Visualizing uncertainty about the future

We are all faced with uncertainty about the future, but we can get the measure of some uncertainties in terms of probabilities. Probabilities are notoriously difficult to communicate effectively to lay audiences, and in this review we examine current practice for communicating uncertainties visually, using examples drawn from sport, weather, climate, health, economics, and politics. Despite the burgeoning interest in infographics, there is limited experimental evidence on how different types of visualizations are processed and understood, although the effectiveness of some graphics clearly depends on the relative numeracy of an audience. Fortunately, it is increasingly easy to present data in the form of interactive visualizations and in multiple types of representation that can be adjusted to user needs and capabilities. Nonetheless, communicating deeper uncertainties resulting from incomplete or disputed knowledge--or from essential indeterminacy about the future--remains a challenge.     

Synthesis of buried oxide and silicide layers with ion beams

Ion implantation, because it is inherently a strongly nonequilibrium process, can add a new dimension to materials studies. A large variety of chemical elements may be readily introduced into a target substrate by ion bombardment at concentrations considerably greater than the normal solid solubilities. In addition, the interaction of the accelerated ions with the target produces lattice defects. Both effects have been studied extensively in experiments directed at understanding the mechanisms of formation of buried oxide and silicide layers in silicon with high-dose ion implantation. These layers have properties that are difficult to attain with conventional techniques.     

Long-term ecosystem response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill

The ecosystem response to the 1989 spill of oil from the Exxon Valdez into Prince William Sound, Alaska, shows that current practices for assessing ecological risks of oil in the oceans and, by extension, other toxic sources should be changed. Previously, it was assumed that impacts to populations derive almost exclusively from acute mortality. However, in the Alaskan coastal ecosystem, unexpected persistence of toxic subsurface oil and chronic exposures, even at sublethal levels, have continued to affect wildlife. Delayed population reductions and cascades of indirect effects postponed recovery. Development of ecosystem-based toxicology is required to understand and ultimately predict chronic, delayed, and indirect long-term risks and impacts.     

Familial hypophosphatemic rickets: defective transport of inorganic phosphate by intestinal mucosa

Uptake of inorganic phosphate is impared in intestinal mucosa from hemizygous males and heterozygous females with X-linked familial hypophosphatemic rickets. Considerable intrafamilial and interfamilial variation in uptake of inorganic phosphate is observed in affected patients. Uptake by normal mucosa is concentrative and energy-dependent, and is mediated by at least two systems with widely different affinities. These results lend direct support to the thesis that the primary metabolic disturbance in this disease results from impaired transport of inorganic phosphate in kidney and gut.