The January 2003 issue of National Geographic features an article on nuclear legacy issues, including the contamination of land surrounding the former Soviet nuclear weapons testing site at Semipalatinsk.
For good effect, included is a photo of monster fetuses preserved in glass bottles, as an illustration of the gruesome effects of ionizing radiation.
There is no mention of the fact that freak shows of all kinds used to be very popular in centuries past -- long before any nuclear weapons or even discovery of IR -- and Peter the Great of Russia is especially well known for having a fetish for this sort of thing (ie. human bodies preserved in glass containers - you could say its a Russian tradition !).
Undoubtedly, this sort of thing sells well in the popular media today, especially with relation to nuclear & radiation.
But it does little for public understanding of science issues.
Back in 1999, Prof. James C. Warf, who visited Semipalatinsk and was interviewed and quoted by the popular media on numerous occasions, sent me a message saying that "I examined my writings about the cyclops fetus in Semipalatinsk, and found that I did not explicitly state that it resulted from IR, but the context was clear that this could easily be inferred. My writing was faulty in that instance, and I have changed it to show clearly that this case was probably not attributable to IR."
Radsafers interested in taking up this issue may send their
comments to Ngsforum@nationalgeographic.com
Thanks.
Jaro