Magazine
March-April 2001
March-April 2001
Volume: 89 Number: 2
Public concerns about bioengineered plants have focused largely on direct threats to human health. In "Ecology of Transgenic Crops," however, Michelle Marvier argues that there are also potential threats to the environment and that these threats are not being adequately assessed; indeed, measuring the risk is inherently difficult. In an example studied in the laboratory by John Losey and his colleagues at Cornell University and conceptualized here, pollen from corn genetically modified to have the insecticidal qualities of Bacillus thuringiensis has been deposited on nearby milkweed, where it kills monarch butterfly larvae. (Illustration by Emma Skurnick.)
In This Issue
- Agriculture
- Astronomy
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Communications
- Computer
- Economics
- Engineering
- Environment
- Evolution
- Mathematics
- Medicine
- Physics
- Policy
- Psychology
- Technology
Biocavity Lasers
Paul Gourley, Darryl Sasaki
Medicine Physics Technology
In a new kind of laser, human cells take part in amplifying light—revealing secrets important in medical diagnosis
Thermoelectric Clathrates
George Nolas, Glen Slack
Engineering Physics
Cagelike crystals may soon help to pump heat with electricity and to create electricity with heat
Gene Therapy for Pain
Jay Yang, Christopher Wu
Medicine Technology
Will future treatments for one of medicine's most intractable problems include the new genetic technologies?
Protecting Ourselves from Food
Paul W. Sherman, Samuel Flaxman
Biology
Spices and morning sickness may shield us from toxins and microorganisms in the diet
