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Clinical depression is not `the blahs' but a full-scale tumble into the void that can last for months and recur over years, with devastating effects. Victims of depression account for about 60 percent of all suicides. Depression is almost always treatable yet only 20 percent of its victims seek help. Young adults are being hit hard. Researchers are gaining new insights into the disease, and have found a genetic link.

Examines how chronic fatigue syndrome is a major public-health concern and, among sufferers, an urgent social cause. Millions of people have been stricken, but the disease remains a mystery. Symptoms including neurological problems. INSET: Policeman's blues.;A doctor's visit; Trouble in the air; Taunted.

Discusses how more women are on the Daughter Track, working, raising kids and helping aging parents. Emotions involved; Men also shouldering responsibilities, but not as much as women; Average American woman spends 17 years raising children, 18 years helping aging parents; Strains on women; Few companies have policies assisting employees caring for elderly. INSET: A phone call away; Charlas Rhodes.;Hildegard Rebenack; Joan....

Reports on the Hubble Space Telescope and its flaw in one of the mirrors, called a `spherical aberration', which is causing blurred pictures of the bright star Iota Carina. Unable to fix because of grounded space shuttle fleet; Questions the nation's ability to carry out costly and expensive megascience projects; Investigating commission to report within three months; Hughes Danbury Optical Systems improved NASA's specifications. INSET: Cataract Surgery..

Discusses the AIDS epidemic and what we can expect in future years. World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Program on AIDS; WHO estimates; Drug developments; AZT and pentamidine; What HIV does to cells; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); Breaking the cycle; Possible vaccine for the '90s. INSET: Global Epidemic.;How the virus attacks, and how to attack the....

Examines the centuries old search for a fountain of youth, which may turn out to be found in our own cells and genes, although still unanswered is the question of how to tap them. Trying to add life to years; Attitude, exercise and diet; Aging is inescapable; Slowing the basic aging mechanism.

Reports on the growing trash disposal problem quickly rising in the US. Reaction by environmentalists; NIMBY (Not in My Backyard syndrome). INSET: Teeing off on Japan's garbage (Japan's sorting of garbage), by....

Describes the images of Neptune, the Blue Planet, sent 2.8 billion miles to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from the unmanned spacecraft Voyager 2. Data gathered; Voyager 2's 12-year mission; Differences between planets. INSET: The last picture show; Sun; Mercury.;Venus; Earth; Mars....

Discusses how the AIDS epidemic is driving the current revolution to relax drug testing rules at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and how the changes will affect victims of many diseases. Types of changes and trial efforts; Remaining issues. INSET: Changing times at FDA.;The AIDS underground, by J. Hammer..

Discusses Lyme disease, caused by an organism called a spirochete and spread by infected ticks that live in or near wooded areas and tall grass. The spirochetes live on a variety of mammals and are spreading throughout the country, causing debilitating physical and emotional problems. Cases worldwide; Spread and dangers. INSET: Warning signs.;An entire family falls prey; The proliferation of.

Talks about the recent scares and controversies over various foods and the ways they're grown or received in the US. Confusion over regulations and possible contamination; Warnings about fruit from Chile; FDA's role; Health threats; EPA's (Environmental Protection Agency's) role; Check Systems. INSET: What you see isn't all you get.;You can't just buy American..

Discusses arthritis, the nation's primary crippler, which afflicts one in seven Americans. New treatments; Many types of the disease; Its symptoms and prevalence; Research and recent discoveries; Support groups. INSET: The many faces of a mysterious disease; Eric Grant; Amy....

Reports on the research being done to understand how and why miscarriages occur. Discusses new technologies, such as ultrasound and blood studies, to detect abnormalities, and the effects of external causes, such as bacterial infections, on a fetus' development. Research; Treatments.

Report on the recent findings of potentially hazardous medical waste found on several New York beaches and others across the country. Discusses the effects of such pollution on US waters and problems of waste disposal. Waters hardest hit; Sewage found and its effects; Fears; Beach closings. See also (Time, 8/1/88, 5c, 1 map, 1 figure, p44, 7p)

Report on the changing ozone layer and the chemicals that are depleting it and robbing us of protection from ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The destructive chemicals are chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), which are odorless, nonflammable, noncorrosive nontoxic and used in refrigerators and plastics, among other products. CFC use, abuse and effects; Recent research on ozone layer.

Federal health officials acknowledge that many physicians need to learn more about cholesterol. Doctors have been lax in treating it because there have been no good, specific guidelines. Recommendations to the medical profession include cholesterol testing of all adults over 20, a review of family history, and treatment by diet or drugs for those at risk. . See also (US News, 10/19/87, 1c, 1 graph, 1 figure, p76, 2p)

Considers whether more questions should be asked about the safety of bioengineered food. Comments from Vice President Dan Quayle on this issue; How the bioengineering process is conducted; Research on plants that will repel pests; Descriptions of various herbicides.

Reports that the upcoming `Earth Summit' in Rio de Janeiro will be part carnival, part propaganda-fest, and a real test for the new world order. Description of the official delegation being sent by the United States; Observations by Democratic Senator Al Gore; Concerns voiced by leaders of the Third World.

Reports that members of Congress have discovered that Park Service money can be used to promote economic renewal in their districts. Until recently, nominations for battlefield sites, monuments and other categories within the national park system had to be formally reviewed by a Park Service panel. 20 sites of dubious national significance benefitting from recent congressional largesse include the Keith-Albee Theater in Huntington W. Va., Wilson Lake in Kansas and more.

Examines the emotional and financial catastrophe that shadows aging in America, which touches virtually every family at some time. Patients and families face the dilemma of providing and paying for long-term care, sometimes for many years. Spend down; Varying needs; What the country can't provide just yet. INSET: Who will look after Mama?.

Discusses the still baffling ailment called Alzheimer's, which is the fourth leading cause of adult deaths and may afflict 14 million by the year 2050. The disease is relentless and destroys brain cells, while draining family members emotionally and financially. Numbers affected; Brunt of burden; Costs of care; Need for more and better facilities.

Discusses the research on Alzheimer's disease since its discovery more than 80 years ago, which so far has produced no cause for the disease nor found exactly how it causes its damage. Long-time suspicions; Theories; Hallmarks of disease; Genetic links. INSET: Broken circuitry (Alzheimer's brain breakdown)..

Discusses the greenhouse effect and the three main points of debate over its severity and effects, and how computer models are adding to the controversy. New data; Computer research and findings; Need for caution; Effects of temperature changes. INSET: Keeping a weather eye on the mercury (variables that affect....

Discusses the dawning of a new age of environmental federalism, which has led states to pass more, and more stringent, controls over pollution than Congress ever considered. Summarizes some state efforts and why the states don't wait for federal implementation of controls.

Gives advice on deciding which foods should actually be avoided and how to understand the numbers related to chances of getting cancer. Benefits to weigh against threats; Different foods and their possible dangers; Cancer risks. INSET: Anxiety in the market..

Global warming and ozone depletion are part of a group of environmental threats suggesting our ecosystem is stretched to its limit as five billion people strain the earth's resources. Three other significant dangers are: air and water pollution; Destruction of tropical forests; Desertification of crop; Grazing and forest land; Problems.

7,500 attendants exchanged their findings at the Fourth International Conference on AIDS in Stockholm, Sweden, yet after 3,200 presentations could report they were no closer to a cure for the disease. The World Health Organization has documented cases of AIDS in 136 countries, the majority of them in Africa, the US, and Western Europe. New findings; Conference.

A Presidential commission and a panel appointed by the National Academy of Sciences recently released separate reports that outlined strikingly similar strategies to combat AIDS. The reports called for dramatic increases in federal spending on AIDS education, research, and care; Sweeping national laws to prevent discrimination against AIDS carriers; Drastically stepped-up programs to curb its spread. . See also (Time, 6/13/88, 1c, p53, 2/3p)

Today animal rights is one of the fastest-growing causes in America, and it seeks to change the principles that have governed relations among the species since time began. Activists are quick to seize on evidence of animal intelligence, while the research establishment says new rules are killing it and will negatively affect human life. Controversy; Strength of movement.

Some 300 million pounds of pesticides are applied to lawns, gardens, parks, and golf courses each year. Some of these compounds can cause physical damage to laboratory animals and workers, and lately there have been signs that even very healthy people are harmed by pesticides. There is also concern over the solvents, dyes, and other inert ingredients in pesticides. Pesticide use, concerns, safety claims, and disputes.

Nancy Reagan's case presents two vital, encouraging messages to women about breast cancer. First, mammography is the best method for catching breast cancer early, when it is most likely to be curable. Second, the day of radical surgery for breast cancer is long gone, replaced by simpler, equally effective alternatives.

70 surgeons, nurses, physicians and technical staff performed a 22-hour operation that separated Siamese twins joined at the head. It could possibly be the most complex surgical procedure performed in this century. The operation was performed on Benjamin and Patrick Binder of West Germany at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md. Surgical procedure; Participants; Background. INSET: Siamese twins in history..

Great Basin National Park, a 77,000-acre parcel of some of the last unspoiled wilderness in the West, was recently dedicated as America's 49th national park, the first one to be created in the lower 48 states in 15 years. Authorized by President Reagan and Congress in 1986, it is located near Baker, Nev. It was created by redesignating a portion of the Humboldt National Forest. See also (Time, 8/24/87, 2c, p46, 1p)

AIDS is widening the health gap that already exists between blacks and whites. Gains against disease and premature deaths among blacks in one area are offset by increases of disease in another. Poverty is the biggest obstacle to improving blacks' health. A national commitment to expanding medical benefits can save money and lives. Problems; Examples.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows for the first time that certain drugs, combined with a low-fat diet, can lower blood-cholesterol levels and help prevent coronary arteries from clogging, even reducing artery deposits. Implications for the six million American cases of coronary artery disease; Belief in benefits of a low-fat diet.

Explores one of the great transforming concerns of our time--healthcare, and how it has become a monster campaign issue in the upcoming presidential election. The Democrats are trying to explain the stark choices; President George Bush is now debating a health-care package; At least 30 different reform bills are pending on Capitol Hill; No real consensus, even among the Democrats, on the best way to fix the nation's health-care system; Markets and medicine.

Investigates the expected increase in caseload in age-discrimination cases before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), partially a result of reductions in work forces during tough times, and the tendency to lay off older, highly paid workers. American Association of Retired Persons says requests for information on fighting age bias have jumped 55 percent in two years; Damage awards at new heights; Procedure for pressing claims; The no-win situation.

Describes eight sexually transmitted diseases, their causes, symptoms, treatment and effects. They strike 12 million Americans, including three million teenagers every year. They include syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, PID, genital herpes, genital warts, hepatitis B and AIDS.

Reports that most of the people with the AIDS virus don't know who they are. Medical science's progress since AIDS was first described and named; Earvin (Magic) Johnson's situation; How the virus destroys the human body; Artist John Lesnick who is infected with the virus; Long latency of the virus that has enabled it to spread so widely; How it is transmitted; What to tell your kids; Who is at risk; Arsenal for the epidemic.

Considers how the White House seeks a new definition of wetlands. Bush administration's announcement of a proposal to restrict the criteria for protecting millions of acres of US wetlands; Conservationists' reactions; Defining a wetland; Case of John Pozsgai; Official protection of American wetlands beginning in the mid-1970s; The Clean Water Act; Roles of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Fish and Wildlife Service; Work of Robert J. Pierce; More.

Covers the mystery surrounding President George Bush's Graves' disease. Just 18 months ago, Barbara Bush learned she had the same condition, one in which the immune system attacks the thyroid gland. First Dog Millie's lupus; Analysis of water samples from the past and present family quarters; White House physician Burton Lee; Question if lead, iodine or lithium had contaminated the drinking water; Details and past studies of Graves' disease.

Reports that a surprising new study has rekindled the international furor over who first discovered the AIDS virus. Details the controversy over Dr. Robert Gallo's work; His new autobiography `Virus Hunting' in which he recounts the discovery of the AIDS virus and the dispute with the French; Traces the controversy dating back to the spring of 1984; Role of the National Institutes of Health; The HTLV-III virus; The LAV virus.

Discusses a new program designed by Dr. Dean Ornish of the University of California, for heart disease patients. Briefly describes other programs designed at surgically removing the problem, not changing the way of life; Lifestyle factors; Description of the program. INSET: What's for dinner?.

Reports on the current efforts to reduce smog by strengthening the Clean Air Act of 1970. Congress and the White House to take aim at fuel tanks as well as exhaust pipes; Under House bill, gas stations in the nine areas with the dirtiest air will be allowed to sell only `clean' (2.7 percent oxygen per weight) gasoline; Objection by Big Oil to Congress writing a specific formula for gasoline. INSET: For cleaner air, fill 'er up with....

Discusses the upcoming festivities commemorating the 20th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, when up to 50 million Americans will be taking part in over 3,000 activities across the US. Economic aspects of the event; Corporate involvement. INSET: Hoopla Highlights (TV programs focusing on the event)..