Headline News, Science Views II (1993) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
9 LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
9 LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Pages 177-200
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From page 179... ...
Although the computer is the most significant invention of the 20th century, it is not a thinking object comparable to our own brains. Instead, computers are powerful logic engines that operate under precise instructions.
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From page 180... ...
The variations in a brain's structure and function help determine which neural circuits are most fit. TUSt as individual animals are favored in Darwin's theory of natural selection, so individual groups of neural cells in a brain are enhanced in their connectivity if their activity results in rewarding behavior.
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From page 181... ...
Mart;ir1 The fastest supercomputer is no match for the human brain. Simply reading this article will involve billions of the reader's brain cells, communicating with each other across vast, intricate, yet precisely coordinated connections.
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From page 182... ...
When compared with what we know about treating infections or heart disease, our understanding of the brain remains meager. As a committee that ~ chaired for the Institute of Medicine concluded in a recent report, this ignorance about brain function retards advances toward effective treatments for many medical problems.
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From page 183... ...
Since pain involves virtually every region of the brain, as well as the spinal cord and peripheral nerves, a better map could help researchers figure out why it causes so much misery. The last example is schizophrenia, which now afflicts 2 million Americans.
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From page 184... ...
Christopher has a rare, inherited immune deficiency called chronic granulomatous disease jCGDl. In this disorder the white blood ceils that normally eat and kill invading bacteria and fungi are abnormal.
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From page 185... ...
Fasano ^8 ~o 68~t PI Since then/ ~ second gig with the same disorder teas been treated/ and the condition of both aids is greatly improved. Cene therapy involves inserting copies of a normal gene into specific cells from the patient/s bow.
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From page 186... ...
err ~ However, opponents of gene therapy have tried to block the National Institutes of Health from conducting experimental trials. These critics charge that manipulation of human genes is a "slippery slope" that will inevitably lead to highly questionable practices, such as the creation of humans with extraordinary strength or intelligence or a predominance of males.
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From page 187... ...
· Cars equipped with futuristic equipment like "talking maps" may distract a driver's attention unless implemented safely. These and other factors could push the number of deaths from motor vehicle crashes well above the current total of 46,000 annually.
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From page 188... ...
Fiscal austerity prevents public officials from spending the sums this major public health problem justifies. Yet a great deal could be accomplished by a modest increase in funding focused on a few topics that promise significant results.
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From page 189... ...
Emergency medical care is likely to become more difficult as congestion worsens and the number of elderly crash victims increases. New ideas are needed to provide rapid access to crash sites and to improve trauma centers.
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From page 190... ...
A research program on these specific topics would require additional federal funding of $30 million to $40 million annually a tiny amount when compared to the $70 billion in medical expenses, lost wages and property damage caused each year by motor vehicle crashes. Anyone unpersuaded by that comparison might consider that 4 million people will be injured in vehicle crashes this year.
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From page 191... ...
We have found new moons and rings around giant planets, seen evidence of black holes, observed the earliest stages of star formation and studied cosmic radiation lingering from the Big Bang. We have searched for life on other worlds and learned much about our own planet, including weather patterns, the detailed mosaics of the surface and the atmospheric ozone hole.
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From page 192... ...
Costly missions must be balanced with ongoing support for the scientists and students across the country who quietly do much of the work of space science, converting data into understanding, finding the pathways to be explored tomorrow. Diverse means for reaching space are essential, and both launch vehicles and the role of humans should be matched to mission requirements.
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From page 193... ...
Practically the only thing they have heard recently about astronomy is the initial troubles with the Hubble Space Telescope. Yet a team of more than 300 scientists that ~ led for the National Research Council reported this past week that astronomers are on the verge of findings that could transform our collective self-image.
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From page 194... ...
One of these, a space-based telescope operating at infrared wavelengths, uses camera technology pioneered by the U.S. military for detecting incoming missiles, such as Scuds.
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From page 195... ...
It's time to start thinking seriously about eliminating the long-range ballistic missiles that can hit their intercontinental targets in less than 30 minutes. Extraordinary progress between the two nuclear superpowers makes this once-Utopian idea plausible.
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From page 196... ...
Banning strategic missiles would not require giving up our entire nuclear capability. Rather, it would put a greater burden on our strategic bomber force.
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From page 197... ...
The once-visionary idea of abandoning these weapons called "fast flyers" by President Reagan when he first proposed such a ban at the Reykjavik summit in October 1986 may not be achievable in the near term. But as our attention turns from the former Soviet threat to nuclear proliferation elsewhere, it is an idea that demands consideration.
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From page 198... ...
Learning to raise fish also would help us enhance natural fisheries. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, world fish production in 1988 was 98 million metric tons.
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From page 199... ...
Barriers to marine aquaculture have been the high value of ocean and coastal space; environmental concerns about animal and feedstock wastes and about the transfer of diseases with wild stocks; and objections by some boaters and fishermen to net or cage installations. Other people say the installations are unsightly.
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From page 200... ...
People who want to undertake marine aquaculture should not face a regulatory maze. Making marine aquaculture a recognized use of the Coastal Zone Management Act, for instance, would stimulate states to include the raising of fish in their coastal management plans.
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