01.13_PANDEMIC PANIC A flu virus that originated in birds kills three people in Vietnam, raising fears that the potent strain may spread unchecked if it becomes capable of human-to-human transmission.


01.26_MAD-COW IN THE CHOW? After a cow in Washington State tests positive for bovine spongiform encephalo- pathy at the end of 2003, agricultural officials strengthen an existing ban against including cow parts in cattle feed. Bovine tissue is known to harbor disease-causing prions.

Even as they embraced him as amiably as suburbanites welcoming a newcomer to the neighborhood, leading X Prize contenders had a message for Burt Rutan: Bring it on.



"Many people seem to be overreacting," says John Carmack, a computer-game legend (Doom, Quake) and founder of Armadillo Aerospace in Dallas. "Burt is somewhat further along than we had hoped. But we still feel we have a solid shot of getting there first."