This Just In

Roll out the red carpet and get ready for the made-for-TV movie: Science magazine has created a new celebrity by naming nitric oxide its Molecule of the Year for 1992. The citation notes that only a decade ago NO was considered "just another toxic molecule." But how far it's come! Scientists now know that in small amounts NO is crucial to human physiology. It plays a key role in digestion, blood-pressure regulation, the immune system, the nervous system and a long list of organs. It's even essential for men's erections. Maybe that TV movie will have to run after midnight.