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This week's magazine

28 April 2007

Issue 2601

New Scientist issue 2601 cover
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Editor's picks

Balancing boulders with a shaky past

Earth

Balancing boulders with a shaky past

Features
Oxygen – the breath of life

Earth

Oxygen – the breath of life

Features
Underwater weapons – the next wave

Technology

Underwater weapons – the next wave

Features
The cosmos – <I>before</I> the big bang

Space

The cosmos – before the big bang

Features

Table of contents

News

Alien stowaways are potentially disastrous

Earth

Alien stowaways are potentially disastrous

WHEN the Genesis space capsule began its re-entry into Earth's atmosphere in September 2004, mission controllers at NASA got ready to celebrate. Genesis had spent three years in deep space collecting particles from the solar wind, so it came as a huge relief to see it back from its long journey, on course for a …

News

Technology

Gecko-inspired suit could have you climbing the wall

News

Technology

Buildings could save energy by spying on inhabitants

News

Space

Dark mappers take a gamma-ray view

News

Technology

Gizmo

News

Technology

TV could show soldiers the way home

News

Earth

Online game takes you into the wild – virtually

News

Technology

Hope in sight for bionic eyes

News

Health

New drugs test could have addicts sweating

News

Technology

Head researchers turn their attention to beer

News

Life

Does circumcision harm your sex life?

News

Earth

Concerns over synthetic fragrances in breast milk

News

Earth

Weed-friendly GM crops can help the environment

News

Technology

New drug overrides 'nonsense' mutations

News

Earth

Chimps' cooperation extends beyond the family

News

This week 50 years ago

News

Earth

A good home environment boosts birds' morale

News

Space

Particle physicist takes on Newton and Einstein

News

Technology

Chemical weapons still causing concern

News

Life

Babies overfed to meet flawed ideal

News

Life

The handy guide to shark body language

News

Soundbites

News

Earth

New Orleans goes to 'levee school'

News

Life

New Earth-like planet could be perfect home from home

News

60 Seconds

News

Earth

Saudis blocking reductions in fossil-fuel consumption

News

Earth

New bioplastic is boil-proof too

News

Health

Alert over transplant virus in Australia

News

Life

US imposes limited abortion ban

News

Health

Lethal injection drugs 'unreliable'

News

Earth

Upper oceans are warming after all

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.

Technology

Doctors should say no to free lunches

Want to influence how doctors treat their patients? Just don a suit and bring a bag of doughnuts. Pharmaceutical sales representatives have for years been using such low-value gifts – as well as more blatant means, such as free trips to conferences – to persuade doctors to prescribe their particular brand of drug, and there …

Opinion

Life

Editorial: Wrong guns in the wrong hands?

Opinion

Technology

Editorial: Banning the bombs works

Opinion

Life

Perspectives: The biggest flop of all

Opinion

Health

Interview: The president's doctor

Opinion

Analysis

Warning signs on the road to a mass shooting

Life

Warning signs on the road to a mass shooting

Cho Seung-Hui's obsession with weapons is typical of such killers In the wake of the carnage wrought on the campus of Virginia Tech by Cho Seung-Hui, the obvious question has emerged from the shock and grief: why were warning signs missed? Much has been made of Cho's bizarre behaviour and his stalking of female students. …

News

Features

Balancing boulders with a shaky past

Earth

Balancing boulders with a shaky past

Audio: Hear James Brune discuss this feature as part of SciPod, New Scientist's weekly podcast . James Brune and his friends looked at the 2-metre boulder balanced on a rocky ledge south of Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and wondered if it would roll. After a lot of effort, it did. The rock finally came to rest …

Features

Earth

Oxygen – the breath of life

Features

Technology

Underwater weapons – the next wave

Features

Space

The cosmos – before the big bang

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.

Earth

The word: Marula

WE ALL like to seem attractive. But if you're a tree bearing succulent fruit designed to lure hungry elephants, the resulting attention can be too much of a good thing. The fruit of the marula tree ( Sclerocarya birrea ) of central and southern Africa evolved to be eaten, and its seeds dispersed by the …

Regulars

Technology

The Unofficial Tourists' Guide to Second Life, by Paul Carr and Graham Pond

Books & Arts

The Sun Kings, by Stuart Clarke

Books & Arts

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

Just send your bank details... GOOD news for dupes of the infamous Nigerian spam frauds who sent money to "419" scammers but never received their promised rewards. We've been told that the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is going to make it up to you. Feedback has just received a letter from one Bello …

Regulars

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

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