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This week's magazine

20 November 2004

Issue 2474

New Scientist issue 2474 cover
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Editor's picks

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.

Technology

Growing bridges out of rock

Features
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.

Life

A billion bacteria brains are better than one

Features
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.

Space

Pursuing the possibility of negative mass

Features

Table of contents

News

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.

Technology

Flat panel TV's quantum leap

ANYONE planning to ditch their conventional cathode-ray tube TV in favour of a much wider flat panel TV will be spoilt for choice. With the rewards so great for companies who can dominate this market, competition between manufacturers is intense. The result is that flat panel TVs are being enhanced so rapidly that any performance …

News

Technology

Sound solution to the pistachio problem

News

Technology

Rapid evolution for flat panel TVs

News

Technology

Luggage that calls your name

News

Technology

I'm working late, darling

News

Technology

Scuba valve inspires cheap drug delivery

News

Technology

Molecular piston shuttles into life

News

Technology

Cordless mouse fed by its mat

News

Health

How a single nut wreaks havoc

News

Life

Lethal toxin is a turn-on for squids

News

Life

Lizard enjoys colourful nights

News

Life

Superman too super a role model

News

Technology

Spintronic switching on the way

News

Technology

New type of superconductor discovered

News

Earth

Sunspots have a measurable effect on crops

News

Technology

Rival engines catch up with Google

News

Health

Coming soon: the first cancer vaccines

News

Health

Physiotherapy's reputation given a boost

News

Life

Childhood death more likely for premature babies

News

Health

WHO allows genetic modification of smallpox virus

News

Earth

Legal fight to stop Japanese whalers

News

Life

Animal rights extremists barred by UK law

News

Health

British serviceman 'unlawfully killed' in nerve gas experiment

News

60 Seconds

News

Earth

Species dying out faster than ever

News

Being born free matters

News

Space

Save the planet

News

Space

Ring of fire

News

Space

Uranian weather watch

News

Space

What is making methane on Mars?

News

Space

No oceans, but maybe a swamp

News

Health

Rogue stem cells may drive cancers

News

Life

A breakthrough in autism at last?

News

Life

Mums' warmth best for incubating babies

News

The rise and fall of nuclear tensions

News

Life

Evolution made us marathon runners

News

Soundbites

News

Space

Rutan bids to build next space shuttle

News

Opinion

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.

Does torture work?

IN THE opening scene of Gillo Pontecorvo's classic film The Battle of Algiers, a traumatised semi-naked man sits surrounded by soldiers, with instruments of torture scattered about. The soldiers are triumphant, and it soon transpires why: their victim has given them crucial information about a leading terrorist. The implication is clear: torture worked. But did …

Opinion

Life

Being made to confess to something, anything

Opinion

Life

Interview: The interrogated prisoner

Opinion

Life

Interview: Michael Koubi, Israeli interrogator

Opinion

We have ways...

Opinion

Life

They have ways of making you talk

Opinion

Crossing the Israeli-Palestinian divide

Opinion

Humans

Westminster diary

Opinion

Health

Engineering the smallpox virus is dicing with death

Opinion

Features

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.

Technology

Growing bridges out of rock

NUTS to bolts, girders and beams. In Roelof Schuiling's book, the best way to build is with good old-fashioned rock. A geochemist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, Schuiling has spent 15 years developing an extraordinary construction technique that could see rock bridges, walls and dams sprout from the seabed, driven by the power of …

Features

Life

A billion bacteria brains are better than one

Features

Space

Pursuing the possibility of negative mass

Features

More

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.

Funding the future

IT'S well know that Sweden is the world's top per capita investor in R&D. And you might think that the country's tradition of high taxation and generous public expenditure has created this sunny state of affairs. But you'd be wrong. Much of the country's research infrastructure now depends on support from industry. In fact, in …

Careers

Regulars

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.

Feedback

A COLLEAGUE recently bought a new VW car and was very pleased with it, until the engine suddenly stopped on a busy main road, with the dashboard showing the cryptic error message "EPC". An emergency call brought a helpful service engineer, complete with laptop. He plugged it into a socket hidden down near the pedals, …

Regulars

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

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