news SCAN SECURITY I Seek You ARE NEW SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES WORTH THE COST? BY WENDY M. GROSSMAN

ithin hours of the September 11 at- ception is a January/February 2001 study tacks, even rabid civil libertarians published in Australasian Science that tenta- W were talking about the need for na- tively concluded that the few profilers who tional identification systems, giant linked agreed to be tested (only five did, out of TK databases, face-recognition technology, NUMBER who were asked) performed slight- closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitors, ly better than competing groups of detectives, biometric authentication, profiling and in- psychologists, scientists, and, pulling up the creased government wiretapping powers. rear, civilians and psychics. Some of these measures—particularly, more Media hype and overblown claims by latitude in wiretapping—have already been firms selling the technology—several compa- enacted as law, as security services around the nies involved in biometrics, the field that at- world have seemingly dusted off every plan tempts to identify people through their bio- once deemed too invasive and logical traits, hired lobbyists in October— presented it to legislatures. If to don’t help. Take, for example, the idea of gain security in the U.S. we must combining face recognition with CCTV sys- compromise some of the liberties tems to scan airport terminals for suspected that have been considered essen- terrorists. In the camera-filled U.K., the Lon- tial, at least we should be rea- don borough of Newham claimed its pilot sonably sure that such measures scheme produced a 21 percent drop in crimes will be worth the money and lost “against the person” and unprecedented de- liberty. Yet based on current uses creases in criminal property damage, vehicle- of the security technology, there related crime, and burglary. In August 2001 is reason to remain skeptical. the U.K. approved a further £79 million Most of the proposed tech- (about $120 million) for 250 new CCTV nologies are not only controver- schemes. Simon Davies, a fellow at the Lon- sial but also expensive, slow and don School of Economics and executive di- Chirographi plane comiter complicated to deploy. Most are either un- rector of Privacy International, estimates that praemuniet satis lascivius matrimonii, semper ossifragi tried or untested on the necessary scale and the country already has at least 1.5 million carry risks that are not well understood. Sol- CCTV cameras in place. id scientific data are frequently lacking—few Jason Ditton, professor of law at the Uni- studies exist detailing the success rate of psy- versity of Sheffield in England and director of

chological profiling, for example. One rare ex- the Scottish Center for Criminology in Glas- PHOTO CREDIT HERE

18 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH 2002 news gow, is one of the few sources of academic re- tor of the U.S. National Biometric Test Center search into CCTV. His research, funded by the at San Jose State University, says flatly: “You SCAN government’s Scottish Office, shows that the cannot hang a camera on a pole and expect to cameras are not cost-effective and that they re- ever find anybody. Even the vendors say that.” duce neither crime nor the fear of crime. His Indeed, the American Civil Liberties Union re- 1999 study of CCTV in Glasgow’s city center ported in early January that such a system in revealed that although crime fell in the areas Tampla, Fla., failed to identify a single indi- covered by the cameras, the drop was in- vidual in the police database of photographs significant once the figures had been adjusted and misidentified some innocents as suspects. to take general crime trends into account. Even Even if you could, the problem remains of worse results were in Sydney, Aus- predicting what people will tralia, where a $1-million system do. Wayman is a strong pro- WHEN POWER accounted for an average of one ponent of the Immigration arrest every 160 days—a quarter and Naturalization Service TRUMPS PRIVACY of the Glasgow rate, which Ditton Passenger accelerated service Fearing that power, once handed thought was poor. system (INSPASS), which lets out, is not likely to be rescinded, Moreover, it is not clear how frequent travelers register privacy advocates are concerned much the displacement effect—the handprints and speed through about granting law enforcement shifting of crime from one area to immigration checks. But greater latitude for surveillance. Currently European privacy laws another—plays a role. A Sydney “how do you know some- require that all communications city council’s report indicates that one’s going to be a terrorist data (telephone records, e-mail, the cameras probably displaced when they get on an air- Web logs) be destroyed once they some crime to areas outside the plane?” Wayman asks. “It’s are no longer needed by the service lens’s view. The Glasgow study found that the beyond what science is capable of predicting.” provider for billing purposes. Most CCTV systems follow a similar rates at which crime was detected actually fell Besides, as the September 11 events showed, principle, so that tapes are slightly, although a similar study in the much terrorists could patiently build up seemingly typically retained for 31 days. smaller town of Airdrie nearby found the op- legitimate travel logs—and entire apparently President George W. Bush is asking posite. But therein lies a fundamental design innocent lives, even if there were a national ID a reluctant European Union to conflict. For the cameras to be an effective de- card system—before committing their acts. loosen these rules in the interests of fighting terrorism, even though terrent, everyone has to know they’re there; Much of the debate about new security such data retention is not required however, to be effective in aiding detection technologies is framed around the assumption under U.S. law. Meanwhile the they need to be covert so criminals don’t de- that they will work and that our personal pri- U.K.’s Anti-Terrorism, Crime and feat them. vacy is a necessary sacrifice, when in fact the Security Act whizzed through to Trying to add face recognition to the cam- effectiveness of such technologies is question- become law in December; it includes a confusing clause era system leads to an even more fundamen- able. An alternative solution, notes Philip E. allowing the retention of data in tal problem: you can only catch people you’re Agre, associate professor of information stud- the interests of national security. already looking for. James L. Wayman, direc- ies at the University of California at Los An-

DIAGNOSTICS Hears to Your Health A NEW SENSOR LETS RESEARCHERS LISTEN FOR THE PRESENCE OF GERMS BY MICHAEL BEHAR

hen University of Cambridge scien- times wait days to get test results, the inven- tists first heard a virus wresting itself tion could mean on-the-spot detection of W from the tenacious clutch of an anti- HIV, hepatitis and dozens of other pathogens, body, the sound should have elicited a collec- including anthrax and smallpox. tive sigh of relief from fretting patients every- The Cambridge experiment involved a where. The researchers were testing a new de- tiny slice of quartz crystal layered with anti- vice that can hear the presence of a virus in a bodies. A virus—in this case, herpes simplex—

blood sample. For many patients, who some- was introduced and subsequently bound to an PHOTO CREDIT HERE

20 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH 2002 antibody on the crystal. The Using targeted anti- news researchers then slowly in- bodies, the quartz micro- creased the frequency of an phone could be fashioned SCAN electric current flowing into to recognize the sounds of a the quartz. As the quartz os- multitude of viruses. “It cillated, it whipped the virus could even detect bioterror- and antibody back and ist germs,” Cooper says: forth. Eventually the her- add a microthin film of an- pesvirus tore away from the antibody, emit- thrax or smallpox antibodies to the crystal, ting a faint pop. then douse it with a sample of infected blood “If you apply enough force to a stick, it for an instant diagnosis. Cooper is quick to will snap and you hear a sound,” explains add that the technology is at least three years Matthew Cooper, one of six researchers in- from its commercial debut. volved in the project. “Likewise, we can hear To that end, the Cambridge team has the sound of the bonds snapping when we formed a company called Akubio. With $1.7 break apart a virus and an antibody.” The million in funding, including a majority stake quartz acts like a piezoelectric microphone, from Abingworth Management, a London- converting mechanical vibrations into electri- based life sciences venture-capital firm, Coop- cal impulses. Similarly, when a virus breaks er wants to engineer a cell phone–size tool from an antibody, the quartz changes the vi- that can eavesdrop on “cells, bacteria and a brations into audible signals. variety of different substances in the body.” RIDING The entire process, termed rupture event THE WHIPSAW scanning, is far better than current enzyme- or Michael Behar is a Washington, D.C.–based biochemical-based viral tests, which reveal the science and technology journalist and for- To shake the virus loose from the existence of antibodies but can’t determine mer senior editor at Wired magazine. tightly clinging antibodies, whether or not a subject is carrying the asso- researchers had to snap them back and forth 14 million times per second. ciated virus. “We are directly detecting the As a result, the virus and antibodies virus,” Cooper points out, “which gives you experience a force roughly 10 a much more accurate prognosis.” million times that of gravity.

PUBLIC HEALTH Throw the Switch? NEW VACCINES MAY NOT BE A REASON TO KEEP SMALLPOX AROUND BY DANIEL GROSSMAN

n a brief statement last November, U.S. scientists have been debating whether to de- Health and Human Services secretary stroy these stocks and, if so, when. Some ar- I Tommy Thompson announced his opposi- gue that the variola stocks could be the basis tion to the execution of one of the world’s for novel vaccines or a smallpox cure should most infamous mass murderers. The killer is anyone release any secret stashes of the virus. variola, the virus responsible for smallpox, Other researchers think that there are no good which took about 300 million lives in the 20th scientific or public health reasons to believe century. that workable drugs could be created from the After the World Health Organization existing stocks. eradicated smallpox in 1977, all known cul- Though very effective for preventing tures were consolidated in two repositories, smallpox, today’s vaccine is not suitable for one at the Centers for Disease Control in At- everyone. It contains live vaccinia virus (a dis- lanta and one at the State Research Center of tant cousin of variola), which causes severe Virology and Biotechnology in Koltsovo, complications in people with impaired im-

PHOTO CREDIT HERE Russia. Since eradication, health officials and mune systems, including chemotherapy and

www.sciam.com SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 21 news AIDS patients, and is not considered ade- drug, Fenner asks, “How on earth do you test SCAN quately tested to use on pregnant women. it?” There are no longer any smallpox victims. A POX Certain otherwise healthy individuals also de- Laboratory animals could be the answer. OF MICE AND MEN velop serious side effects, among them, in rare Peter B. Jahrling, a biologist at the U.S. Army cases, permanent neurological damage. A new Medical Research Institute of Infectious Dis- Last year’s report of an experiment vaccine free of live virus might be safer. eases, succeeded in infecting monkeys—an im- conducted on mice in Australia has increased the intensity of the The Bush administration also wants drugs portant development because animals don’t debate over what to do with variola to treat smallpox after it has been contract- naturally contract smallpox. The monkeys (smallpox) stocks. Researchers ed. “No one wants to keep this virus forever,” had symptoms and tissue and organ damage, hoping to control that continent’s confesses one high-level government official similar to those in humans and so might pave wild mouse population added a familiar with smallpox deliberations. “We the way for new drugs. With continued access single gene to the relatively benign virus that causes mousepox. The just want to get rid of all of it or have the tools to the variola virus, Jahrling thinks he could addition made the virus to handle it if someone has it in a freezer.” have a treatment for smallpox ready within a devastatingly lethal even in mice Pursuing these goals requires further research decade: “With clenched teeth, I could do it in vaccinated against mousepox. with live variola virus. five.” Some scientists say that if Frank Fenner, an eradication program Critics say it is premature to conclude that someone were sinister enough to make a similar change to variola, alumnus and a longtime WHO adviser on Jahrling’s monkeys are a valid analogue of which is similar to the mousepox variola research, says new drugs are unneed- smallpox in humans. The animals received the virus, then existing cultures might ed. The existing vaccine, he points out, al- variola virus intravenously, at doses far in ex- be helpful in developing ready works as a treatment if administered cess of what it takes to produce smallpox in countermeasures. Others argue within several days of exposure. He predicts humans. In fact, many compounds that work that samples of the newly altered virus, not the stocks from which it that efforts to find a cure that could treat well in lab animals fail miserably in humans. was produced, would be the critical smallpox in its later stages will prove “fruit- Rather than gambling on a drug tested only foundations of a treatment. less.” And if you do have a new smallpox on animals, Fenner argues that researchers

SPACE TRAINING Astronaut Boot Camp NASA FINDS A NEW WAY TO IMBUE RECRUITS WITH THE RIGHT STUFF BY PHIL SCOTT ack in the good old days, going on a ter pitching his tent for four and a half months space mission meant training, training on Russia’s Mir space station. Like the three and more training—in simulators. But other Americans sent to Mir, Thomas felt cul- B NASA these days makes sure astronauts also turally isolated. “So I thought it wise to de- spend time at sleep-away camp with a few fel- velop a program to prepare astronauts for in- low astronauts, dining outdoors and sleeping terpersonal issues on long space flights,” he under the stars. Okay, it’s a little rougher than explains. roasting marshmallows The experience breaks down into three and telling ghost stories. In main topics: leadership, self-management and fact, it makes TV’s Sur- teamwork. Thomas teaches the first work- vivor look like a day at Six shop, which consists of classroom lectures on Flags. The campsite: Cold the behavior of astronauts and on leadership Lake in Alberta, Canada. in close quarters and in isolation. He draws “It’s really cold −30 de- comparisons between Norwegian Roald grees Fahrenheit. It gets Amundsen’s and Englishman Robert Scott’s your attention,” says NASA Antarctic race. “Admunsen had extraordi- astronaut Andy Thomas. nary capacity to lead and to give attention to Thomas put the pro- details,” Thomas says. Amundsen successful-

gram together in 1999, af- ly reached and returned from the South Pole PHOTO CREDIT HERE

22 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH 2002 news because he planned ahead, adapted skis and Mission Control. “This may be at two in the sled dogs from his studies of the Inuits up morning,” Thomas says. SCAN north, and adopted a democratic style in Each astronaut takes a turn as leader for everyday decision making. But when the tough few days. “The leader has to decide who’s decisions had to be made, he would do it. best to go, who’s been working hardest and Scott, who perished with his team on the needs a rest. The risks are real in the sense of return trip, “made his decisions in an auto- providing stress,” Thomas adds. “It’s a good cratic, hierarchical style,” Thomas continues. analogue for when they end up in space.” “He then made infamous blunders—such as Although some campers have griped that adding a man at the last minute without in- long, cold-weather outings are just NASA’s lat- creasing supplies and having his men drag est big new idea, response has been positive back sleds filled with rocks in the name of sci- overall. Soon, however, the astronauts might ence while they died in their tracks.” (More contend with even more claustrophobic to- A FEW recent analyses suggest] that unusually cold getherness. NASA has contracted with the Na- COLD FACTS weather, more than poor leadership, doomed tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- Scott’s expedition [see “Thawing Scott’s tion to use its underwater lab Aquarius, off ■ Carl Walz, a member of the International Space Station’s Legacy,” Profile, December 2001].) Florida’s Key Largo. That could mean that fourth crew, is the first After five half-days in the classroom, a NASA plans training in addition to Cold Cold Lake alumnus in orbit. group of six astronauts take it outside: to the Lake—or that the space agency has moved on National Outdoor Leadership School, con- to its latest big, new idea. —Phil Scott ■ Cold Lake training lasts 11 days. ducted in Utah and Wyoming. Next comes the true and final stress test: Cold Lake. There Phil Scott is a writer based in New York ■ The International Space Station orbits at an average altitude of the group receives a couple of days of training City. 247 statute miles (397 kilometers). with their cold-weather equipment, and then Right now the average crew they’re dropped by helicopter into the middle of three—the most that can of the Canadian military base. Assigned to be accommodated for an emergency exit on the attached map an unfamiliar area, they set up a central Soyuz capsule—stays on the ISS base and receive commands from instructors for three months. on radio, just as they would from Houston’s

ENERGY Blowing Out to Sea CAPE COD MAY HOST THE WORLD’S LARGEST OFFSHORE WIND-FARM PROJECT BY WENDY WILLIAM ith very little alteration to the na- in between the islands of Nantucket and tional power grid, the U.S. could Martha’s Vineyard. W quickly get at least 20 percent of its Each of the 170 ultrahigh-tech wind tur- electricity from wind. Yet currently, wind gen- bines, 22 feet in diameter and 250 feet tall at erators supply only about 0.5 percent of en- the height of the turbine hub, will produce al- ergy requirements, in part because people most three megawatts of power at the highest don’t want to live underneath the tall tur- wind velocities. The turbines, which should be bines. In Europe one solution to the people visible in the distance from the Hyannisport problem is to place the wind machines out at Kennedy enclave, will be laid out in a grid pat- sea, where the winds are stronger anyway. tern over 25 square miles of saltwater. An un- Acknowledging this potential, a Yar- derwater cable, laid at a cost of $1 million per mouth, Mass., company plans to build Amer- mile, will run from the turbine complex to a ica’s first offshore wind farm—and, coinci- Cape Cod substation. Project developers dentally, the world’s largest—by the end of claim that at peak operation the farm will pro- 2004. Cape Wind Associates has slated con- vide almost all the electricity needs of Cape struction of a 420-megawatt wind project on residents—a critical selling point in a region a shallow sand bar known as Horseshoe that suffers increasingly from air inversions

Shoal, located five miles south of Cape Cod, and smog. PHOTO CREDIT HERE

24 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH 2002 news SCAN

Less than a decade old, offshore wind tech- age can be financed through private sources. PASSING THE nology has been virtually ignored by U.S. com- Under his 25-year leadership, Energy Man- CARBON BUCK panies until now. In Europe, though, it’s the agement, a partner in Cape Wind, has built a next big thing in “green” energy. Denmark, number of natural gas–fired plants in New En- The Kyoto Protocol, an for example, trumpets the fact that 50 percent gland. Says Gordon: “We’re creating a na- international agreement to curb emissions of global of its energy will come from wind by 2030. If tional model for America’s energy and envi- warming gases, allows countries successful, offshore wind farms could solve ronmental future.” to trade emissions through a many problems encountered with land-based The U.S. Department of Energy is “watch- commodity called a CO2 equivalent, wind technology in densely populated regions. ing the Cape project very closely,” remarks which equals the amount of Ocean winds are stronger and steadier. Land Brian Parsons, a researcher with the DOE’s industrial greenhouse gases that have the heat-trapping ability of acquisition is unnecessary. And, perhaps most National Renewable Energy Laboratory. But one metric ton of carbon dioxide. important, the huge turbines are out of sight the size of the undertaking has raised some The supply of CO2 equivalents is and earshot of most people. Initially fishermen eyebrows. “I’d be a little skeptical about start- severely limited. Some observers worried about their catch volume decreasing, ing with something that big,” warns wind- say prices range from $5 a year to but several European studies suggest that the farm economics expert Tim Thomas Cocker- more than $300, although some current trades appear to put the heavily anchored turbines act like shipwrecks ill, a research fellow at the University of Sun- price at $25. Cape Wind claims that and in fact improve fish numbers. derland in England. Others in Europe, the 420-megawatt wind farm will On the flip side, investment costs are however, are thinking along the same lines as displace a plant that would have mammoth. Cape Wind, having already in- Cape Wind. Researchers at the Dutch Off- annually spewed 1.134 million vested several million dollars in planning stud- shore Wind Energy Converter project are metric tons of carbon dioxide. Given the facility’s 30-year ies, expects to spend at least $600 million on aiming for a single six-megawatt offshore tur- estimated life, the up-front construction. James S. Gordon, president of bine by 2010. Such continued interest may construction costs of $600 million Cape Wind, is confident that the whole pack- prove within the decade whether this alterna- don’t seem quite so high.

MS PHOTO CREDIT HERE

www.sciam.com SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 25 news SCAN

1. The universes stop moving apart and start to approach.

2. Even as they do so, each universe continues to expand.

3. They collide. A new big bang commences.

4. The collision refills each universe with matter. CYCLIC COSMOLOGY posits that our universe is one of two universes—shown here as planes, but actually three-dimensional— that periodically bounce off each other. PHOTO CREDIT HERE

26 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH 2002 news SCAN ASTRONOMY Space Rock Candy Rocks from space have always posed a threat their size and that the sugars were present in to life. Just this past January 7, an asteroid many different molecular arrangements. Both discovered just last December came within characteristics suggest an extraterrestrial ori- two moon orbits’ distance of the earth. Too gin, because biological sugars tend to be larg- close not to be called, con- er and of particular shapes. sidering that at 300 meters The isotope concentrations wide, it was three times the of the meteoric confection size of the object that hit were also unlike those of DATA POINTS: Tunguska in 1908. So how earthly sweets. The simple TAKING STOCK ironic that life’s building sugars could have arisen blocks keep showing up on when starlight bombarded Since the time of Carolus Linnaeus, meteorites. First it was dense clouds of dust floating who devised the modern species amino acids; now it’s sugar. between stars, the authors classification system 250 years ago, scientists have categorized NASA researchers an-alyzed suggested, which were later only a small fraction of life on sugar molecules coating two caught up in the solar sys- earth. Proponents of the ambitious kinds of carbon-rich mete- tem as asteroids. Their re- All-Species Inventory orite leftover from the solar search appeared in the De- (www.all-species.org) hope to system’s first days and found cember 20–27, 2001, Na- finish the job, which would include bacteria and fungi. that the abundance of the ture. compounds decreased with —JR Minkel Estimated number of species: 7 million to 100 million

Estimated number identified so far: 1.8 million PHYSICS ECOLOGY Target time of completion: 25 years Superfluid Freeze Bubble Bath of Cost, lower estimate: $3 billion Atoms in a Bose-Einstein condensate, the Death Cost, upper estimate: $50 billion strange gaseous superfluid that forms near ab- solute zero, do not have definite locations. In- Deoxygenating ballast water could help Total raised so far: $1 million stead each atom is “smeared out” across the prevent stowaway species from spreading

SOURCES: WWW.ALL-SPECIES.ORG; whole cloud of atoms, and the cloud behaves around the world. Current approaches to THE SCIENTIST, JULY 23, 2001; a lot like a single entity. Now physicists in Ger- killing off invaders rely on heat, poisons and THE NEW YORK TIMES, DECEMBER 9, 2001. many have used lasers to “freeze” individual filtration, which are costly and may harm lo- atoms in the condensate. Laser beams bathe cal waters. Researchers found that simply the cloud from six directions, and the inter- bubbling nitrogen into ballast water depletes fering light waves form an optical egg crate it of oxygen, spelling the doom for the larvae for the atoms. At high intensities, the pits are of tubeworms, crabs and zebra mussels in a deep, and each one captures an atom and matter of days. The idea first originated as a holds it in place. The quantum properties of means to minimize rust; ship owners spend the condensate are lost. Turning down the about $100,000 per vessel every year for the lasers restores the condensate, like ice melting paint needed to protect against corrosion. to water. The frozen state, called a Mott in- Though effective against many species, de- sulator, may provide yet another route to oxygenating ballast water isn’t a panacea— building a quantum computer by using each it won’t work against anaerobic bacteria or atom in the lattice as one quantum bit. The organisms in certain life stages that require January 3 Nature contains the results. no oxygen. The study appears in the January —Graham P. Collins Biological Conservation.

—Philip Yam PHOTO CREDIT HERE

28 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH 2002 news AGRICULTURE SCAN Microwaves of Grain

The moisture content of grains technique, developed by the Agri- such as corn, wheat, barley or cultural Research Service of soybeans is a crucial factor in the U.S. Depart-ment of determining the proper time Agriculture, can significant- to harvest them. If moisture ly improve moisture mea- levels are too high, grains surements. The system sends may be damaged during microwaves through the threshing and shelling; low grain to a re-ceiving antenna, levels increase the risk of grains which measures changes in the being shattered and kernels break- waves that reveal the moisture ing. Currently samples are collected content. As important, the same and tested by hand, and each type of grain re- technique can be used on all grains. quires a separate set of measurements. A new —Steve Mirsky

HEART DISEASE Inflamed Blame Game

Some researchers believe that past infections may increase the chance of an inflammatory immune response to plaque-filled arteries. In possible support, a recent study found a corre- lation between exposure to multiple infectious organisms and the extent of and risk of death from atherosclerosis. German researchers tested 572 people suffering from heart disease for antibodies to eight organisms, from herpes and Epstein-Barr viruses to the bacteria that cause pneumonia and stomach ulcers. Participants with the most exposures were up to five times more likely than those least exposed to have advanced athero- sclerosis. After three years, the death rate for patients with advanced heart disease who tested positive for WWW.SCIAM.COM/NEWS a few or no pathogens was seven percent, whereas 20 BRIEF BITS percent of those positive for most or all of the infec- tions died. Increasing pathogen exposure also cor- ■ In a step toward related with higher mortality in limited atheroscle- xenotransplanation, researchers have made genetically rosis. The study was published in the January 1 Cir- modified pig clones that lack a culation. —JR Minkel copy of a gene that causes immune system rejection. STENCH WARFARE /010402/2.html thought those had the best chance of being ■ Challenging convention wisdom, Blows to the Nose recognized universally,” explains Pam Dal- an experiment shows that a ton, the cognitive psychologist who led the language learned in Of all the repulsive smells you’ve whiffed in study. “There aren’t a lot of data available on adulthood is processed the your life, which ones are apt to clear a room malodors; most of the previous work was same way as the primary the fastest? Experts at the U.S. Department of done on pleasant scents.” In recently com- language learned in childhood. /010202/2.html Defense want to know so they might use pleted tests, subjects reacted most profound- them in a nonlethal “odor bomb.” Such a ly to the potent reeks of human fecal waste ■ In mouse studies, gene therapy nasty device could be useful for quelling and rotting food. The former packs foul- cured sickle-cell anemia. demonstrations or repelling enemy troops. smelling skatole compounds, whereas the lat- After a virus delivered a modified Researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses ter emits rancid-smelling butyric acid and var- gene into the bone marrow’s stem cells, the mice began Center in Philadelphia received a DOD grant ious sulfurous decay by-products. Do the churning out mostly normal red three years ago to find the stinkiest stenches. champion malodors work as planned? “Well, blood corpuscles.

PHOTO CREDIT HERE “We focused on biological odors because we one time I managed to evacuate the build- /121401/1.html

www.sciam.com SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 29 news SCAN PHOTO CREDIT HERE

30 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH 2002 OVERMATTER PAGE I Seek You Blowing Out to Sea geles, is to spend the money to bolster exist- ing security practices: improving authentica- tive to fossil fuels is more than just a passing tion for airport staff, training flight attendants gust. in martial arts, improving luggage searches and finding ways to prevent identity theft. A Wendy Williams, based in Mashpee, Mass., society as clever as ours shouldn’t have to is researching technologies that reduce car- trade security for dearly held freedoms. bon emissions through a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. Wendy M. Grossman, based in London, is a frequent contributor who specializes in com- puter and information technology.

Throw the Switch? should look to improve existing vaccinations. Figuring out how to treat the complications from the smallpox vaccine would be cheaper and more certain, and such work does not re- quire the variola virus. Underlying the debate over the variola repositories is a disagreement about human nature. Those who want more research first say September 11 proves that bad people don’t necessarily feel bound by international laws or accepted standards of behavior. Those who would like to destroy the stockpiles— heavily represented by veterans of the eradi- cation campaign—insist that civilized nations of the world should nonetheless set an exam- ple and send a message to would-be bioter- rorists. The WHO World Health Assembly is expected to consider these conflicting views when it convenes for its annual meeting in May. Blows to the Nose DANIEL GROSSMAN is a science writer and radio producer based in Watertown, ing,” she reports, “and the people around Mass. here are used to offensive smells.” —Steven Ashley