Shock tactic WHAT is the best way to prevent deaths from gunshot wounds in young people? Show them the harsh reality of gun violence, says trauma chief Edward Cornwell at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Cornwell says that rap videos and other media glamorise gun violence, distorting the reality. While surgical advances have lowered the death … News
Burning bridges FOR foreign science students hoping to study or work in the US, these are frustrating times. Since 9/11, Washington has increased its scrutiny of all those applying for US visas, but especially of scientists and engineers. In principle there is nothing wrong with this policy. The government needs to take steps that will keep out … Opinion
Into the dark state VISITORS to Lene Hau's lab at Harvard University leave their shoes at the door. She doesn't want even a speck of dust trodden into the lab: it could fly up and get in the way of the laser beam she uses. Hau's apparatus is just about as delicate as it gets, the optics tables glittering … Features
Animal wrongs Empty Cages: Facing the challenge of animal rights by Tom Regan, Rowman & Littlefield, $21.95, ISBN 0742533522 Reviewed by David Thomas NO ONE reading this lucidly written book could be left in any doubt that man's inhumanity to man, terrible though it is, is dwarfed by our inhumanity to other animals. The question is whether … Books & Arts
Feedback ONE of Feedback's American correspondents belongs to an association of translators. These are people who tend to be picky about words and to consult dictionaries frequently. A member recently complained on the group's email discussion list about an advertisement for a house which mentioned a dining room decorated with "wayne's coating". A check with Google … Regulars