New Scientist magazine - 19 December 2009

Issue number 2739/40/41

Wonderland's madness reflects Carroll's views on the dangers of the new symbolic algebra

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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

• What's hot on NewScientist.com

  Editorial > What's hot on NewScientist.comp3

• Battle for climate data approaches tipping point

  News > This Weekpp4-5

  Behind the "climategate" headlines, there are real struggles over access to climate records

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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...

• 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...

• 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...

• Enigma Number 1576

  Opinion > Enigmap30

• 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...

• 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...

• 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...

• 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...

• 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"...

• 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...

• 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

• 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

• 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?

• 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

• 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?

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• High-tech tipples: The future of cocktails

  Features > Featurepp65-67

  Dry Martini? Would you like that shaken, stirred, centrifuged or spherulated?

• 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

• 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

• 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?

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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?

• Postgraduate dilemmas

  Careers > The Insiderpp82-85

  Are you prepared for your MSc or PhD? New Scientist solves all your postgrad problems

• 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

• 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?