If you sat slack-jawed through your science classes, there's no need to do a 24-hour Nova marathon to get up to speed -- just cram with the following CD-ROMs:
Life's Greatest Mysteries. Want to know the origin of your headache? Wonder why you dreamed about multicolored reptiles last night? Answers to these and more than 50 other questions about the mind and body are found in A.D.A.M. Software's newest CD-ROM. Hosted by A.D.A.M.'s newest animated character, Bob Winkle, you'll explore the four different sections of the disk -- the Mind, the Body, Illness, and Curiosities -- to find out why our stomachs growl, how we catch colds, and why we have two eyes. Beats old wives' tales by a mile. $40. 800-955-9920 or 619-693-1200.
The Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Nature. Want to commune with nature without leaving the house? It's easy with DK Multimedia's new CD-ROM, Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Nature. Using its unique interface, you can open "drawers" and learn all about more than 250 plants and animals or find their habitat on an interactive globe. Traverse the North American desert to see what species are indigenous to the area, or jump to the animal of your choice to get a closer look. $80. 212-213-4800.
Earthscapes in Time: The See-Through Atlas. The latest CD-ROM in Now What? Software's popular Small Blue Planet series, Earthscapes in Time takes the interactive atlas one step further. Using images from NASA, the CIA, and Landsat, you can view both the natural and human-induced global transformations that have occurred over the last 30 years. Observe images of Mt. St. Helen's volcanic eruption and read about its impact on global weather, or view the effect of increased irrigation on the quickly shrinking Aral Sea. $50. 800-322-1954 or 415-885-1689.
