Issue 2168 | Magazine cover date: 9 January 1999

9 January 1999

Issue 2168

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On the cover

Features

Glorious noise

News

Viking wars

Opinion

Life as we know it

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New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Glorious noise

Features

Heart of chaos

Features

Beastly explorers

Features

Flower power!

Features

News

Viking wars

DOCTORS and scientists are threatening to sabotage the transfer of the medical, genetic and genealogical records of all Icelanders to a private company. Opposition to the plan has been mounting since last month when Iceland's parliament approved a controversial law authorising the creation of a database containing the personal data. The law allows a single …

News

Brain gain

News

Into the void

News

Bug bites early

News

Cloning's white elephant

News

Technology

A bridge too far

News

Warm giants

News

Technology

Smoked out

News

Technology

Steady as she goes

News

Log on to discover what's blowing in the wind

News

Toxic takeoffs

News

Second time lucky

News

Hacked to death

News

Filthy business

News

Dead careless

News

Clever kitty

News

All change

News

Hands off our bones

News

Read the label

News

False start

News

You don't look a day over 3000

News

Signal failure

News

Victorious dwarfs

News

Rinse and spit

News

Happy gene

News

Tame killer

News

Truth games

News

Technology

Tangled websites

News

Hello, Dave

News

Closing the Net on coral bleaching

News

Chemical coup

News

Digging for a workable watermark

News

Thank our lucky star

News

Say `Hi' to the next-door neighbours

News

Why wine is good for your brain

News

Nerve gas detector

News

Double Whammy

News

Smart home

News

HIV's subtle ways

News

Plough to plate

News

Above it all

News

A runt for life

News

Opinion

Life as we know it

WELCOME to 1999. It's always good to start a new year with news of a truly ambitious project. And in the case of Hugo de Garis's Robokoneko (robot kitten) project, "ambitious" scarcely seems a big enough word. De Garis heads the Brain Builder Group at the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute in Japan, and has written …

Opinion

Features

Glorious noise

THERE'S no doubt it's had a bad press. For most of us, noise is what goes on next door when you're trying to sleep. It's that horrible hiss and crackle when an old recording ends or when you try to tune your short-wave radio into the BBC World Service when you're in the Brazilian jungle. …

Features

Heart of chaos

Features

Beastly explorers

Features

Flower power!

Features

. . . . .

DEBORA MACKENZIE reported in the autumn that the European Commission's scientific advisers had recommended that a transgenic potato be withheld from the market because its safety could not be guaranteed (This Week, 17 October 1998, p 13) . She went on to say that Britain's environment minister, Michael Meacher, was considering imposing a three-year moratorium …

Forum

Sounding the alarm on monoxide poisoning

Forum

from Cambridge

Books & Arts

Mythical monster

Forum

I don't recall

Forum

Sterling work

Books & Arts

Bible on trial

Books & Arts

Exodus to Arthur by Mike Baillie

Books & Arts

Changing time

Books & Arts

Collectors' works

Books & Arts

Big bad Bill

Books & Arts

Look back

Books & Arts

Case closed

Books & Arts

Regulars

Feedback

THE IDEA of a fruit-flavoured hamburger gives Feedback instant feelings of nausea. So the news that the US is hooked on cherry hamburgers comes as something of a shock. Even more shocking, researchers at Michigan State University have announced that this culinary abomination might be good for you. According to a paper published last month …

Regulars

This week's magazine

9 January 1999

On the cover

Glorious noise

Heart of chaos

Beastly explorers

Flower power!

Table of contents

News

Viking wars

Brain gain

Into the void

Bug bites early

Cloning's white elephant

Technology

A bridge too far

Warm giants

Technology

Smoked out

Technology

Steady as she goes

Log on to discover what's blowing in the wind

Toxic takeoffs

Second time lucky

Hacked to death

Filthy business

Dead careless

Clever kitty

All change

Hands off our bones

Read the label

False start

You don't look a day over 3000

Signal failure

Victorious dwarfs

Rinse and spit

Happy gene

Tame killer

Truth games

Technology

Tangled websites

Hello, Dave

Closing the Net on coral bleaching

Chemical coup

Digging for a workable watermark

Thank our lucky star

Say `Hi' to the next-door neighbours

Why wine is good for your brain

Nerve gas detector

Double Whammy

Smart home

HIV's subtle ways

Plough to plate

Above it all

A runt for life

Opinion

Life as we know it

Features

Glorious noise

Heart of chaos

Beastly explorers

Flower power!

More

. . . . .

Sounding the alarm on monoxide poisoning

from Cambridge

Mythical monster

I don't recall

Sterling work

Bible on trial

Exodus to Arthur by Mike Baillie

Changing time

Collectors' works

Big bad Bill

Look back

Case closed

Regulars

Feedback

Regulars

Letters