UCLA neuroscientist Paul Thompson uses brain scans to show the "lava flow of destruction" caused by Alzheimer's disease and Schizophrenia.  (Globe Photo/Jennifer Taylor )

SCIENCE MUSING
The historic conflict between X and Y
(By Chet Raymo)
Has there ever been a more astute observer of the war between the sexes than James Thurber? With wry words and acerbic pen, Thurber chronicled the irreconcilable interests of men and women in essays and cartoons that appeared in The New Yorker during the 1930s, '40s and '50s. Women may deny that Thurber was an objective observer, but males of my generation are pretty much convinced that he got it right.

PULSE POINTS
We're number one!
(By Globe Staff)
Either Boston is amazingly health-conscious or residents are not too particular about their meat substitutes. A new survey ranks Boston tops in the country for household consumption of soy products, beating out Portland, Ore., and San Francisco for the honor bestowed by the Soyfoods Association of North America. Soy is a cholesterol-lowering, low-fat source of protein that is also used by women to ward off hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause. But it has suffered from an image problem since the days when it was best known as the key ingredient in tofu, the gelatinous gray-white mass that terrified meat eaters everywhere.

NEW ON TELEVISION
From Earth's corners, the lives of mammals
(By Beth Greenberg, Globe Staff)
It's hard to not covet Sir David Attenborough's latest job. In his new series, ''Life of Mammals,'' to air Thursday night and Friday night on the Discovery Channel, the 77-year-old British broadcasting luminary travels across the globe by foot, boat, Land Rover, and snowmobile to seek out the mammals of the world. This engaging and informative six-hour series looks at how mammals have adapted to climates as seemingly inhospitable as the frozen Arctic and the heat-blasted deserts of Australia.

Cutters can stop the pain -- with help
(By Judy Foreman, Globe Staff)
Years ago, Boston University psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk tried a simple experiment to understand one of the most disturbing, and bizarre, of all psychiatric disorders -- self-mutilation, or more simply, cutting. He asked his cutters, mostly young women, to see him when they felt the urge to scratch, slash or burn themselves.

YOUR HEALTH
Germs throw cold water on hot tube hygiene
(By Cathryn M. Delude, Globe Correspondent)
Cue the ''Psycho'' music. There's a stranger in your shower, though it's not a knife-wielding murderer. It's a mysterious consortium of bacteria embedded in shower curtain slime. They also hover in the mist above hot tubs and swim with you in pools.

RANDOM DATA
Pain goes another step down the food chain
(By Agnieszka Biskup, Globe Staff)
It's long been thought that fish don't feel pain, but in a study released last week by the Royal Society, Britain's national academy of science, researchers say they have conclusive proof that they do. Scientists from the University of Edinburgh and the Roslin Institute injected either bee venom or acetic acid into the lips of rainbow trout. The fish showed ''rocking'' motions, similar to the kind of motion seen in higher animals in pain. The trout injected with acetic acid rubbed their lips on the gravel of their tank and on the tank walls. According to Lynne Sneddon, the leader of the team, ''These do not appear to be reflex responses.''

Recovery process uncertain for 15 who were poisoned
(By Alice Dembner, Globe Staff)
Quick and aggressive treatment may have saved the lives of 15 Maine residents poisoned with arsenic at their church eight days ago, doctors said. But the patients still face the risk of severe nerve damage in the days ahead.

Near future uncertain for 15 surviving victims
(By Alice Dembner, Globe Staff)
Quick and aggressive treatment may have saved the lives of 15 Maine residents poisoned with arsenic at their church eight days ago, doctors said. But the patients still face the risk of severe nerve damage in the days ahead.

Oil cleanup called relative success
Lingering damage expected from spill
(By Beth Daley, Globe Staff)
As thick black oil continued to wash up on Buzzards Bay beaches yesterday, cleanup officials are defying the dismal odds against collecting much of the spill, but still may not be able to prevent the damage that historically is done by oil they cannot recoup.

Drug firm, once fraud target, now is accused
(By Alice Dembner, Globe Staff)
They were the intended target of one of the biggest drug frauds in US history, a scheme by rival TAP Pharmaceutical Products to grab more of the lucrative prostate cancer treatment market by bribing doctors to prescribe its drug instead.

Disparities are found in home-health agencies
(By Alice Dembner, Globe Staff and Bill Dedman, Globe Correspondent)
Slightly more than half the patients who received home health care in Massachusetts were subsequently better able to care for themselves as a result, according to the first federal report card on services used by about 100,000 state residents annually.

Barge owner has history of oil spills, violations
(By Beth Daley, Globe Staff, Globe Correspondent)
The company that owns the barge and tugboat responsible for Sunday's oil spill in Buzzards Bay has a long history of leaks, violations, and fines along the East Coast stemming from accidents that spilled tens of thousands of gallons of oil into ecologically fragile waterways.

In quest to save Buzzards Bay, small victories
(By Beth Daley, Globe Staff, and Peter Demarco, Globe Correspondent)
FAIRHAVEN -- Weighed down with oil, the loon struggled to keep afloat off West Island before dragging itself onto shore and collapsing in the sand. As it struggled to shake the thick fuel from its wings, two rescue workers scooped up the bird with nets in a frenzy of arms and feathers.

US survey finds outbreak feared
(By Raja Mishra, Globe Staff)
Americans now fear SARS more than anthrax and smallpox, with significant numbers altering their lives to avoid the deadly contagion and a majority supporting the forced detainment of victims in the event of a domestic outbreak, according to a new survey by researchers at Harvard School of Public Health.

Calender: May 6 - 12
(By Globe Staff and Wires)
Tuesday, May 6: NORTHERN EXPOSURES The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge can't stop making news. First there was the oil-drilling debate, and then the Smithsonian recently demoted an exhibit of ANWR nature photographs from its original gallery to a less-prominent room. Conspiracy? Political pressure? Who knows. But we do know this: Subhankar Banerjee, who took the Smithsonian pictures, will show slides and speak tonight about the 4,000 miles he trekked through the wild to produce his sweeping photo book, ''Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land.''