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BY THE NUMBERS
Eight Surprising Allergy-Fighting Tactics
Temma Ehrenfeld 5/15/2008 12:00:00 AM
An estimated 50 million Americans suffer from some type of allergy, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and many of them are probably sniffling as they read this. Though spring can bring a welcome respite from the winter cold, the season also brings with it the release of allergens like tree pollen and, in humid areas, mold spores, which can trigger reactions in those with allergies. The symptoms include a stuffed or runny nose with a clear discharge, violent sneezing, wheezing, coughing, and watery and itchy eyes. (A yellow nasal discharge, a high temperature or an achy body are signs of a flu). Want to soothe your seasonal symptoms? Here's our short list of tips:
Political Truth Serum
Robert J. Samuelson 5/14/2008 12:00:00 AM
It's been a blast, this presidential campaign. A great story, full of drama. But no one should think it's been honest. With the possible exception of Iraq—a matter that compels candidates to face real issues—the campaign has been an exercise in mass merchandising. Candidates make alluring promises (to "fix the economy," "defeat special interests" or "achieve energy independence") and offer freebies to voters (more tax cuts, health care, college aid). Complete the sale: That's the point.
ENVIRONMENT
Who Killed the Sea Lions?
5/12/2008 12:00:00 AM
Sitting in the turbulent waters below the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, east of Portland, Ore., 15-foot-square floating platforms surrounded by 8-foot-high fencing lay in wait, designed to trap sea lions. Last Saturday night, as usual, the manually triggered traps were open; fish and game representatives had permission to capture 61 California sea lions and had to wait until one of them was inside the cages. When biologists next checked the traps, around 11:30 Sunday morning, two were closed, six sea lions were dead, and the authorities had a bizarre whodunit on their hands.
WOMEN'S HEALTH
The Quest to Build the Perfect Bra
Katie Paul 5/12/2008 12:00:00 AM
It's a challenge familiar, and frustrating, to every woman: how to find a bra that's fashionable, feels good, and works with almost every outfit. Despite decades of innovation and millions of dollars spent on research and development since the first "breast supporter" was patented in the United States in 1863, lingerie makers have yet to design a bra that strikes just the right balance of fashion, function, and fit. But thanks to new technology, and a growing body of scientific research on women's breasts, they may finally be getting close.
SPECIAL REPORT
Beakers to the Rescue
Mac Margolis
Pity the papaya. odd-shaped and orange-fleshed, it lacks the iconic status of the apple or the stage presence of the banana. Lately, though, it has become something of an agronomic superstar. Last month a team of international researchers led by the University of Hawaii finished mapping the genome of a variety of papaya engineered to withstand ringspot virus. Ringspot is a killer; it nearly wiped out Hawaii's $17 million-a-year papaya industry. Then, in the late '90s, scientists came to the rescue by plucking a gene from the virus itself and splicing it into the papaya plant, like a vaccine. Today, Hawaii's papaya groves are flourishing and, with the genome in hand, scientists now believe they will be able to replicate similar harvest-saving technology for different crops around the world. Chalk one up for the second green revolution: the triumph of gene splicing.
THE FUTURE OF ENERGY
An Even Bigger Cleanup Job
Fareed Zakaria
A few years ago, saying "General Electric" in a room full of environmentalists could prompt a round of boos and hisses. The company had dumped 1.3 million pounds of toxic PCBs into New York's Hudson River over the course of three decades, and then dragged its feet on cleanup efforts. But since 2005, the company has spiffed up its image, accepting responsibility for the Hudson cleanup and launching a new initiative, dubbed Ecomagination, to unite the company's green technologies, such as wind turbines and solar panels, under a single umbrella. The associated marketing campaign is not without its critics, who accuse GE of trying to capitalize on environ-mental sentiment. NEWSWEEK's Fareed Zakaria spoke with Lorraine Bolsinger, the GE executive in charge of Ecomagination, about green energy. Excerpts: