June 10, 2003

Dr Michael Dickinson of California Institute of Technology, reports in journal Science, his digital video observations and analysis of turns made by fruit flies called saccades; three cameras and six flight sequences are combined into 30,000 measurements that allow Dr Dickinson to define how turn is made; then data is reconstituted on larger scale using robotic insect in process called dynamic scaling, which enables him to analyze forces at work; real-time capability of today's digital video technology allows scientists to get research results immediately; current studies of movement and insect neurology are likely to advance future of robotics; photos, drawing (L)

Ambient Devices is producing devices that can be programmed to monitor data of customer's choosing such as Dow Jones average or traffic conditions; Ambient started with $299 color-shifting glass orb sold primarily through Hammacher Schlemmer and Web sites like ThinkGeek; orbs are plugged into wall and are meant to be left on like clocks; they receive their data wirelessly through radio signals sent over pager networks; orbs can represent any type of information available on Internet; Ambient president David Rose comments; photos (M)

In July 2002, a federal judge in southern New Jersey approved a plan for an expert to assess the state child welfare agency's handling of 500 randomly selected children in foster care. It did not take the expert long to discover the extent of the agency's problems: 120 of the case files were missing so much information -- sometimes, for instance, whether the child was even still in foster care -- that they had to be thrown out of the study. And as the expert dug deeper into the remaining case files, the documented problems only got worse:

Dave Anderson Sports of The Times column contends that any Game 7 of Stanley Cup finals is more pressure-filled than in any other sport because action is stopped after each period, allowing for tension to build incrementally, as it did in game won by New Jersey Devils over Anaheim Mighty Ducks to win this year's Stanley Cup; photo (M)

Boeing Shops for Jet Site The Puget Sound area and Washington State are facing the possibility that Boeing will move final assembly of its next wide-body jet to another state. PAGE C1