Cool trick PARASITIC wasps siphon off antifreeze from their fly hosts to protect them from chilly winters—a discovery which could improve biological control of pest flies. Nasonia vitripennis wasps deposit their eggs in puparia, the cocoon-like casings of developing flies. When the wasps hatch they feed on the fly pupae. To survive the winter cold, both flies … ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµ
Class act THIS month, the remaining survivors of the Bhopal tragedy in India will begin a class action lawsuit in the US against the plant's former owners, Union Carbide. And about time, too. For 15 years, the company has avoided court action at home for the world's worst industrial accident. The reason's obvious: if a US court … Opinion
Heaven scent DOES the winter weather get you down? Everybody tends to get a bit gloomy when the days are short and the weather is cold and grey. But for some people, the winter blues have a more serious and debilitating edge. As the nights draw in, people with seasonal affective disorder , or SAD, begin to … Features
Defining moments Sorting Things Out by Geoffrey Bowker and Susan Leigh Star, MIT Press, $29.95/£24.50, ISBN 0262024616 WRITING a letter is an act as private and self-expressive as a tête-à -tête. Or is it? Others, after all, have already chosen the size of paper, envelope and stamps, and set the standards for the composition of paper, ink and … Books & Arts
Feedback THE normally erudite British Medical Journal made news with a lighter than usual end-of-year issue that among other things reported a bioanalytical study of the antioxidant activities of Martinis-shaken, of course. It also debated the question of whether surgeons swear while operating, tracked the frequency of certain people's names at genito-urinary clinics, and published MRI … Regulars