麻豆传媒

Will machines ever think?: Love or hate the idea of an intelligent machine, the prospect of building one remains remote. Researchers have reckoned without the complexity of the rules that govern thought

Measuring the monsoon

The Dutch way of death: Doctors and nurses in the Netherlands can practise euthanasia if they stick to certain guidelines. Yet many patients receive lethal injections without giving their consent

Dying rites: the ethics of euthanasia – Most philosophers argue that euthanasia is justified when a patient is dying and suffering intractable pain. But would legalising it cast doctors and nurses as executioners?

Making green labels stick: Shoppers will soon have some help in picking environmentally friendly products. An official label will distinguish the greenest goods

Starry signposts to the Universe: Astronomers have new and accurate methods for measuring distances to the nearest galaxies. But these measurements also suggest that the Universe may be younger than its oldest stars

Raising rice in Cambodia’s ruins: Pol Pot’s regime and its aftermath have devastated the once bountiful paddy fields of Cambodia. As the refugees return, what will they find?

The first billion years of the British Isles: Studying the

Dangerous dance of the dividing cell: Most cells divide at just the right moment, and in just the right place. Discovering the molecules that control this timing may help us to understand cancer

How AIDS made patients act up

Health campaigners in the US are forcing the medical profession to change the way it treats us as patients

From green to academe: Richard Macrory, a former campaigner with Friends of the Earth, has become Britain’s first professor of environmental law. Is this a natural progression or a clever change of tack?

Metals pass the endurance test: Materials used in jet engines, power stations and chemical plants have a tough time. New compounds made from two or more metals could have the right qualities for the job

Turning the proton inside out

Earth

Last chance to save the planet?