PREDICTIONS FROM FEBRUARY 2002

"Experience is the worst teacher; it gives the test before the lesson."
-Vernon Law






[YOUR FUTURE - INVENTIONS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE]
Future Family? A Florida family is planning to get controversial ID Chip implants. The VeriChip is similar to a MedicAlert bracelet, but instead of being worn on the wrist, it is implanted under the skin.

The future of satellites and forensics - Investigators are seeking satellite images to help solve a murder mystery.

Explosive silicon - An accidental discovery by researchers may lead to chips that self-destruct on command.

A wired warship of the future? The Pentagon is studying a high-tech, high-speed catamaran that could be the next type of ship in the Navy's fleet.

How did you get to work today? Well, in the not-too-distant future you may be able to forget the car or commuter train. Take a glimpse at the morning commute of 2050.

A new electronic brake system could help skiers and snowboarders stay within speed limits.

[HOT TRENDS]
The first McDonald's drive-through for snowmobiles opened in the town of Pitea, about 80 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Hungry snowmobile riders in northern Sweden can now eat a hamburger without getting off their machine.

Some experts say time is running out to begin studying children who were near the twin towers when they collapsed. Plus, nearly all the blood donated in response to the Sept. 11 attacks went to waste. Of the more than 475,000 units of blood donated after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, only 258 were actually used for disaster victims. It was the regular donations contributed before the disaster that actually saved lives.

U.S. environmental activists say they are exposing a toxic disaster like none they have seen before. Instead of dismantling and reusing old electronics, California's recycling centers are shipping out toxic computer "e-waste" to Asia, where it pollutes the waterways and endangers unsuspecting people, environmental groups say.

Scientists studying the earth's magnetic field say the North Pole could be in Russia before the century is half over.

Right now, your boss, your spouse or the government could secretly be reading all your typed words - even the ones you deleted - while surreptitiously snapping your picture. The $99 downloadable program 'Investigator' already can read every e-mail, instant message and document you send and receive, even if you delete - or never even saved - what you typed. 'Sneaky' software may be watching you.

What are the Must-Have Clothes This Spring? From romantic ruffles to the latest in menswear, the best of Fashion Week.

Toy trends - New trend sees rescue action figures win out over their violent counterparts.


[ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS]
Sun ring could point the way to distant planet systems.

Experiment shows bacteria survive intense pressure - E. coli bacteria survived under crushing pressure in an experiment that shows life can exist in extreme environments on Earth and in the solar system, researchers say.

[BIOLOGY PREDICTIONS]
Scientists believe there is a chance that jaguars might be attempting to "recolonize" the southern part of the United States. They were never there in great abundance, but jaguars used to roam across southern Arizona, New Mexico and even Southern California and Texas.

Birth of the first cloned domestic cat - Researchers announce the birth of the first cloned domestic cat, a calico named "Cc:" The kitten, now almost 2 months old, is genetically identical to her donor mom.

Canadian sport fishing near collapse - A new study suggests that in much of Canada anglers are fishing the resource to virtual collapse.

[HEALTH PREDICTIONS]
A new study finds that the way a mother approaches feeding her children has a greater impact on their body fat than how many calories they eat.

American authorities say cellphone shields that claim to protect consumers against radiation don't work and some actually cause the phone to emit more energy than usual.

A new bacterial rinse could prevent dental decay for life. You would just need to squirt onto tooth surfaces once.

A new study finds that too much or too little sleep is associated with shorter lifespans, and suggests eight hours might not be the magic number when it comes to snoozing.

Long distance medicine - In 10 years, doctors may be doing operations on patients across an ocean.

Will your chubby baby become an overweight child? A new study finds a link.

A Quebec coroner is warning consumers fabric softener may make certain materials more flammable.

[LONG-TERM CLIMATE PREDICTIONS]
Scientists are surprised to find wading birds thrive during droughts, defying common sense. The reasearch suggests that maybe we ought to think twice about messing with nature. We humans tend to want to "eliminate Biblical disasters," like severe droughts, but that may be exactly what the wetlands need.

[POLITICAL PREDICTIONS]
The new chief of operations for al Qaeda is a 30-year-old Palestinian who authorities believe is trying to organize new attacks against the United States. Abu Zubaydah, who has been linked directly to the Sept. 11 attacks, as well as a wave of terror attacks in Europe planned for last year, is now trying to reactivate sleeper cells for new strikes. Zubaydah is believed to have changed his appearance several times in recent years. He speaks English and uses several false names and fake travel documents, making it difficult to track his activities.

[SEASONAL WEATHER PREDICTIONS]
U.S. government weather experts said they saw evidence an El Nino - an abnormal warming of ocean waters that occurs every two to seven years - would develop in the tropical Pacific in the next three months.

Canadian groundhogs predict an early spring.

[STOCK MARKET PREDICTIONS]
Different spending habits of men and women.

Why do people lose their life savings? Behavioral economists say they know - behaviorists like to paint a picture of individuals full of quirks leading them to act in ways that don't make financial sense. People dislike losing money more than they enjoy gaining it. Thus investors hate to sell on the way down.

The result of Super Bowl XXXVI could tell you all you need to know about the stock market for the rest of 2002. When the winner comes from the National Football Conference (or is an AFC team from the pre-merger NFL, like the Steelers or Colts), the Dow Jones Industrial Average tends to rise during the year as a whole. To date, that has happened 22 of 25 times. But when the American Football Conference team wins, the Dow has fallen 7 of 10 years.