Head honcho
Brain research has come a long way since Vernon Mountcastle began his pioneering work during the 1950s.
   Advances in diagnostic imaging techniques alone have brought vast improvements to clinical medicine, says Mountcastle, who will be honored next week by the National Academy of Sciences for his lifetime of work in the neurosciences.
   "You can see the brain, in three dimensions," Mountcastle says. "It's so dramatic. You can follow the blood flow and you can determine whether there are lesions in vessels or lesions in the brain. It's a whole new world." Full story...

Expert on privacy looks at medical information
A lone hacker saddles up to his computer, cracks his knuckles and begins to hammer away at the keyboard. With his agile mind in full code-breaking mode, the intruder maneuvers his way through all system defenses and sidesteps all passwords, until ultimately the hard drive of a computer located miles away gives way and greets this unwanted visitor with a "Welcome."
   With a few quick key strokes, rushes of information suddenly cascade down the screen: name, date of birth, complications of pregnancy, details of an appendectomy at age 12, plastic surgery to repair the subject's ear, signs of possible alcoholism, recurring visits to an out-of-town therapist. The data flows endlessly. The hacker then downloads the information, leans back in his chair and smiles at his success.
   What's even more frightening about this scenario is that in the not-so-distant future accessing this information could be legal--and it might be your future employer or insurance company sitting at the keyboard. Full story...

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