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This week's magazine

8 January 2011

Issue 2794

New Scientist issue 2794 cover
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Editor's picks

Uncertainty principle: How evolution hedges its bets

Life

Uncertainty principle: How evolution hedges its bets

Features
Mind gym: Putting meditation to the test

Humans

Mind gym: Putting meditation to the test

Features
Game on: When work becomes play

Life

Game on: When work becomes play

Features
Metamaterials: Going beyond nature

Metamaterials: Going beyond nature

Features
Metamaterials: Transformation optics

Metamaterials: Transformation optics

Features
Metamaterials: Making dreams come true

Metamaterials: Making dreams come true

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.

Space

Did 'Martian' methane signal come from Earth?

Claims that Mars's atmosphere contains methane, which have fuelled speculations that the planet hosts life, may be premature. A key piece of evidence for methane on Mars may actually be due to Earth-based methane, say researchers led by Kevin Zahnle of the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. "This is not a done …

News

Health

Placebos can work even when you know they're fakes

News

Earth

La Niña and monsoonal winds flood northern Australia

News

Battle looms over US science funding

News

Coriolis-like effect found 184 years before Coriolis

News

Health

Haiti to get cholera vaccination

News

Health

Europe and North America brace for flu surge

News

Earth

African vultures dying of poison

News

60 Seconds

News

Earth

Last chance to hold Greenland back from tipping point

News

Physics

Make way for mathematical matter

News

Life

Cluster model shows how first cells could have divided

News

Earth

Intensive logging created New England's rich wetlands

News

Health

Stem cells from urine could help fix your plumbing

News

Life

Ancient genomes suggest Africa has two elephant species

News

Health

A fat tummy shrivels your brain

News

Is mitochondrial DNA the secret of prostate cancer?

News

Life

Fetuses may have a womb with a view

News

Life

Bird feeders delay great tits' dawn chorus

News

Space

How to sort the dwarfs from the planets

News

Earth

Did magma rain on the early Earth?

News

Life

Women's exercise linked to lower cognitive skill

News

Technology

Mimic-bots learn to do as we do

News

Technology

Smart contact lenses for health and head-up displays

News

Technology

Glasses-free 3D TV tries to broaden out its appeal

News

Technology

Vaccine fridge keeps its cool during 10-day power cut

News

Earth

Crystal sieves could make oil sands greener

News

Earth

Mysteries of Lake Vostok on brink of discovery

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.

UK forensics cuts: International justice will suffer

The decision to close the UK's main forensics laboratory will have worldwide ramifications, says Niels Morling A QUARTER of a century ago, Alec Jeffreys made a discovery that would go on to revolutionise forensic science. Though he developed this "genetic fingerprinting" technique at the University of Leicester, UK, much of its success is due to …

Opinion

The deep value of mathematics

Opinion

Earth

Stick to your guns, climate scientists

Opinion

Physics

Pi's nemesis: Mathematics is better with tau

Opinion

Life

V. S. Ramachandran: Mind, metaphor and mirror neurons

Opinion

Features

Uncertainty principle: How evolution hedges its bets

Life

Uncertainty principle: How evolution hedges its bets

Quantum evolution Variety is the key to survival in a changeable world – and evolution may have come up with an extraordinary way of generating more variety A man walks into a bar. "I have a new way of looking at evolution," he announces. "Do you have something I could write it down on?" The …

Features

Humans

Mind gym: Putting meditation to the test

Features

Life

Game on: When work becomes play

Features

Metamaterials: Going beyond nature

Features

Metamaterials: Transformation optics

Features

Metamaterials: Making dreams come true

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 1628

Power crazy My godson is 5 years old. When you work out his age raised to a power equal to itself you get 5 5 = 3125, which ends with his age. Similarly, if you take my age in years and raise it to a power equal to itself then the answer ends with my …

Regulars

The mysteries of kisses

Books & Arts

Dog cloning is not as cuddly as it looks

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: Everybody loves corporate governance

Everybody loves corporate governance THE UK business school Mike Page belongs to subscribes to the Ebrary book reader service. When he tried to access a publication, Ebrary told him: "The document you wish to access is currently being viewed by another user. Your institution permits access to the document 'Corporate Governance' by limited number of …

Regulars

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

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