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This week's magazine

8 August 2009

Issue 2720

New Scientist issue 2720 cover
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Editor's picks

How to cure diseases before they have even evolved

Life

How to cure diseases before they have even evolved

Features
How the moving walkway nearly overtook the Metro

Technology

How the moving walkway nearly overtook the Metro

Features
10 Mysteries of you

Life

10 Mysteries of you

Features
10 Mysteries of you: Blushing

10 Mysteries of you: Blushing

Features
10 Mysteries of you: Laughter

10 Mysteries of you: Laughter

Features
10 Mysteries of you: Pubic hair

10 Mysteries of you: Pubic hair

Features
10 Mysteries of you: Teenagers

10 Mysteries of you: Teenagers

Features
10 Mysteries of you: Dreams

10 Mysteries of you: Dreams

Features
10 mysteries of you: Altruism

10 mysteries of you: Altruism

Features
10 Mysteries of you: Art

10 Mysteries of you: Art

Features
10 Mysteries of you: Superstition

10 Mysteries of you: Superstition

Features
10 Mysteries of you: Kissing

10 Mysteries of you: Kissing

Features
10 Mysteries of you: Nose-picking

10 Mysteries of you: Nose-picking

Features
What's luck got to do with it? The math of gambling

Physics

What's luck got to do with it? The math of gambling

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.

Wheat plague threatens Afghans with starvation

SPRING rains brought a bumper wheat harvest to Afghan farmers this year, and the opium poppies were safely brought in because US president Barack Obama withdrew troops he had sent to destroy drug crops . But the beleaguered country can't rest easy. The Ug99 wheat rust, a virulent fungus that wipes out entire crops, is …

News

Life

Bad spell for stem cells

News

Clams could stem spread of bird flu

News

Fisheries reap dividends of better management

News

Space

Asteroid visits could lead humans to Mars

News

Health

Could recession end cannabis ban?

News

Research ship drills deep into seafloor

News

Return of El Niño, Vampires with SARS, and more

News

Life

Found: A pocket guide to prehistoric Spain

News

Health

Can 'excited delirium' get cops off the hook?

News

Why the debate over organic food is redundant

News

Space

Fast-spinning black holes might reveal all

News

Earth

Arctic Ocean may be polluted soup by 2070

News

Life

Defenceless rat proves knockout in lab

News

Health

Doubts over stem cell images prompt new inquiry

News

Life

Dieting could lead to a positive test for cannabis

News

Supercomputer creates supernova images in glorious detail

News

New strain of HIV from gorillas

News

Life

GM maize has built-in SOS chemical

News

Stopping seizures with a simple injection

News

Alaska's tundra fire sparks climate warning

News

Softening up tumours for the kill

News

Vanishing Mars methane is a blow for alien life

News

Can crows plan their actions?

News

Technology

Wikipedia's quality under threat by territorial editors

News

Technology

Virtual computer army takes on the botnets

News

Technology

Mini-magnet test makes things sticky for TB

News

Technology

Robots to get their own operating system

News

Space

Miniature gravity detector could peer inside planets

News

Technology

Shedding old light on archaeological artefacts

News

Technology

How to digitally iron out chewed-up photos

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.

Be careful with those stem cells

"STEM cell science is no stranger to claims that don't stack up, results that can't be replicated and doctors willing to rush into the clinic." One might have hoped that these comments, made more than three years ago in a feature in New Scientist (11 March 2006, p 42) , would by now be outdated. …

Opinion

The Einsteins of the avian world

Opinion

The wonder of you

Opinion

Earth

Comment: Why China needs help cutting its emissions

Opinion

Health

Comment: Translate the medical 'bibles' into plain English

Opinion

Health

Interview: The life-saving shot

Opinion

Opinion: Do you believe in miracles?

Opinion

Features

How to cure diseases before they have even evolved

Life

How to cure diseases before they have even evolved

Ready to fight the viruses of the future Gallery: A spotter's guide to human viruses WILL swine flu virus turn nasty as the northern hemisphere winter gets under way? All previous pandemic flu strains started off mild before becoming deadlier, so health authorities are taking the threat seriously. They know that if 2009 H1N1 flu …

Features

Technology

How the moving walkway nearly overtook the Metro

Features

Life

10 Mysteries of you

Features

10 Mysteries of you: Blushing

Features

10 Mysteries of you: Laughter

Features

10 Mysteries of you: Pubic hair

Features

10 Mysteries of you: Teenagers

Features

10 Mysteries of you: Dreams

Features

10 mysteries of you: Altruism

Features

10 Mysteries of you: Art

Features

10 Mysteries of you: Superstition

Features

10 Mysteries of you: Kissing

Features

10 Mysteries of you: Nose-picking

Features

Physics

What's luck got to do with it? The math of gambling

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.

Enigma Number 1557

Reverse division 1. What is the four-digit integer divisible by 11 and 13 whose reverse is a larger integer also divisible by 11 and 13? 2. What is the four-digit integer divisible by 17 and 19 whose reverse is a larger integer also divisible by 17 and 19? Neither of your answers may have a …

Regulars

Review: Unscientific America by Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum

Books & Arts

Life

Review: The Invisible Kingdom by Idan Ben-Barak

Books & Arts

Review: Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age

Books & Arts

Review: Seasons of Life by Russell Foster and Leon Kreitzman

Books & Arts

What's hot on NewScientist.com

Regulars

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.

Gunner Herbert's final rest

FEEDBACK was saddened to hear of the death of our predecessor Roy Herbert, a member of the original staff of New Scientist and all-round nice bloke. According to his wife, Heather, he always had a target age in mind: 92 (it was the age, apparently, of a scientific hero whose identity went with Herbert to …

Regulars

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

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