New Scientist magazine - 19 December 2009
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The noughties – a decade of Big Science
Editorialp3
The decade now ending offers hope that we can build a more sustainable relationship with nature in the one to come
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What's hot on NewScientist.com
Editorial > What's hot on NewScientist.comp3
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Battle for climate data approaches tipping point
News > This Weekpp4-5
Behind the "climategate" headlines, there are real struggles over access to climate records
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Microbes survive 30,000 years inside a salt crystal
News > This Weekp5
Microbes entombed in a salt crystal have survived for 30,000 years by feeding off the remains of algae that were trapped along with them
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BMJ criticisms of Tamiflu questioned
News > This Weekp6
The journal's new analysis fails to show drug is ineffective against seasonal flu, and the claims are irrelevant to pandemic flu anyway
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Is synaesthesia a high-level brain power?
News > This Weekp6
The cross-sensory condition requires attention, which suggests it reveals special ability in "higher" brain areas responsible for language and attention
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Alien planet could be ultimate water world
News > This Weekp7
The discovery of a planet that seems to made almost entirely of water suggests "super-Earths" are a more diverse bunch than we thought
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Baby black holes implicated in universe's mightiest rays
News > This Weekp7
The merger of two types of dead star to form a black hole may explain the origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays
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Dams linked to more extreme weather
News > In Briefp8
The statistics of rainfall around more than 600 dams reveal many have triggered more extreme storms
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DNA's guardian gene found in placozoans
News > In Briefp8
Tiny amoeba-like animals have the same key protective gene as humans, shedding light on when it evolved
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Life in the inner galaxy would be bombarded by comets
News > In Briefp8
Comets may be bombarding planets closer to the centre of the galaxy more heavily than Earth, making things tough for life
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Our atmosphere came from outer space
News > In Briefp8
Comets may have given birth to Earth's atmosphere, rather than volcanoes spewing gases from deep within the planet
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Fake blood cells so agile they can carry drugs
News > In Briefp9
Copycat red blood cells can squeeze through the smallest spaces to deliver drugs and imaging agents anywhere in the body
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Know a gene's 'parent' to improve disease prediction
News > In Briefp9
Knowing which parent particular genes came from is crucial to predicting whether a child is at increased risk of developing certain diseases
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Octopuses use coconut shells as portable shelters
News > In Briefp9
Remarkable footage of veined octopuses collecting coconut halves for use when under threat could be the first example of tool use in invertebrates
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Small fingers give women a sensitive touch
News > In Briefp9
Women have a more sensitive touch than men, but only because their fingers are usually smaller
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Chatbots add intelligence to Sherlock Holmes game
Technology > Newsp11
The online movie tie-in enables gamers posing as the great detective to question virtual suspects and witnesses in natural language
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Computer-aided design for life itself
Technology > Newsp11
A software package for designing synthetic life forms means you can create virtual organisms and see how they would function
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Solar cell eye implant could give sight to the blind
Technology > Newsp11
Some forms of blindness occur because photoreceptors in the retina degrade – a flexible implant based on solar cell technology could help
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Geo software aims to avoid ski resort eco-disasters
Technology > Featurep12
The software analyses environmental factors to determine ideal spots for resorts, helping ensure alpine environments are not thoughtlessly disrupted
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Video-stitched cellphone streams go widescreen
Technology > Newsp12
A system called Mobicast enables cellphone users at public events to combine their live streams of video, creating a patchwork feed with a richer view
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2010: The preview
News > News preview 2010p15
From the potential discovery of dark matter to the creation of an artificial life form, we preview the great advances next year is set to bring
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2010 preview: The space shuttle's last ride
News > News preview 2010p16
Each of the three surviving orbiters will make their final flights, ending a dream that space exploration could become mundane
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2010 preview: Arise, Neanderthal brother
News > News preview 2010p17
The publication of the Neanderthal genome sequence is imminent, so we may finally be able to determine if they interbred with our ancestors
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2010 preview: The polygot web
News > News preview 2010p18
With web addresses authorised to use non-Latin characters such as Arabic, Chinese or Russian, the internet will be transformed
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2010 preview: Is this the year that we create life?
News > News preview 2010p19
'Synthia' – a living bacterial cell carrying a genome made from scratch in the lab – could be born
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2010 preview: Automotive X Prize contestants power up
News > News preview 2010p20
From May, more than 40 teams will compete for a share of a $10 million prize for the most efficient car that could be mass-produced
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2010 preview: Tooth-mounted hearing aid for the masses
News > News preview 2010p21
Beethoven used a primitive version, but it's something much more sophisticated that is set to restore hearing to people with a common form of deafness
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2010 preview: Genome sequencing for all
News > News preview 2010p22
Gene hunters will start routinely working with complete human genome sequences, releasing a new wave of discovery in human health
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2010 preview: Journey to the bottom of the sea
News > News preview 2010p23
It's more like 6000 metres under the sea than 20,000 leagues, but an ambitious series of undersea explorations in planned
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2010 preview: Waiting for ET to phone
News > News preview 2010p24
Fifty years ago next April, Frank Drake kick-started the modern search for extraterrestrial life at a radio telescope in West Virginia
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2010 preview: Will a neutralino steal Higgs's thunder?
News > News preview 2010p25
The Large Hadron Collider is primed to reveal the origin of mass – but an unexpected particle could grab the news
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Total recall: The milestones of 2009
News > News review 2009pp26-27
Our review of the year ranges from solar storm Armageddon to a vegetarian spider
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Free yourself from oppression by technology
Comment and Analysispp28-29
That new phone or laptop may be giving you a warm glow, but beware a stealth attack on your happiness, warns Yair Amichai-Hamburger
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Richard Wrangham: Cooking is what made us human
Opinion > Interviewp29
Cooking food allowed our ancestors to evolve our big brains, the zoologist argues, and created the gender roles still observed by most people
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Climate coverage
Lettersp30
I have just read your editorial, which discusses the current situation in the field of climate change research (28 November, p 5). In particular you...
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Mustn't do better
Lettersp30
Michael Bond's article on the relationship between IQ scores and rational decision-making was interesting (31 October, p 36...
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Starship fantasy
Lettersp30
Marcus Chown suggests that we might achieve interstellar travel with the use of a fantastic starship consisting of a million-tonne black hole which will...
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Enigma Number 1576
Opinion > Enigmap30
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Sleepfighter
Letterspp30-31
I have suffered since early adulthood from a sleep disorder in which I fight in my sleep, like the person described in your recent article...
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Blaming his tools
Lettersp31
Paul Collins's review of Jimena Canales's book A Tenth of a Second states that Canales argues that the effect of human reaction time...
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Fly like a bird
Lettersp31
The wingsuit adventurers who wish to land without parachutes might benefit from an afternoon's observation of the goings-on in my backyard (14 November...
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For the record
Lettersp31
• The Ordnance Survey's 3D maps are more precise then we reported (28 November, p 24). They are accurate to 4 centimetres in each direction...
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Noddy in space?
Lettersp31
Feedback mocks the statement made by Noddy Holder of Slade in the lyrics of their song Far Far Away, "I've seen the sunset in"...
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Rainforest fears
Lettersp31
Discussing the destruction of rainforests for financial gain, Eric Worrall rightly points out that rich countries are in no position to lecture poorer ones on...
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Bill Bryson: Everything that happens is amazing
Interviewpp32-33
The award-winning writer on why his fascination with our place in the universe led him to revisit his least favourite subject at school
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Beware humans bearing gifts
Opinion > Essaypp34-35
Giving and receiving presents is a simple pleasure, isn't it? No, it's a social and economic battlefield, says philosopher Robert Rowland Smith
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A history of walking on water
Historiespp36-37
How did the world's pre-eminent "aquatic pedestrian" stroll over the surface of the Mississippi river in 1907?
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Alice's adventures in algebra: Wonderland solved
Features > Featurepp38-41
The absurdities of Lewis Carroll's classic disguise an attack on new-fangled mathematics, says literary scholar Melanie Bayley
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The shape of gifts to come
Features > Featurepp42-43
The latest revolution in games consoles owes its existence to car airbags – so what hot gadgets of the future will today's technologies spawn?
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Little suckers: Putting leeches on a tight leash
Features > Featurepp44-45
Wilful, pampered and easily confused – no wonder modern doctors are struggling with these medical marvels
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Sugar-free satisfaction: Finding the brain's sweet spot
Features > Featurepp46-48
Don't rely on zero-calorie drinks to offset that festive feast. Sugar-free sweeteners might fool your taste buds, but your brain knows better
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Getting to grips with why we slip
Features > Featurepp49-51
Whether ice, wet floors or banana skins are to blame, falling over is no laughing matter. And explaining how it happens has friction aficionados floored
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Foot-in-mouth syndrome: Pitfalls of the party season
Features > Featurepp52-53
The more you try not to think of something, the more it comes to mind – now psychologists are starting to understand why
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Pong-ology: Sniffing out a cure for iffy whiffs
Features > Featurepp54-57
Most of us steer well clear of halitosis, body odour, farts and smelly feet – but these researchers have a keen nose for their biological mysteries
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Let's face it, science is boring
Features > Featurepp58-61
Mouse urine, puréed goldfish brains and human computers. Sound interesting? Well, it's not. Honest
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Pain or prayer? Two ways to grow a religion
Features > Featurepp62-64
Some religious rituals are traumatic one-offs, others are soothing and repetitive - but it's best to stick to one or the other
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High-tech tipples: The future of cocktails
Features > Featurepp65-67
Dry Martini? Would you like that shaken, stirred, centrifuged or spherulated?
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Why your boss is incompetent
Features > Featurepp68-69
The Peter principle says people get promoted until they reach the level of their own incompetence – now mathematics proves it
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Sex and shopping – it's a guy thing
Features > Featurepp70-73
The promise of sex makes men open their wallets like nothing else. That makes them easy pickings for car dealers – and charities
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Atomic dogs: The making of an internet sensation
Features > Featurepp74-75
Could New Scientist's Richard Fisher make it big online with nothing but 16 golden retrievers and a little help from his friends?
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Flash fiction competition winners
Opinion > Books & Artspp76-77
We challenged you to write very short stories about the world 100 years from now. SF superstar Stephen Baxter helped us choose the winners
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Cracking the Majorana code
Opinion > Books & Artsp78
A Brilliant Darkness by João Magueijo is a gripping journey through the life and unsolved disappearance of quantum physicist Ettore Majorana
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The science of Santa
Opinion > Books & Artsp79
Santa Claus must use advanced technologies to pull off his annual feat. But where did he get them? Gregory Mone reveals all
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Quiz: Ten curiosities to identify
Opinion > Books & Artspp80-81
These are the weirdest objects in the Wellcome Library in London – can you guess what they are?
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Postgraduate dilemmas
Careers > The Insiderpp82-85
Are you prepared for your MSc or PhD? New Scientist solves all your postgrad problems
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Who vetoed 'blood as perfume'?
Feedbackp108
An eye-catching title on a PNAS press release turned into something a lot more boring in the journal
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New Scientist 2009 trivia quiz
Features > Featurep149
Cheating soccer robots, new ways into space and smelling out the sexes - how much do you know about the less groundbreaking advances of the past year?