Life When sociable computing meets autism In a room surrounded by machines at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, a group of students and professors is sharing a deeply human moment. On a video screen Amanda Baggs, a 26-year-old woman with autism, is flapping her arms, rocking, sucking on a pen and scratching household objects, part of an 8-minute film … News
Technology We are closer to Armageddon WHO would have thought, at the end of the cold war, that the world would be closer to a nuclear conflagration in 2007 than at just about any time since 1945? Yet that's the way it seems today. Last month the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists , whose board of sponsors I am a member … Opinion
Life What it's like to live with haemochromatosis AS THE nurse inserts a wide-bore needle into the vein on my arm, I settle back and look forward to my juice and cookies. Like millions of people worldwide I am a blood donor. There is something different about my blood, though, that makes it highly sought after: it is overflowing with iron. In fact, … Features
What to expect from life as a postgrad HERE'S one thing we learned this month: no two scientists have the same experience during their master's or PhD. New Scientist has talked to a wide range of prominent researchers about their postgraduate years, and discovered a great deal about their personal journeys to the top flight of science (see "What I've learned..."). However, these … Careers
Feedback Doggie beer AFTER a long day hunting with her dogs, Dutch pet-shop owner Terrie Berenden likes to relax with a beer. One day she decided the dogs deserved a drink as well. She didn't just pour some of her beer into a saucer for them – dog digestive systems, she knew, are not up to … Regulars