Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

[SkeptInq@aol.com]

 Skeptical Inquirer Electronic Digest, April 15, 2000

 Visit the CSICOP and Skeptical Inquirer Magazine website at
 http://www.csicop.org. Receiving over 200,000 hits per year, the CSICOP site
 was rated one of the top ten science sites by HOMEPC magazine. Send comments
 regarding SI DIGEST to editors Matt Nisbet at mcn23@cornell.edu and Barry
 Karr at skeptinq@aol.com.

 In this week's SI DIGEST:

 --TV GUIDE: Chris Carter to Make Feature Film About Ted Serios
 --LA TIMES: Former Lt. Rikers Aims 'Roswell' Towards Older Generation
 --LA TIMES: Report Disputes Taking Large Doses of Vitamins
 --GALLUP POLL: Americans Continue to be Unalarmed and Unaware of GM
 Agriculture


 TV GUIDE: CHRIS CARTER TO MAKE FEATURE FILM ABOUT TED SERIOS
 From http://www.tvguide.com/newsgossip/inthenews/index.asp#b -

 >CHRIS CARTER GOES TO THE MOVIES: X-Files auteur Chris Carter is in
 >negotiations to make his feature-film directorial debut on the upcoming
 >flick The World of Ted Serios. Variety reports that Carter will also
 >co-write and co-produce the film, which tells the true story of a
 >psychiatrist who studied a Chicago bellhop who was able to project his
 >thoughts onto film.

 LA TIMES: FORMER LT. RIKER AIMS 'ROSWELL' TOWARDS ADULT GENERATION

 Frakes to Guide 'Roswell' Toward Older Generation
 Television * 'Star Trek' star hopes an emphasis on science fiction will
 attract more adults to WB series about teen aliens.

 Monday, April 10, 1999

 By GREG BRAXTON, Times Staff Writer
 http://www.latimes.com/news/science/science/20000410/t000033760.html

 [Jonathan Frakes, one of the stars of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," is
 now heading up the WB's "Roswell: The Next Generation." Actually, he isn't
 changing the title of "Roswell," the network's first-year drama about alien
 teens. But Frakes, who is an executive producer of the series, is helping
 move the show in a new direction as it reenters the prime-time schedule
 tonight. It formerly aired on Wednesdays. While "Roswell" has focused on the
 melodramatic trauma of three alien teenagers as they try to fit in at school
 while endeavoring to maintain the secret of their identities, Frakes and his
 fellow executive producer--series creator and head writer Jason Katims
 ("Relativity," "My So-Called Life")--are hoping to revamp the show,
 instituting a heavier science-fiction emphasis that they hope will attract a
 larger and more adult audience...]


 NY TIMES: REPORT DISPUTES TAKING LARGE DOSES OF VITAMINS

 Report Disputes Benefits of Taking Large Doses of Vitamins
 April 11, 2000
 http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/health/041100hth-vitamins-re
 port.html

 By DENISE GRADY
 [Even though millions of Americans take vitamins C and E and other
 antioxidants in the hope of warding off illness and aging, a report being
 issued today by nutrition experts says there is no evidence that the large
 doses that have become popular can prevent chronic disease or that most
 Americans need to take supplements at all. In fact, large doses of vitamins
 C and E and selenium can be harmful, according to the new report by the
 Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences. Because
 of concerns about toxicity, for the first time, the institute set upper
 limits for the nutrients and emphasized that most Americans already get
 enough of the nutrients from the food they eat....]

 GALLUP POLL: AMERICANS CONTINUE TO BE UNAWARE AND UNALARMED BY GM
 AGRICULTURE
 April 2, 2000

 Biotech Foods
 A major report released last week by the National Academy of Sciences
 concluded that foods made from genetically engineered crops are safe, but
 that the federal government needs to increase certain oversight practices. A
 recent Gallup poll suggests Americans are not alarmed by the current use of
 biotechnology in food production, although only 14% indicate they have heard
 a great deal about the issue. Four in five Americans, 80%, believe the food
 in most grocery stores is safe to eat. Only 30% believe foods made with
 biotechnology pose a serious health hazard to consumers, while 51% disagree
 and 19% are unsure. Overall, 48% support the use of biotechnology in
 agriculture and food production, while 41% oppose it and 11% are unsure.
 These figures are very similar to when Gallup first measured public opinion
 on this issue last fall. [March 30-] From:
 http://www.gallup.com/poll/fastfacts.asp

 For full poll results:
 http://www.gallup.com/poll/indicators/indhealth.asp

 --------------------------------

 SI Electronic Digest is the biweekly e-mail news update of the Committee for
 the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP.)

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