Clean gene A PLANT gene that mops up toxic heavy metals from soils and stores them in the leaves has been identified by researchers in San Diego. Julian Schroeder of the University of California and his colleagues have discovered the gene responsible for producing phytochelatins, naturally occurring plant peptides that bind to harmful heavy metals such as … News
Payback for payloads DON'T look now, but there's probably a microsatellite whizzing over your head. There are hundreds of them above us in low-Earth orbit, just 700 to 800 kilometres up. They symbolise the huge changes that have occurred over the past few years in the utilisation of space. The biggest changes are reductions in size and cost. … Opinion
Insider trading THE HUMAN body contains 100 000 000 000 000 cells, a tenth of which belong to the body proper. The remaining 90 per cent are the 90 trillion or so bacteria that live on or in us. These microbes coat our skin, the inside of our noses and throats, and the whole length of our … Features
from London The Man Who Loved Only Numbers by Paul Hoffman, Fourth Estate Full Moon by Michael Light, Jonathan Cape The Little Book of Science by John Gribbin, Penguin Time, Love, Memory by Jonathan Weiner, Faber & Faber Visions by Michio Kaku, Oxford University Press Fifth Miracle by Paul Davies, Penguin The Inmates are Running the Asylum … Books & Arts
Feedback WHY does it sting so much if you burp up Coca-Cola through your nose? This important issue has been much discussed recently on the CHEMED newslist, an Internet forum for chemistry teachers. Canadian Jeff Oliver kicked off by saying he suspected that carbon dioxide gas from the Coke dissolves in the sensitive mucous membranes of … Regulars