New Scientist magazine - 14 March 2009

Issue number 2699

The only way to roam extra dimensions would be to reconstitute ourselves from gravitons: the only truly free particles

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• The toaster did it

  Editorialp5

  A new kind of domestic warfare might become a reality as everyday gizmos get their own internet addresses

• US stem-cell debate is far from over

  Editorialp5

  Obama has kept his campaign promise, but US biologists must not get carried away

• We need the whole truth on endangered species

  Editorialp5

  Should scientists ever put a gloss on their data to bolster support for a "good cause"?

• What's hot on NewScientist.com

  Editorial > What's hot on NewScientist.comp5

• DNA test for eye colour could help fight crime

  News > Upfrontp6

  Police could be using the new test within a year to help identify criminals from traces left at a crime scene

• Fish study holds hope for CJD drug

  News > Upfrontp6

  Finding that prion proteins help zebrafish embryos develop could allow rapid testing of drugs for the brain disease

• Stem cell research returns to cash bonanza

  News > Upfrontp6

  Restrictions on the funding of research using embryonic stem cells have been lifted just as the US National Institutes of Health awaits an unprecedented windfall of cash

• 'Magic' pea hybrid could help feed the world

  News > Upfrontpp6-7

  The world's first hybrid legume, a variety of pigeon pea, could raise yields by 40%

• Mars probe reboot, Cholera on the wane, and more

  News > 60 Secondsp7

• Climate scientists issue sea level warning

  News > Upfrontp7

  Now we know just how serious the melting in Greenland and Antarctica is, and it means sea level could rise by a metre or more by 2100

• Lab investigated over cruelty to chimps

  News > Upfrontp7

  The Humane Society claims that chimpanzees and monkeys at a Louisiana lab are in extreme distress

• US court rules against legal immunity for Big Pharma

  News > Upfrontp7

  A ruling from the Supreme Court means that adversely affected patients can still sue drug companies even if they have FDA approval

• 'Flawed' Red List putting species at risk

  News > This Weekpp8-9

  A growing number of conservationists are questioning the scientific quality of the Red List, a hugely influential barometer of extinction risk

• "My initial thought ... was: it's a lunatic ninja coming through the window."

  News > Soundbitesp10

  Beat Ettlin of Canberra, Australia, on how it felt when a kangaroo came crashing through his bedroom window onto his bed.

• Solar power schemes could protect nature reserves

  News > This Weekp10

  Combining solar power plants with wildlife sanctuaries might calm conflicts between humans and nature

• Zoo chimp plans its attacks

  News > This Weekp10

  A chimpanzee that deliberately stockpiles ammunition to throw at zoo visitors is hailed as proof that some non-humans can make plans for the future

• Our sophisticated minds gave us religion

  News > This Weekp11

  Brain scans reveal that the parts of the brain we use to process religious belief evolved most recently and give us sophisticated cognition

• Protein switch controls blood clotting

  News > This Weekp11

  Blocking a protein that switches on blood clot formation could lead to drugs that reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes

• High-speed brains are in the genes

  News > This Weekp12

  Spectacular images of the brain's wiring reveal that more aspects of intelligence are inherited than previously known

• Gravity ripples may reveal traces of supersymmetry

  News > This Weekp13

  Gravitational waves could reveal evidence that each of the known subatomic particles once had a symmetric partner

• Children of older dads pay IQ price

  News > In Briefp14

  Those born to older fathers score worse on a range of intelligence tests, including concentration, memory, reasoning and reading – but the difference is only slight

• Horse-human relationship goes back further than thought

  News > In Briefp14

  Bones and pottery from ancient Kazakh settlements show that horses were milked and probably ridden more than five millennia ago

• Moon hides scars of a violent past

  News > In Briefp14

  Our closest neighbour has been struck by three times more asteroids than previously thought – bad news for primitive life on Earth

• Virus paves the way for diabetes vaccine

  News > In Briefp14

  Enteroviruses that cause diarrhoea and vomiting may also trigger diabetes – a discovery that could one day lead to a vaccine.

• Children come with a high carbon cost

  News > In Briefp15

  Having one child today could eventually cause many times your own lifetime's carbon emissions

• 'Dead' gene comes back to life

  News > In Briefp15

  A gene protecting against diseases died out in our primate ancestors but was reactivated after millions of years

• Fetal exposure removes alcohol's bitter tang

  News > In Briefp15

  Young rats prefer bitter tastes if they are exposed to alcohol in the womb, perhaps explaining why fetal exposure in people ups the risk of alcohol abuse

• How to find the Sun's long-lost siblings

  News > In Briefp15

  Some of the stars that formed in the same cluster as our Sun may still reside nearby – an upcoming space mission could find them

• Realistic avatars created in the blink of an eye

  Technology > Newsp17

  Software that creates life-like virtual models of the eye could allow animators to produce more realistic faces and make characters in online games seem more human

• Shocking cancer treatment may also yield weapon

  Technology > Newsp17

  A technique that delivers nanosecond pulses of electricity to kill cancer cells is being investigated as a longer-lasting stun gun

• US patent bill a 'chill on innovation'

  Technology > Newsp17

  A bill designed to stop "trolls" lodging patents based on other people's work could hurt all inventors, it is claimed

• Pentagon readies its cyberwar defences

  Technology > Featurepp18-19

  Internet warfare is getting cheaper, easier and more devastating – but the Pentagon is learning how to fight back

• 'Nanoball' batteries could recharge car in minutes

  Technology > Featurep19

  US researchers have revealed an experimental battery that charges about 100 times as fast as normal lithium ion batteries – the breakthrough could be a boost for green transport

• DNA cages guide nanoparticle self-assembly

  Technology > Featurep20

  Stopping nanoparticles clumping together at random could finally allow them to self-assemble into transistors, metamaterials and even tiny robots

• Time to shrink the atomic clock

  Technology > Featurep20

  Atomic clocks, usually the size of fridges, could be shrunk to microscopic size thanks to a new way of measuring the length of the second

• Europe plays catch-up to Obama's science drive

  Comment and Analysisp22

  The EU has much to learn from Barack Obama's scientific "dream team", says John Beddington, the UK government's chief scientific adviser

• Will democracy bring the demise of the hangman?

  Comment and Analysispp22-23

  Politics means the vast majority of the world's executions take place in Asia – but that will eventually change, say David Johnson and Franklin Zimring

• Pakistan to battle fundamentalism with science

  Opinion > Commentaryp23

  A new drive for science and engineering could help Pakistan solve many of its problems – the move should be applauded, says Lawrence Krauss

• Multiplying mice

  Lettersp24

  Sharon Oosthoek says that around 25 million mice a year are used in labs worldwide (24 January, p 54...

• Not so special

  Lettersp24

  I don't understand what's so ineffably profound about DNA (21 February, p 22...

• Sleep well

  Lettersp24

  Emma Young tells us (21 February, p 34) that "the assumption that poor sleep was a symptom rather than a cause of mental illness was"...

• That sinking feeling

  Lettersp24

  A. C. Grayling highlighted the need for simple explanations of complex modern-day issues to capture public imagination, and motivate people towards change (14 February...

• Were we right?

  Lettersp24

  I didn't notice hordes of physicists in a frothing rage when the line "Why Einstein was wrong about relativity" appeared on your cover (1...

• Enigma Number 1536

  Opinion > Enigmap24

• Not at all like us

  Letterspp24-25

  Lawrence Krauss claims that "Darwin's theory of evolution, and the science of genetics which followed, demonstrate that humans and the rest of life on"...

• Alien paradigms

  Lettersp25

  Martin Rees's statement that any aliens we may contact "could trace their origins back to the big bang 13. 7 million years ago" (14...

• Blood heat

  Lettersp25

  Nick Lane's discussion of the warm-blooded nature of mammals reminded me of a fact that has fascinated me for many years (7 February...

• Carbon heaven

  Lettersp25

  Reading the article (7 February, p 30) about the human predisposition to believe in God, I was reminded of Kryten the robot in the TV...

• For the record

  Lettersp25

  • Our review of two books on Islamic science wrongly described Copernicus's solar system as geocentric, rather than heliocentric (21 February, p 46) - a confusion...

• iSmoke

  Lettersp25

  Helen Thomson's evaluation of the e-cigarette (14 February, p 33) quotes public health researcher Murray Laugesen as saying that "all pointers so far"...

• Planet X - 1

  Lettersp25

  I wonder if the search for a "Planet X" (31 January, p 32) should now revert to being one for a Planet IX, since Pluto...

• When time flies

  Lettersp25

  I wonder if the perception of size using the ANS (approximate number sense) has any connection with the perception that time passes more quickly the...

• Science not playtime

  Web Lettersp25

  Averil Macdonald's observation that accountants do not need to attract schoolchildren to their profession is insightful, but several of her premises contrast with my...

• Scrubbers

  Web Lettersp25

  Martin Gregorie mentions a better method for carbon dioxide capture: convert it to calcium carbonate (14 February, p 26). Alas, to do so by reacting...

• Sleep well

  Web Lettersp25

  Talk of sleep and behaviour/mood relationships are not new (21 February, p 34). Sleep and breathing are also not new associations. However, focusing on...

• Mind over body?

  Interviewpp26-27

  Simon Wessely's research on conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome have led to hate mail, yet he has spent his career developing treatments for them, he tells Clare Wilson

• Second Genesis: Life, but not as we know it

  Features > Cover Storypp28-29

  One kind of life is all we know, but that's about to change, right here on our planet, says Bob Holmes

• Second Genesis: Making new life

  Features > Cover Storypp30-31

  If you can't find new life in nature, then why not make your own? Some scientists are trying just that

• Second Genesis: The search for shadow life

  Features > Cover Storyp32

  If life evolved on Earth once, then why not twice? Biologists are now looking for totally new forms of terrestrial life

• Seven ways to fool your sense of touch

  Features > Featurepp33-34

  It's surprisingly easy for your body to fool your brain. Graham Lawton puts his sense of touch to the test

• Tactile illusions 1: The Aristotle illusion

  Features > Featurep34

  We kick off our special series on ways to fool your sense of touch with a classic: all you need is two fingers and your nose

• Tactile illusions 2: Perceptual rivalry

  Features > Featurep34

  One of the newly discovered tactile illusions uses tapping machines to fool the brain – try the visual equivalent here

• Tactile illusions 3: Boxing clever

  Features > Featurep35

  Here's a way to confound your family and friends with just boxes and bricks

• Tactile illusions 4: I feel it in my fingers

  Features > Featurep36

  One of the best tactile illusions involves nothing more than a comb

• Tactile illusions 5: Change numbness

  Features > Featurep36

  Your fingertips are among the most sensitive parts of your body, and this makes them surprisingly easy to fool

• Tactile illusions 6: Motion after-effects

  Features > Featurep37

  Another classic visual illusion is the waterfall illusion, which relies on tiring out your visual neurons

• Tactile illusions 7: Parchment skin

  Features > Featurep37

  Can you alter one sense by dampening another? Yes, you can, as this experiment demonstrates

• Gravity may venture where matter fears to tread

  Features > Featurepp38-41

  If gravity can sneak into dimensions that are closed to us, it might explain some puzzling cosmic anomalies, says Marcus Chown

• From AC to DC: Going green with supergrids

  Features > Featurepp42-45

  Power lines stretching across continents would allow us to ditch fossil fuels for good – and prove Edison right about direct current in the process

• Why pets give us warm and fuzzy feelings

  Opinion > Books & Artsp46

  The powerful bonds we feel with our animal companions have deep physiological roots, says the author of Made for Each Other

• Film review: The Age of Stupid

  Opinion > Books & Artsp47

  The latest film on climate change attempts to provide 20/20 hindsight while there is still time to act

• Review: Living at Microscale by David B Dusenbery and Nanoscale by Kenneth S Deffeyes and Stephen E Deffeyes

  Opinion > Books & Artsp47

  Focusing on the super-small can yield big insights, as two new books show

• Review: The Crowded Universe by Alan Boss

  Opinion > Books & Artsp47

  The exhilarating tale of the race to discover the first Earth-like exoplanet

• Creating modern music from vintage computers

  Opinion > Books & Artsp48

  How do you make music from some of the oldest and rarest computers in the world? Leading light of the "chiptune" scene, Pixelh8, counts us in

• The happiest place on earth

  Careers > The Insiderpp50-53

  Scandinavia consistently tops well-being polls, labelling it home to the happiest people in the world. Could it offer British scientists a place of contentment? James Urquhart investigates

• Feedback

  Feedbackp76

  This week's Feedback reveals the advantages of motorway telepathy, why trampolining could cure osteoporosis (not really), and why it's important to microwave your condoms…

• On the bone

  The Last Word > Last Word Answerp77

• Sting in the mouth

  The Last Word > Last Word Answerp77

• Con gas, sin gas

  The Last Word > Last Word Questionp77

• Ride the curves

  The Last Word > Last Word Questionp77