Volume 25, Number 4, Winter 2007/8
Learn about the long history of aluminum, which was once a metal considered more valuable than gold. Follow art restoration efforts following Hurricane Katrina. And finally, meet Gertrude Elion—a prolific biochemist on a personal mission.
Aluminum: Common Metal, Uncommon Past
Now ubiquitous and vital to modern life, aluminum was once more expensive than gold, locked away in its ore without a commercially viable method to release it. The modern process to extract aluminum resulted from a simultaneous discovery made on opposite sides of the Atlantic.
Gertrude Elion, Biochemist
With the curiosity of a scientist and the personal motivation of having lost family members to cancer and bacterial infection, Elion fulfilled a vital role in the fight against disease.
Nano Pop
David M. Berube, Nano-Hype: The Truth behind the Nanotechnology Buzz. Reviewed by: Cyrus C.M. Mody
Steven A. Edwards, The Nanotech Pioneers: Where Are They Taking Us? Reviewed by: Cyrus C.M. Mody
Ted Sargent, The Dance of Molecules: How Nanotechnology Is Changing Our Lives. Reviewed by: Cyrus C.M. Mody
The Great Fakes
Robert Kanigel, Faux Real: Genuine Leather and 200 Years of Inspired Fakes. Reviewed by: Matthew E. Hermes
Treasures of Biloxi
Artworks from Beauvoir mansion in Biloxi were among the ravages of Hurricane Katrina. Expert art conservators have been tasked with restoring them to their original beauty.