New Scientist magazine - 04 April 2009

Issue number 2702

If a fish can signal important things without being noticed, there can be big pay-offs

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• Editorial: Leave education to the experts, not creationists

  Editorialp3

  The right of children in the US to be taught sound science is at risk, but that's democracy

• Editorial: Making poker pay

  Editorialp3

  Even if it is a game of skill, governments will always want a slice of such a lucrative – and addictive – business

• The dangers of inhaling dubious facts

  Editorialp3

  The evidence that "third-hand smoke" has any physiological effects is tenuous, yet even some health organisations reported it as fact

• What's hot on NewScientist.com

  Editorial > What's hot on NewScientist.comp3

• Are we safe in a new nuclear age?

  News > Upfrontp4

  The pressure to build a new wave of nuclear power plants may mean safety assessments will paint an overly rosy picture, say analysts

• Fake company gets approval for risky trial

  News > Upfrontp4

  An elaborate "sting" operation has confirmed fears that US companies may be rubber-stamping risky clinical trials without proper scrutiny

• 'Polypill' promises five times the benefits

  News > Upfrontp4

  A pill containing a variety of drugs to treat cardiovascular disease could slash the risk of heart attack and stroke in healthy people

• Space toilets blocked by red tape

  News > Upfrontp4

  Limits to the use of gym equipment and toilets are affecting morale on the International Space Station, a cosmonaut says

• Low-carbon landing, tampon in the post, and more

  News > 60 Secondsp5

• Texas vote leaves loopholes for teaching creationism

  News > Upfrontp5

  In a vote on state science standards, the Texas Board of Education included amendments commonly backed by the intelligent design movement

• The climate summit that's more important than the G20

  News > Upfrontp5

  The real business on tackling climate change is going on in Germany this week

• US tells ships to clean up fumes or stay away

  News > Upfrontp5

  The US Environmental Protection Agency plans to place restrictions on shipping emissions near America's coastline

• Rainforests may pump winds worldwide

  News > This Weekpp6-7

  Without forests to pump moisture around the planet, would the continents turn to desert? A new theory suggests they might

• "Prince Charles talks to plants. Let's see if there is something in this"

  News > Soundbitesp8

  James Rudoni of the Royal Horticultural Society, which is conducting a study into whether the human voice can affect tomato plants

• Toddlers with autism see a different world

  News > This Weekp8

  Instead of being drawn to the movements of living creatures, two-year-olds with autism are transfixed by motion synchronised with sound

• Cheery traders may encourage risk taking

  News > This Weekp9

  Even a fleeting exposure to a smiling face makes people more likely to make risky investment decisions

• Poker skills could sway gaming laws

  News > This Weekp10

  Two statistical studies provide some of the best evidence yet that poker is more skill than chance, which could help to clarify the application of gambling laws

• Shoot-'em-up games may be good for your eyesight

  News > This Weekp11

  Evidence that playing action-packed video games improves your ability to perceive contrast could lead to novel treatments for some eye conditions

• Tropics have bounty of baby girls

  News > This Weekp11

  Women living in tropical latitudes are more likely to give birth to a baby girl than anywhere else, finds a global study

• Birds and breezes spread diseases

  News > In Briefp12

  Mathematical "power law" helps predict how fast diseases spread and suggests time is short for saving the planet's wheat

• Hurricane speed reveals where storm surges will strike

  News > In Briefp12

  The speed at which a hurricane progresses across the ocean may help forecasters predict which areas are at risk from flooding by storm surges

• Milky Way may hide dark matter 'pancake'

  News > In Briefp12

  Our galaxy's disc of stars and gas capture dark matter from colliding galaxies, new calculations suggest, which would form a massive pancake of the mysterious substance

• Mutated gene gets mice 'moonwalking'

  News > In Briefp12

  Mice that move backwards when they try to walk forward may shed some light on the genetics of a debilitating neurological disorder.

• Are cosmic rays eating away the ozone layer?

  News > In Briefp13

  New evidence suggests that cosmic rays are the trigger of a chemical reaction that depletes atmospheric ozone, rather than UV light

• Gut worms may hinder cholera vaccine

  News > In Briefp13

  Intestinal worms may explain why a promising oral cholera vaccine didn't work very well in the field

• Have cane toads met their match?

  News > In Briefp13

  Predatory meat ants might help stem the flood of toxic cane toads spreading across tropical Australia

• Red pandas reveal unexpected liking for sweetener

  News > In Briefp13

  The red panda turns out to be very fond of aspartame – something only certain primates were thought to be able to taste

• Google sees infrared in plan to scan world's books

  Technology > Newsp15

  The way book pages bend in at the spine is posing problems for the mammoth scanning project, but projecting an infrared grid on the page should help

• Home decor joins the digital age

  Technology > Newsp15

  Digital wallpaper that displays images using electronic ink technology could be in Japanese homes later this year

• Virtual caricatures help robots read expressions

  Technology > Newsp15

  Software that exaggerates people's facial movements could make machines much better at understanding the meanings of expressions

• Aircraft could be brought down by DIY 'E-bombs'

  Technology > Featurepp16-17

  Equipment and instructions for building electromagnetic pulse weapons capable of frying aircraft electronics are available on the internet, say experts

• UK is ideal home for electronic Big Brother

  Technology > Featurep17

  The UK's privileged position in routing global internet traffic is a "gift" to snooping intelligence agencies, suggests a new analysis

• Artificial cartilage could outperform the real thing

  Technology > Featurep18

  Synthetic bone joints could work more smoothly at higher pressures than the natural joints they replace, thanks to nano-sized plastic brushes

• Could quantum mathematics shake up Google?

  Technology > Featurep18

  A technique for studying disorder in quantum systems could improve internet keyword searches, and may be adaptable to genome analysis

• In defence of the Red List

  Comment and Analysispp20-21

  The Red List is not perfect, but it is the best conservation tool we've got, say senior staff members at the International Union for Conservation of Nature

• Top US science adviser on life after Bush

  Opinion > Interviewp21

  Nobel prize-winner Harold Varmus is one of the new US president's science experts, so what changes is he hoping for?

• Hacking the planet

  Lettersp22

  Catherine Brahic's article on geoengineering includes an account by James Fleming of a meeting I attended at NASA's Ames...

• Mind or body?

  Lettersp22

  It is unfortunate that Simon Wessely, interviewed in the article "Mind over body?", attaches a psychosomatic label to chronic fatigue syndrome...

• Enigma Number 1539

  Opinion > Enigmap22

• Back to Lagrange

  Letterspp22-23

  Reading your article on the possibility of observing the contents of Lagrangian points reminded me of work I carried out in...

• Dam solutions

  Lettersp23

  Kate Ravilious reports on the Norwegian company Statkraft's proposal to build a football-stadium-sized plant along a Norwegian fjord that would produce, at...

• En fin

  Lettersp23

  Caroline Williams's article on the worldwide decline in commercial fish stocks made for depressing, if not surprising reading...

• For the record

  Lettersp23

  Victoria Todd, whose research we reported in the news story "Oil rigs may be fit for porpoise", is at Ocean Science...

• Reliable evidence

  Lettersp23

  Linda Geddes's sobering report about the reliability of forensic evidence highlights an important scientific issue: the need to establish error rates for any putative...

• Stimulating smells

  Lettersp23

  With reference to the article "Fart molecule could be next Viagra", does hydrogen sulphide only work when you inject it, or...

• The red ape paradox

  Lettersp23

  Elaine Morgan reminds us that orang-utans are phenotypically more similar to humans than other apes, even though chimpanzees are genetically closest...

• Time flies

  Lettersp23

  Unlike Tony Johnson, I can't accept that approximate number sense influences our perception that time accelerates as we get older...

• The heat to come...

  Opinion > Essaypp24-25

  Forget greenhouse warming, just our everyday activities could eventually heat Earth by an extra, devastating, 2 to 3 °C. Only one thing will save us, says astrophysicist Eric Chaisson

• Special feature: The five ages of the brain

  Features > Cover Storypp26-27

  Our brains change more than any other part of our bodies over the course of our lives. New Scientist looks at the five distinct stages of brain development – and how you can get the best out of each one

• The five ages of the brain: Gestation

  Features > Cover Storypp27-28

  Part 1 of our special feature looks at how a good prenatal environment is needed to make the best out of the growing brain

• The five ages of the brain: Childhood

  Features > Cover Storypp28-29

  Part 2: Life experiences in these early years help shape our emotional well-being, but neglect or harsh parenting may change the brain for good

• The five ages of the brain: Adolescence

  Features > Cover Storypp29-30

  Part 3: Teenagers are selfish, reckless, irrational and irritable, but given the cacophony of construction going on inside the adolescent brain, is it any wonder?

• The five ages of the brain: Adulthood

  Features > Cover Storypp30-31

  Part 4: The peak of your brain's powers comes at around age 22 and lasts for just half a decade – but there is an upside to the ageing brain

• The five ages of the brain: Old age

  Features > Cover Storyp31

  Part 5: Not everyone ages in the same way, but what's the difference between a jolly, intelligent oldie and a forgetful, grumpy one? And can we improve our chances of becoming the former?

• Monster space telescope prepares for launch

  Features > Featurepp32-33

  A new space telescope bigger than Hubble will reveal the young universe as never before, say Michael Rowan-Robinson and Matt Griffin

• Have the tobacco police gone too far?

  Features > Featurepp34-37

  A new front has opened up in the anti-smoking lobby's war on tobacco – but is the concept of "third-hand smoke" supported by the evidence?

• Code red: How deep reef fish keep in touch

  Features > Featurepp38-41

  Red light is extinguished in the depths of the ocean, yet many fish glow in that colour nevertheless – are they sending covert messages to each other?

• How misery inspired Handel's Messiah

  Historiespp42-43

  England's favourite composer produced some of his greatest works after binge-eating and lead poisoning began to take their toll

• On the trail of mythical beasts

  Opinion > Books & Artsp44

  Why are stories of unicorns and wild-men like Bigfoot so enduringly popular? Two new books suggest they meet deep-rooted human needs

• Review: Galileo Goes to Jail, edited by Ronald L. Numbers

  Opinion > Books & Artsp45

  Did you know Galileo probably didn't go to jail? That is just one of 25 myths about science and religion tackled in this scholarly and well-researched collection

• Review: How We Live And Why We Die: The secret lives of cells by Lewis Wolpert

  Opinion > Books & Artsp45

  If a basic understanding of the smaller end of biology is what you're after, this could be just the book for you

• Review: Life in Space by Lucas John Mix

  Opinion > Books & Artsp45

  The search for life beyond Earth has philosophical and religious implications which science books often skirt around – but this book tackles these issues head-on

• Review: Mothers and Others by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy

  Opinion > Books & Artsp45

  In this compelling and wide-ranging book, the author sets out to explain the mystery of how humans evolved into cooperative apes

• Review: The Smartest Animals on the Planet by Sally Boysen

  Opinion > Books & Artsp45

  Amazing animals who can count, use tools, communicate information and made strategic or altruistic decisions

• Get the bug for bacteria

  Careers > The Insiderpp46-47

  From detecting poisons to building microchips, the applications of bacteria are emerging as a frontrunner for biotech bucks. Julia Pierce finds out how tiny bugs are making a big impression

• Feedback

  Feedbackp72

  This week's Feedback reveals why men shouldn't take vitamin pills if they're pregnant, how to open a bottle without touching it, and a case of paedophilic necrophilia in barn swallows…

• Put that light out

  The Last Word > Last Word Answerp73

• Swallow your pride

  The Last Word > Last Word Questionp73