Blind fear CHILDREN who are afraid of the dark may be suffering from a form of night blindness. Gordon Dutton, an ophthalmologist at Gartnavel General Hospital in Glasgow, describes two children with an inherited form of night blindness who developed a profound fear of the dark (British Medical Journal, vol 326, p 211). Although they could see … 51¶¯Âþ
Humans Westminster diary THIS magazine recently reported on Britain's bid to generate large amounts of electricity by burning biomass (30 November 2002, p 8) . In the vanguard is the £79-million Eggborough Biomass Plant (also known as ARBRE) in North Yorkshire. It is supposed to be Britain's first power station fuelled by fast-growing willow coppice. But ARBRE was … Opinion
Soft machine SOMETIMES our bodies are just too clever for their own good. Whether the object is to overcome a disability, or to use our thoughts to control machines around us, there's a major obstacle to creating an interface between brain and machine: our ever-alert immune system. Even the most effective immunosuppressant drugs cannot stop it piling … Features
Catch up on evolution A quote from our reviewer says it all: "Do we need more books about Darwin? Yes, we do, but only if they are as good as Carl Zimmer's Evolution, which brings the great man's ideas bang up-to-date." Published by Random House in paperback at £7.99, it will clearly be money well spent. Books & Arts
Feedback HERE'S a touching story of the times. The Boulder, Colorado, Daily Camera reported a couple of weeks ago that an armed police SWAT team had to be called when a 32-year-old man from Boulder was overheard screaming threats to a "bitch" he wanted "to kill" in his apartment. The man, who had earlier opened his … Regulars