Dr. Walter Witschey is director of the Science column on the fourth Thursday of each month. That excites me and I expect to be there to enjoy it. In our efforts to understand brain function and capability, we've learned that intelligence is a remarkable combination of genetics and environment.
Government programs recognize the important role environment plays.
As a result, project Head Start and the Free School Lunch Program are important contributors to successful childhood development of mental ability. Few doubt that well-told stories, stimulating play and sensory richness help young minds develop their full potential. Even as adults we know that critical reading, research, debate and chess are all forms of mental exercise that keep mental faculties sharp. Dr. William Haseltine of Human Genome Sciences in Rockville, Md., is working on this idea from a slightly different angle. The Human Genome Project, headed by Dr. Francis Collins, released the first near-complete map of the human genome last year.