxygen

All too much - Do-it-yourself CDs will hit the music business where it hurts

Risky business

Fallow ground - Farmers need better incentives to foster plants and wildlife

Dowsing on the Moon - An American probe returns to the Moon in search of ice

Platypus sting spurs on painkiller hunt

Vicious circles - Rings of DNA can throw a spanner in the workings of the cell and make you old before your time

Spot the fibre - Keeping track of an airborne killer

Say it like it is - A special palate makes speech problems melt away

High anxiety

Patents : Voice over

Patents : Floating fleet

Patents : Feel the noise

Fear not - Help is at hand for people paralysed by panic

Is anything safe to eat? - More Britons were poisoned by their food in 1997 than ever before

In cold blood - Are health officials doing enough to protect haemophiliacs?

Junk science thrown out of court

��è����Ƶwire : No more cannibals

��è����Ƶwire : London's nukes

��è����Ƶwire : Shark sanctuary

Opinion

Editorial : We are what we eat - Simple is still best when it comes to fighting food poisoning

Features

Sniff 'n' shake - How do we distinguish between the sweet smell of a rose and the reek of rotten eggs? One man thinks it comes down to picking up good vibrations, says Stephen Hill

Thumbing a ride into space

Can we tame wild medicine? - To save a rare species, Western conservationists may have to make their peace with traditional Chinese medicine. Rob Parry-Jones and Amanda Vincent report

Health

Fascinating rhythm – If you thought a heart that beats like clockwork is a sign of rude

More

Thistle diary : - More comment from Westminster by Tam Dalyell

Forum : Cosmic insurance - What is the chance that there is a large asteroid with our number on it? asks Duncan Steel

Review : Money-spinner

Review : Mystic machinery

Bestsellers : from San Francisco

Review : Striking back

Review : Web trotters . . .

Review : . . . and dataloggers

Review : Glowing times

Review : Academic fiefdom

Review : Flesh on the bones

Forum : Catch them younger - There is new hope for women with breast cancer, says Debora MacKenzie, but we must act now

Review : Collected works - Barry Forshaw picks out the time travel plums

Review : They made it

Review : Worlds on the edge

Regulars

The Last Word

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��è��Ƶwire : ...as Pegasus is grounded

��è��Ƶwire : Animal alert

��è��Ƶwire : Shuttle is shielded...

��è��Ƶwire : No more cannibals

��è��Ƶwire : London's nukes

��è��Ƶwire : Shark sanctuary