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The article discusses a study by Aaron Reuben and his colleagues at Duke University in North Carolina which found that more than 170 million adults in the U.S. may have a slightly lower IQ after inhaling fumes from vehicles run on leaded petrol when they were children.

The article reports on the improvement in air quality in Hong Kong, China by using roadside detectors to spot vehicles with the dirtiest fumes.

Reports on the efforts of researchers to control the carbon dioxide produced under Lake Nyos in Cameroon. Eruption of the gas from the lake in 1986 which caused the deaths of 1700 people; Role of volcanic activity in the production of carbon dioxide in the lake; Use of pipes by the researchers to draw the gas from the bottom of the lake. INSET: The pressure's on the pipe.

The article reports on the use of drones for anti-pollution missions off the European coasts. The drones sniff the exhaust fumes from ships and catch operators that use illegal fuel. The Camcopter S-100 drones are manufactured by Austrian firm Schiebel using a carbon fibre skin and three-dimensional printed titanium parts. They are also equipped with gas sensors and cameras to detect vessel exhaust fumes better.

Examines the gruesome threat from chemical and biological weapons and the slow progress in banning them. Antidotes; Mustard gas; Vaccines.

Focuses on the use of poison gas by Russian authorities to resolve a hostage crisis in Moscow, Russia on October 2002 which killed more than hundred civilians. Use of drugs in weapons that can sedate people; Problems associated with the use of gases that offers a narrow margin between an effective and a lethal dose; Russian military authorities' refusal to identify the gas used in the rescue operation.

This article reports that the efforts to prevent the release of deadly clouds of gas from two African lakes appear to be failing. Some 1800 people died of asphyxiation during the 1980s when Lakes Nyos and Monoun in Cameroon suddenly released clouds of carbon dioxide over the surrounding countryside. In an effort to vent the gas at a safe, controlled rate, a pipe was placed in Lake Nyos in 2001 and Lake Monoun in 2003. But the pipes are not working fast enough. Although the pipes are gradually reducing carbon dioxide levels in the water, the rate is dropping as gas concentrations near the pipe inlets fall.

This article focuses on 3500 unexplained deaths in Great Britain of people aged between 16 and 64. CO-Gas Safety is an independent charity that tries to prevent people from dying of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and helps victims and their families. Some of the deaths described in the article are caused by carbon monoxide gas poisoning. Around 50 people in the Great Britain are known to die every year from accidental CO poisoning at home or at work, and some 300 are injured, making it the country's most common poison. In France, all dead bodies are tested for CO, but not always in Great Britain.

The article reports that, undersea eruptions of noxious hydrogen sulphide are having a major impact on one of the world's richest fisheries. Satellite images show that toxic eruptions off the coast of Namibia are more frequent and widespread than anyone realised. The area supports a fishery that was worth around U.S. $400 million in 1998, providing Namibia with its second largest source of revenue after mining. The sulphide builds up in gas pockets that eventually erupt into the ocean, poisoning marine life and stripping oxygen from the water.

Focuses on gases that can be effectively used in the development of non-lethal weapons which can be used against terrorists to incapacitate them in crowded public places. Mechanism with which nerve agents interfere with the nervous system; Effects of 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate on human; Advantages of using the compound trimethyl fentanyl as an incapacitating agent.

Presents news briefs related to patents as of December 16, 2000. Hat that looks like a screw and turns by using a motor; Mechanism to keep poisonous gases from entering buildings via airducts; Device which silences the ringing of cellular telephones.

Editorial. Discusses the use of nonlethal weapons to resolve violent situations. Idea to use sleeping gas on fighting troops; Prohibition of sleeping gas by the Chemical Weapons Convention; Efforts of a United States Marine Corps colonel to renegotiate legislation on sleeping gas; Idea that nonlethal weapons can be used to kill.

Reports that British servicemen may have been exposed to poison gases in a chemical warfare experiment program. The book 'Gassed,' by Rob Evans which prompted public outcry; Questions regarding the ethics of the tests; Other countries which subjected soldiers to chemical warfare experiments.

Presents science-related news briefs as of March 11, 2000. Investigation into Nancekuke, a World War II laboratory used for the production of nerve gas, and the environmental issues raised by its dumping of waste; Study which shows that cattle stunned by a bolt in the head before slaughter may have blood contaminated with brain matter and BSE; Report that hedgehogs carry up to sixteen diseases known to affect people.

Presents information on the development of the drug pyridostigmine bromide at Porton Down, Great Britain's chemical defence laboratory. Goal of offsetting the effects of potent nerve gases sarin and soman; Non-conducting of follow-up studies on the long-term effects of the drug on human test subjects.

Details the development of a kit for identifying lethal nerve agents. How the small kit uses antibodies to identify traces of the nerve agents sarin, soman and VX; Difficulty in finding a source of antibodies to interact with the gases; How the kit would not work fast enough to save people from a gas attack; Its uses in inspections or in the aftermath of a nerve gas attack.

Presents brief articles pertaining to technology as of January 9, 1999. Development of a sensor for the nerve gas sarin; Defect found in Sony digital versatile disc players (DVD); Home automation technologies by Matsushita.

Reveals that the nerve gas sarin released in Tokyo, Japan's underground system is easy to make. Availability of raw materials in the open market; Ease of dispersal of the gas; Deaths and injuries caused by the gas.

Reports on the Indian court prosecution of the chemical company, Union Carbide involving the release of a poisonous cloud of methyl isocyanate from the company's plant which killed 3000 people and injured 200,000 people in Bhopal. Initial immunity of the company from prosecution; Investigation into the cause of the disaster; Criminal damages for victims if the company is found guilty.

Reveals that American servicemen who say they were used as guinea pigs in tests of mustard gas during World War II will receive compensation for illnesses resulting from that exposure. Previous refusal of the government to pay compensation; How many volunteers were exposed; Tests at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington D.C. and an army base near Aberdeen, Maryland.

Reports that safety authorities in Great Britain and the U.S. are under growing pressure to warn people of the dangers of the inert gas sulphur hexafluoride, which is used widely in industry. Displacement of oxygen in a confined space; Release of toxic breakdown products; Responsibilities of workers, employers and suppliers for handling the gas.

Discusses chemical weapons. Development of such chemical weapons such as mustard gas by the West; Stockpiling and use of chemical weapons in Iraq; Efforts to ban the stockpiling and use of chemical weapons by the United Nations.

Reports on speculations that the priestess of the Delphic oracle in ancient Greece may have delivered her prophecies under the influence of petrochemical fumes. Findings by geologist Jelle de Boer; Active faults which may have leaked petrochemical vapors in ancient times.

Reports the development of a technique that identifies poison gas from the body of the victim months after the gas attack by Jan Peter of the Prins Maurits Laboratory for military research in Delft, Netherlands. Difficulty of detecting gas due to their rapid decomposition; Use of Langenberg's test in exposing mustard gas.