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Headline News, Science Views II (1993)

Chapter: FRONT MATTER

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1993. Headline News, Science Views II. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2043.
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HEADLINE NEWS SCIENCE VIEWS II

Edited by David Jarmul National Research Council

National Academy of Sciences

National Academy of Engineering

Institute of Medicine

National Research Council


NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.
1993

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1993. Headline News, Science Views II. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2043.
×

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Headline news, science views II / edited by David Jarmul; National Academy of Sciences . . . [et al.].

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 0-309-04834-6

1. Science news—United States. 2. Science—Social aspects— United States. 3. Technology —Social aspects—United States. 4. Health—United States. 5. Medical policy—United States. I. Jarmul, David. II. National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) III.  Title: Headline news, science views 2.

Q225.H45 1993

303.48'3—dc20 93-16471

CIP

Copyright 1993 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

B-099

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1993. Headline News, Science Views II. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2043.
×

CONTENTS

 

 

Editor's Note

 

xi

1

 

SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

 

 

   

Science and Pseudo-Science
Carl Sagan

 

3

   

Confronting Creeping Complexity
Robert W. Lucky

 

5

   

The Reality Beyond Science
Victor F. Weisskopf

 

8

   

Columbus Day and the Frontier of Exploration
Edward C. Stone Jr.

 

10

2

 

EDUCATION

 

 

   

Children and Calculators
Kenneth M. Hoffman

 

17

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1993. Headline News, Science Views II. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2043.
×
   

One Year Down, Nine to Go
Timothy H. Goldsmith

 

19

   

Minority Students and Mathematics
Asa G. Hilliard III

 

22

   

A Failing Grade for School Tests
Jeremy Kilpatrick

 

24

   

Getting Scientists Involved in Science Education
Ramon E. Lopez

 

27

   

Barbie, Math and Science
Mildred S. Dresselhaus

 

30

   

The Contrast Between Computers and Classrooms
Kenneth G. Wilson

 

32

   

Fooling Ourselves About Improving Ourselves
Robert A. Bjork and Daniel Druckman

 

35

   

The Overselling of the University
Lester C. Krogh

 

37

3

 

THE ENVIRONMENT

   

The Threat of Climate Change
Daniel J. Evans

 

43

   

Designing a Cure for Greenhouse Warming
Thomas H. Lee

 

45

   

Aquatic Ecosystems on the Critical List
John J. Berger

 

48

   

Science and the National Parks
Paul G. Risser

 

51

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1993. Headline News, Science Views II. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2043.
×
   

Assessing the Threat of Toxic Waste Sites
Anthony B. Miller

 

53

   

Protecting Our Nervous Systems from Toxic Chemicals
Philip J. Landrigan

 

56

   

Indoor Radon: Hype Versus Help
Anthony V. Nero

 

58

   

Deciding Who Gets Western Water
A. Dan Tarlock

 

61

4

 

HEALTH CARE

 

 

   

A Health Agenda for Children
Frederick C. Robbins

 

67

   

Childhood Vaccines: The Parent's Responsibility
Harvey V. Fineberg

 

69

   

The Neglected Mental Health Problems of Adolescents
John J. Conger

 

72

   

People's Health, Public Health
Steven A. Schroeder

 

75

   

The States and Health Care Innovation
Molly Joel Coye

 

77

   

Our Disabled View of Disability
Alvin R. Tarlov

 

80

   

The Deadly Threat of Emerging Infections
Joshua Lederberg and Robert E. Shope

 

82

   

Taking Women's Health Problems Seriously
Mary Lake Polan

 

85

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1993. Headline News, Science Views II. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2043.
×
   

Pregnant Women, Newborns and AIDS
Mary C. McCormick

 

87

5

 

DIET AND NUTRITION

   

Weight Control: What Really Works
Judith S. Stern

 

93

   

Serving Up Nutrition Instead of Guilt
Edward N. Brandt Jr. and Paul R. Thomas

 

95

   

The Foods in Our Future
Sanford A. Miller

 

98

   

Improving the Safety of Seafood
John Liston

 

101

   

Fighting Trim, Fighting Smart
Robert O. Nesheim

 

103

6

 

TECHNOLOGY AND TRANSPORTATION

   

Getting Serious About Computer Security
David D. Clark

 

109

   

Preventing Oil Spills Here at Home
Henry S. Marcus

 

111

   

Looking Beyond Potholes
Damian J. Kulash

 

114

   

Getting Smart About 'Intelligent' Vehicles and Highways
Daniel Roos

 

117

   

A High-Tech Cure for Traffic Jams?
Lawrence D. Dahms

 

119

   

Crossing the Bridge to More Beautiful Journeys
Frederick Gottemoeller

 

122

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1993. Headline News, Science Views II. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2043.
×
Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1993. Headline News, Science Views II. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2043.
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Guatemala: Attacks on Scientists and Research
Eliot Stellar and Carol Corillon

 

161

   

The Next Refugee Crisis and the U.S. Response
Carl E. Taylor

 

163

   

The Science of Middle East Peace
Zehev Tadmor

 

166

   

The Unwelcome Return of Malaria
Charles C.J. Carpenter

 

168

   

Creating a Better Atmosphere After the Earth Summit
Robert M. White and Deanna J. Richards

 

171

   

Ravages of Nature, Disasters of Mankind
Lawrence K. Grossman

 

174

9

 

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

 

 

   

Individuality and the Brain
Gerald M. Edelman

 

179

   

Mapping the Human Brain
Joseph B. Martin

 

181

   

Gene Therapy: No Longer Just a Concept
Richard B. Johnston

 

184

   

Driving to a Safer Future
A. Ray Chamberlain

 

187

   

New Priorities in the Heavens
John A. Dutton

 

190

   

Reaching for the Answers in the Stars
John N. Bahcall

 

193

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1993. Headline News, Science Views II. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2043.
×
   

Abolishing Long-Range Nuclear Missiles
Sidney D. Drell

 

195

   

Angling for a New Food Source
Robert B. Fridley

 

198

10

 

THE SCIENTIFIC ENTERPRISE

 

 

   

Scientific Openness vs. Litigation Secrecy
Frederick R. Anderson

 

203

   

DNA Typing and the Courts
Victor A. McKusick

 

206

   

The Legal Barrier to Life-Saving Drugs
Louis Lasagna

 

208

   

Science, Medicine and Animals
Kurt Isselbacher

 

211

   

Preventing Fraud in Science
Howard E. Morgan

 

214

   

Some of the Toughest Jobs in the World
Norman R. Augustine

 

216

   

The Dilemma Behind the Dinosaur Exhibits
Robert M. West

 

219

   

Too Noisy to Hear the Universe
R. Marcus Price

 

221

   

The Blocked Road to Tomorrow's Cures
Katherine Wilson

 

224

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1993. Headline News, Science Views II. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2043.
×

All of the articles and author affiliations in this book appear as originally published.

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1993. Headline News, Science Views II. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2043.
×

Editor's Note

The Information Revolution. The AIDS epidemic. Space travel. In countless ways, changes involving science and technology are reshaping our lives. Computers are transforming our economy. New technology brings us everything from Scud missiles to MTV videos. Medical breakthroughs help us live longer even as global warming and atmospheric ozone depletion threaten our future.

It is nearly impossible to read through a newspaper without finding several stories involving science, technology and health care. But for many Americans, especially those without a technical background, these topics often are confusing, even intimidating. People read conflicting claims about an issue and wonder where the truth lies. They sense their lives being changed by everyone from the farmer in the Amazon to the computer hacker next door. But real understanding remains elusive, hidden in a shroud of jargon and details.

This book will help everyone — expert and non-expert alike — to make sense of some of today's most important issues involving science, technology and health care. The authors include dozens of the world's most prominent experts, writing in a readable and engaging journalistic style. The articles are similar in format to those in the first edition of Headline News, Science Views, published in 1991.

As with the first volume, the articles in this edition ap-

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1993. Headline News, Science Views II. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2043.
×

peared originally on the editorial and opinion pages of daily newspapers. They were distributed by the National Academy Op-Ed Service. Begun in 1983 under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, the Service provides more than 300 newspapers with timely articles by scientific and technical experts. The papers receive the weekly articles free with exclusive rights within their cities. Among those that have published stories from the service are The Atlanta Constitution, The Baltimore Sun, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Detroit News, The Houston Chronicle, The Miami Herald, Newsday, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The San Francisco Chronicle and The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The wonderful cartoons and drawings in this volume were used by editors at subscribing newspapers. The artists and editors granted us permission to reprint the illustrations here.

The Op-Ed Service would not exist without the continued support and encouragement of the newspaper editors who have helped us bring these complex scientific and technical issues into the arena of public debate. We also are indebted to hundreds of study committee members, staff officers and others within the Academy who have shared their expertise and offered advice on story ideas. The entire staff of the Academy news office supports the Service in many ways. In particular, Stephen Push, director of the office, and Patricia Worns, the copy editor, played an invaluable role in producing the articles presented here.

Our greatest thanks is reserved for the authors, who took time out from busy schedules to prepare these articles without pay and under tight deadlines. Making the transition from scientific text to newspaper prose was not always easy, but it was made much smoother by authors whose prominence was matched by their patience, eloquence and genuine desire to reach out beyond the scientific community to the American public.

David Jarmul

Suggested Citation:"FRONT MATTER." National Research Council. 1993. Headline News, Science Views II. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2043.
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Why all the talk about biodiversity? Is malaria really making a comeback? Just what are computer viruses?

Many Americans are confused about these and other issues involving science, technology, and health care. But they lack the time or technical background to read scientific reports.

Headline News, Science Views II provides short, readable answers directly from the experts. Leading scientists, engineers, and others discuss today's issues in language that is understandable and compelling—without jargon.

This engaging book "can be warmly recommended to card-carrying scientists and laypeople alike," New Scientist wrote about the first edition of Headline News, Science Views. "Try the opening items and say goodbye to your next couple of hours."

Now, in a completely new edition packed with 75 engaging articles, Headline News, Science Views II probes further into scientific issues behind today's headlines, issues like highway safety, global warming, industrial competitiveness, and women's health. Experts on these and other topics discuss where the problems lie and how to fix them.

The essays originally were distributed by the National Academy Op-Ed Service and published in more than 250 newspapers. Many are tied to studies of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council. Together, they make ground-breaking scientific achievement accessible, fascinating—and fun.

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