| Acknowledgements | p. xi |
| About the Author | p. xiii |
| Introduction | p. xv |
| Public Worries | p. xvi |
| Sometimes Forgotten Advances in Science and Technology | p. xix |
| The Need for Informed Citizens | p. xxiv |
| The "Science Views" Columns | p. xxv |
| Superstition and the Paranormal | p. 1 |
| UFOs, Social Security and Generation X | p. 2 |
| Alien Abductions | p. 5 |
| Astrology | p. 7 |
| Astral Projection | p. 9 |
| Psychics | p. 11 |
| Magicians, Randi and Geller | p. 14 |
| The Chupacabras | p. 16 |
| The Shroud of Turin | p. 18 |
| Noah's Ark | p. 20 |
| Science and Antiscience | p. 23 |
| Introduction to "Science Views" | p. 26 |
| Science and the Public | p. 28 |
| The Metric System | p. 30 |
| Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History | p. 32 |
| The Smithsonian Museum | p. 34 |
| Higher Superstition | p. 36 |
| The Culture Wars | p. 38 |
| Pathological Science | p. 40 |
| Science and Technology by Mandate | p. 42 |
| Forensic Use of DNA | p. 44 |
| Gambling | p. 46 |
| Medical Science | p. 49 |
| Brief History of Medicine | p. 49 |
| Alternative Medicine | p. 54 |
| Fluoridation | p. 59 |
| Aging | p. 61 |
| Breast Implants | p. 63 |
| Repressed Memories | p. 65 |
| Does HIV cause Aids? | p. 67 |
| Medical Research with Animals | p. 69 |
| The Mad Cow Disease | p. 71 |
| Electromagnetic Fields and Cancer | p. 73 |
| Nuclear Medicine | p. 75 |
| Traditional Chinese Medicine | p. 77 |
| The Environment | p. 79 |
| Formation of the Earth | p. 82 |
| The Weather | p. 85 |
| Evolution of Plants and Animals | p. 87 |
| Environmental Policy | p. 89 |
| Population Limits | p. 93 |
| Zero Risk Pesticide Policy | p. 95 |
| Carcinogens and Anticarcinogens in Food | p. 97 |
| The Asbestos Hazard | p. 99 |
| The Alar False Alarm | p. 101 |
| The Dioxin Debate | p. 103 |
| Credibility of Asteroid and Air Pollution Risks | p. 105 |
| The Endangered Species Act | p. 107 |
| Telescopes and Red Squirrels | p. 109 |
| Low Level Radioactive Waste | p. 112 |
| The Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository | p. 113 |
| Transport of Spent Nuclear Reactor Fuel | p. 116 |
| Energy Science | p. 119 |
| Deregulation of Electric Power | p. 120 |
| Alternative Energy Myths | p. 121 |
| Nuclear Energy | p. 123 |
| A Reality Check on Battery-Electric Vehicles | p. 127 |
| Thermonuclear Fusion | p. 128 |
| Electrical Power | p. 131 |
| Coal Power | p. 133 |
| Petroleum | p. 135 |
| Natural Gas | p. 137 |
| Nuclear Reactor Fission Power | p. 139 |
| Solar Power | p. 141 |
| Solar Photovoltaic Power | p. 143 |
| Wind Power | p. 144 |
| Geothermal Power | p. 147 |
| Biomass Production of Energy | p. 149 |
| Fuel Cells | p. 151 |
| Thermonuclear Fusion Power | p. 153 |
| Cold Fusion | p. 155 |
| Battery-Electric Vehicles | p. 158 |
| Basic and Applied Science | p. 161 |
| The Origin of the Universe | p. 162 |
| Superconductivity | p. 165 |
| The Golden Age of American Science | p. 167 |
| Is American Science in Decline? | p. 170 |
| The Big Bang Origin of the Universe | p. 172 |
| The End of the World | p. 175 |
| The Structure of Matter | p. 177 |
| Antimatter Atoms | p. 179 |
| Molecule of the Year | p. 181 |
| The Earth's Atmosphere | p. 183 |
| Earthquakes and Continental Drift | p. 185 |
| Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection | p. 187 |
| The Dinosaurs' Demise | p. 189 |
| Molecular Adam and Mitochondrial Eve | p. 191 |
| Genetic Cloning | p. 193 |
| Was Ancient Life found from Mars? | p. 195 |
| Agricultural Sciences | p. 197 |
| The Rad Lab at Ucb | p. 199 |
| The 1995 Nobel Prizes in the Sciences | p. 201 |
| Space Travel | p. 203 |
| Science Education | p. 207 |
| The Public's Views | p. 207 |
| Education | p. 209 |
| The Media | p. 212 |
| References | p. 217 |
| Index | p. 225 |
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