The two existing departments are "Pages," our book review section, capably written by MIT alumnus Wade Roush, and "Viewpoint," an essay contributed by a rotating group of freelance writers. In this issue the essay is by Daniel Akst, a novelist who lives in upstate New York. He takes on the charged subject of "Selective Luddism"-why we embrace some technologies and fear others, for not very good reasons. The final piece of the new "Culture Zone" puzzle is a new department we're calling "Mixed Media." Replacing the column we called "Web Crawl," "Mixed Media" will provide reviews, not just of Web sites, but of products in many media-movies, software, CD-ROMs, museum exhibits, radio programs and almost any other vehicle for communication.

Because space is at a premium in any magazine, we've had to make tough choices in bringing you "Culture Zone." "Web Crawl," for example, has transmuted into the "Mixed Media" column. And "Under the Dome," a single-page interview with an MIT faculty member, has also changed its spots. Rather than appearing as a single page in every issue, "Under the Dome" will be a series of longer features, on a less regular basis. In its debut in the new format, "Under the Dome" appears as an interview with MIT's Robert Langer-a pioneer in the rapidly advancing field of biomaterials.