The 2005 McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
provides a broad overview of important recent
developments in science, technology, and engineering
as selected by our distinguished board of
consulting editors. At the same time, it satisfies the
nonspecialist reader’s need to stay informed about
important trends in research and development that
will advance our knowledge in the future in fields
ranging from agriculture to zoology and lead to important
new practical applications. Readers of the
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology,
9th edition (2002), also will find the Yearbook
to be a valuable companion publication, supplementing
and updating the basic information.
In the 2005 edition we continue to chronicle the
rapid advances in cell and molecular biology with
articles on topics such as cloning, helper and regulatory
T cells, lipidomics, olfactory system coding,
and protein networks. Reviews in topical areas of
biomedicine, such as HIV vaccines, hearing disorders,
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and
West Nile fever, are presented. Key scientific and
technical issues relating to security are covered in
articles on aviation security, bioterrorism, and transportation
system security. Advances in computing
and communication are documented in articles on
advanced wireless technology, computational intelligence,
XML databases, extreme programming and
agile methods, mobile satellite services, serial data
transmission, and Voice over IP, among others. Noteworthy
developments in materials science, chemistry,
and physics are reported in reviews of atomicscale
surface imaging, combinatorial materials science,
macromolecular engineering, polymer recycling
and degradation, pentaquarks, and tetraquarks.
Articles on change blindness, experience and the developing
brain, language and the brain, and visual
illusions and perception survey recent advances in
psychology. And reviews in atmospheric modeling,
environmental sensors, glaciology, hurricane-related
pollution, and satellite climatology are among the articles
in the earth and environmental sciences.
Each contribution to the Yearbook is a concise
yet authoritative article prepared by one or more
experts in the field. We are pleased that noted researchers
have been supporting the Yearbook since
its first edition in 1962 by taking time to share their
knowledge with our readers. The topics are selected
by our consulting editors in conjunction with our editorial
staff based on present significance and potential
applications. McGraw-Hill strives to make each
article as readily understandable as possible for the
nonspecialist reader through careful editing and the
extensive use of graphics, much of which is prepared
specially for the Yearbook.
Librarians, students, teachers, the scientific community,
journalists and writers, and the general
reader continue to find in the McGraw-Hill Yearbook
of Science & Technology the information they need
in order to follow the rapid pace of advances in science
and technology and to understand the developments
in these fields that will shape the world of the
twenty-first century.