<a href=”http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/301/living/Danger_is_his_business+.shtml

“>Risk: A Practical Guide for Deciding What’s Really Safe and What’s Really Dangerous in the World Around You (Houghton Mifflin) by David Ropeik and George Gray of the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis:

Risk touches upon the stuff of contemporary nightmares, such as biological weapons, but it is mainly a compendium of the data behind, and the safeguards against, scores of everyday risks, real and perceived: air pollution, medical errors, nuclear power, artificial sweeteners, solar radiation, cellphones, foodborne illness, pesticides. Ropeik, a former reporter for WCVB-TV (Channel 5) who now handles communications at the Harvard center, and Gray, the center’s acting director, maintain that in many cases ”our fears may not match the facts. We may be too afraid of lesser risks and not concerned enough about bigger ones.” What follows is an abridged conversation with Ropeik… [more] Boston Globe

One Charger to Juice Many Gizmos Wired

“The mysterious gas Russian forces pumped into a theater to end a hostage crisis was an opiate, a chemical related to morphine, Pentagon officials said Monday.

The Bush administration, meanwhile, refused to criticize Russian special forces for using the gas, which killed 116 of the hostages as well as the hostage takers.” Wired

Toys expected to be the hottest this holiday season: “A list of what are expected to be the top 10 selling toys overall this holiday, according to … an independent marketing company.

The product expected to be the top seller, Barbie as Rapunzel, leads the list; all others are in alphabetical order.” Boston Globe