Subscribe now

This week's magazine

30 January 2010

Issue 2745

New Scientist issue 2745 cover
Previous issue Next issue
arrow
Subscribe
Access our magazine content direct via our website, app or print magazine
arrow
View in the app
Check out this magazine in our easy-to-navigate mobile app
arrow
Find a previous edition online
Search through our digital archive of over 30 years of magazines

Editor's picks

Destination Phobos: humanity's next giant leap

Space

Destination Phobos: humanity's next giant leap

Features
I, virus: Why you're only half human

Life

I, virus: Why you're only half human

Features
Digital doomsday: the end of knowledge

Technology

Digital doomsday: the end of knowledge

Features
The comedy circuit: When your brain gets the joke

Life

The comedy circuit: When your brain gets the joke

Features

Table of contents

News

Comet storm split destiny of Jupiter's twin moons

Space

Comet storm split destiny of Jupiter's twin moons

Comet strikes may have warmed Ganymede enough for its ice and rock to fully separate Heavy pummelling by icy comets could explain why Jupiter's two biggest moons – apparently close kin – look so different inside. At first glance, Ganymede and Callisto are virtually twins. The colossal moons are similar in size and mass, and …

News

Space

Panel calls for global 'asteroid defence agency'

News

Space

'Space diver' to attempt first supersonic freefall

News

Life

If you think a crow is giving you the evil eye…

News

Health

Gene screening to give your embryo the best start

News

Earth

Undersea internet cables could detect tsunamis

News

Health

Proof of swine flu's split personality is out

News

Life

US babies mysteriously shrinking

News

Life

Why older brains stand to lose more

News

Earth

Algal power not so green after all, yet

News

60 Seconds

News

Technology

How crowdsourcing is helping in Haiti

News

Space

'Quantum spread' threat to Hawking's bet

News

Earth

Genetically modified seeds 'are everywhere'

News

Health

Elixir of youth lurks in blood of conjoined mice

News

Life

Feathered dinosaurs show their true colours

News

Life

Tiny dinos perished in footprint death pits

News

Technology

Drug could turn soldiers into super-survivors

News

Health

Hey presto! Brain cells from mouse tails

News

Rocky worlds may orbit our nearest star neighbours

News

Life

Jittery crickets pass spidey-senses to offspring

News

Health

Flu in pregnancy changes fetal brain

News

Life

We're built to run barefoot, on our tip-toes

News

Technology

Nanotube dye makes wearable batteries

News

Earth

Molecular Venus flytrap could munch nuclear waste

News

Technology

Benevolent hackers poke holes in e-banking

News

Technology

Fishy sensors could keep submersibles out of trouble

News

Technology

Cars learn to keep an eye on the weather

News

Technology

Nanoprinter could have cells lining up to be tested

News

Technology

Aural perfection without the sound engineer

News

Opinion

Burt Rutan: The maverick of Mojave

Space

Burt Rutan: The maverick of Mojave

Video: SpaceShipTwo Designing the future of space flight Burt Rutan is one of the US's leading aeronautical engineers, noted for his innovative designs and light, energy-efficient air and spacecraft, including Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo. In a rare interview, he talks to David Cohen about his work, conspiracy theories and the explosion that claimed the lives of …

Opinion

Earth

Let the sunlight in on climate change

Opinion

Health

Homeopathy: Overdosing on nothing

Opinion

Life

Matthieu Ricard: Meditate yourself better

Opinion

Features

Destination Phobos: humanity's next giant leap

Space

Destination Phobos: humanity's next giant leap

Could this be the next outpost in space? Whether Phobos is a chip off the old Martian block, or a captured asteroid is still up for debate Interactive graphic: Missions to Phobos PHOBOS is a name you are going to hear a lot in the coming years. It may be little more than an asteroid …

Features

Life

I, virus: Why you're only half human

Features

Technology

Digital doomsday: the end of knowledge

Features

Life

The comedy circuit: When your brain gets the joke

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 1580

If you knew what I knew... I played a little logical game with my two highly intelligent godsons, Proddy and Addy. I had in mind three different digits chosen from 1 to 8 and I whispered the product of the three to Proddy and the sum of the three to Addy. I explained all this …

Regulars

Characters in search of a soul

Books & Arts

Information outlaws through the ages

Books & Arts

Jaron Lanier's manifesto for the tech consumer

Books & Arts

How the landscape of life unified biology

Books & Arts

A rough guide to living longer

Books & Arts

Going undercover to catch the cybercriminals

Books & Arts

Memoir of a puzzling mind

Books & Arts

Seeing the songs of whales

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.

Magic 30's gruesome meaning

HOW smart are the US military's smart bombs? Can they, for example, count? The question is prompted by the observation back in August 2008 on a blog called "Moon of Alabama" that " around the Hindu Kush , 30 is a magic number". The writer found it surprising how many reports of people – whether …

Regulars

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

Browse past issues

View all
Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop