New Scientist magazine - 10 January 2009
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Editorial: How to fix the Earth
Editorialp3
Resurrection of extinct species or artificial trees to clean the atmosphere may not be so mad after all...
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Editorial: One nuclear law for all
Editorialp3
The major nuclear powers also have to change their ways if we are to stop proliferation in the Middle East
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Editorial: Parkinson's Law is alive and well
Editorialp3
The humorist's pioneering work half a century ago has much to tell us about bureaucracy in the workplace today
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China's dinosaur 'graveyard' yields triceratops' cousin
News > Upfrontp4
The huge skull of a ceratopsids, a relative of the horned triceratops, is one of the best finds in a mass grave of 7600 dinosaur fossils unearthed in China
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Insulin grown in plants gets human tests
News > Upfrontp4
Safflower plants have been engineered to produce insulin – it is hoped they will provide a cheaper source of the hormone for people with diabetes
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Obama team to raise questions over Ares rocket
News > Upfrontp4
Why is NASA developing a new generation of space rockets when the US already has two that could do the same job?
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Yellowstone rumbles spark fear of steam explosions
News > Upfrontp4
Swarms of tremors rumbling through the US national park could foreshadow explosions of dangerous hot steam, say geologists
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Pink iguanas, autism bank, heavy galaxy, confusing light and flu fatalities
News > 60 Secondsp5
The UK has launched its first bank of donated brain tissue samples dedicated to autism research
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Climbers show record low blood oxygen levels
News > Upfrontp5
The finding in medics who climbed Mount Everest might mean that some people in intensive care can tolerate lower oxygen levels than previously thought
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Europe 'exporting' measles to poor countries
News > Upfrontp5
Many poorer nations had eradicated measles, but due to malnutrition and limited healthcare, the returning virus is far more lethal
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Whalers attempt to block refuelling of activists' ship
News > Upfrontp5
Japanese whalers are calling on Australia and New Zealand to prevent a vessel run by anti-whaling activists' from refuelling after a collision in Antarctica
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Should nuclear fuels be taken out of national hands?
News > This Weekpp6-7
To discourage proliferation, calls are growing to establish a system where nuclear materials are managed under international auspices
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Medicinal plants on verge of extinction
News > This Weekp8
A third of the world's medicinal plants are facing extinction – but mobilising local communities could be the key to conserving them
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Mum's behaviour may make young rats more butch
News > This Weekp8
Stroke a newborn female rat and its brain starts to look more male – could sex differences in human brains also develop outside the womb?
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Butterflies use penis to gauge sex competition
News > This Weekp9
Male monarch butterflies conduct an all-out sperm war based on a crude measure of how much sperm is stored inside a female from a previous mating
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A good night out began at home in ancient Greece
News > This Weekp10
Some Greek houses had an unsuspected double life – they were also used as drinking taverns and brothels, suggests an archaeological analysis
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Artery highlighter could reveal heart attack risk
News > This Weekp10
MRI scans could soon reveal who is at risk from cardiac arrest, thanks to a chemical that brings the blood vessels into view
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Danger ahead as the Sun goes quiet
News > This Weekp11
The Sun is about to go into a period of low sunspot activity, which could let more harmful cosmic rays enter the solar system
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Ground-based bacteria may be making it rain
News > This Weekp11
Bacteria seem to release a powerful detergent into the atmosphere that may be one of nature's most powerful rain-makers
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Love cancels out the whiff of rival suitors
News > In Briefp12
Compared with their less besotted counterparts, women who are madly in love struggle to recognise the body odours of male friends
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Secret to a beating heart revealed
News > In Briefp12
Scientists reveal what lies behind beat generation and it seems the life-giving process is simpler than we thought
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Thyroid hormone might repair MS damage
News > In Briefp12
Extra doses of a naturally occurring hormone have alleviated some of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis in mice
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White dwarfs may hide a dark secret
News > In Briefp12
The brightness of white dwarfs may point towards the existence of exotic dark matter particles
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Move over, polar bear
Comment and Analysisp14
When it comes to choosing an icon for the victims of global warming, the most deserving species are in the tropics, says biologist William Laurance
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Mathematics is hard
Lettersp16
There is nothing more irritating and off-putting than some expert airily declaring that maths is all very simple really, when it self-evidently isn't...
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Multiversality
Lettersp16
Amanda Gefter contends that we are being offered a choice between God and a multiverse as explanations for our existence. Consider a third possibility...
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Something for nothing
Lettersp16
Lawrence Krauss seems to have strayed into the foothills of metaphysics without realising that he hasn't brought the proper equipment...
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Sex, lies and surveys
Letterspp16-17
Prompted by the article on sexual strategies, I took a small informal poll at the school where I work...
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Animal welfare
Lettersp17
I was thrilled to read A C Grayling on our duty towards fellow animals...
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Dog standard
Lettersp17
Weimaraner Club members were disappointed to read Paul McGreevy saying that the breed standard for Weimaraner dogs "may help to make Weimaraners appear athletic, but puts them at risk of gastric dilation and torsion"...
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Eco-charging
Lettersp17
In your eco-questions and answers, your discussion of how best to charge a laptop left a major topic unanswered...
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Menstrual chaos
Lettersp17
Caroline Williams writes of the menstrual synchrony effect in humans, that, "McClintock's conclusions remain contentious because nobody has yet isolated the actual chemicals that cause the effect". They remain contentious because of much more than that...
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Tamed, who?
Lettersp17
Piers Bizony says "recent military events in Georgia have reminded [the European Space Agency] that Russia may not yet be a fully tamed member of the international community"...
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The private brain
Lettersp17
Douglas Fox describes work that seems to imply that the conscious brain needs to be inactive for the subconscious one to work...
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Multiversality
Web Lettersp17
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Something for nothing
Web Lettersp17
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Gizmo
Technology > Gizmop19
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Guide robot steers with a tender touch
Technology > Newsp19
A robot equipped with cameras and touch sensors to give it a gentle grip could safely guide the elderly or blind
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NASA to scrap space power experiments
Technology > Newsp19
A leaked letter reveals NASA can't afford to continue its research into space-based solar power
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Scanner paints a virtual crime scene
Technology > Newsp19
A device that incorporates a laser scanner and digital camera can create 3D models of a crime scene that investigators can revisit
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Cool your brain, save your mind
Technology > Featurepp20-21
Techniques that rapidly chill the brain could prevent damage and even aid resuscitation after a heart attack
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How bacterial warfare may lead to safer salami
Technology > Featurep22
A computer model of the interplay between bacterial colonies could lead to sausages that are safer to eat and have longer shelf lives
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Liquid crystals could slash cost of X-rays
Technology > Featurep22
A low-cost way of recording X-ray images electronically could mean cheap medical imaging for hospitals in the developing world
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Ten extinct beasts that could walk the Earth again
Features > Cover Storypp24-28
There's no hope for the dinosaurs, but other long-dead creatures really could be brought back to life. New Scientist looks at the most likely candidates
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Immoral advances: Is science out of control?
Features > Featurepp29-33
When research raises deeply felt objections, it's not enough just to dismiss them as "irrational", says Dan Jones
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Can technology clear the air?
Features > Featurepp34-37
Humans have made a mess of the global climate – building artificial lungs for the Earth might help put this right
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Explaining the curse of work
Features > Featurepp38-39
Work expands to fill the time available – and maths can tell us how and why, says Mark Buchanan
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On the trail of early humans
Interviewpp40-41
In 2000, Brigitte Senut discovered the remains of the first human ancestor known to have walked upright. She told Laura Spinney about fossil-hunting in Africa
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Review: Freaks of Nature by Mark S Blumberg
Reviewp42
The interplay between evolution and development is largely mysterious, but so-called freaks are shedding some light
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Review: The hidden life of Paul Dirac by Graham Farmelo
Reviewp43
Quantum physicist Paul Dirac is an icon of modern thought – now a gripping new biography gives us real insight into his life and times
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Strange tales about Paul Dirac
Reviewp43
Was this brilliant physicist genuinely unpleasant or just misunderstood? Judge for yourself from these anecdotes
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The rise and fall of the metal airship
Historiespp44-45
In 1844, Parisians with a franc to spare could marvel at the construction of a new mode of transport: a balloon made of brass
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Obama is making the right choices for science
Opinion > Commentaryp46
Nobel Laureate physicist Steve Chu is just the person to forge America's energy future, says Lawrence Krauss
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Enigma No. 1527
Opinion > Engimap46
Harry, Tom and I were looking to find 5-digit perfect squares that consisted of a 2-digit prime followed by a 3-digit prime, neither prime starting with a zero...
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Forgettable passwords
Feedbackp72
Where to buy an active volcano, why dogs are so important in the Iraq war, and the iPod that came from the future
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Eye level
The Last Word > Last Word Answerp73
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Fly trap?
The Last Word > Last Word Questionp73
