Issue 2082 | Magazine cover date: 17 May 1997

This week's magazine

17 May 1997

Issue 2082

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On the cover

Features

Beyond space and time

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Technology : Read my lips: no more keyboards

Opinion

Editorial : Smart, but not smart enough

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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.

Beyond space and time

Features

Dam busting

Features

Computing the uncomputable

Features

One set fits all

Features

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Technology

Technology : Read my lips: no more keyboards

KEYBOARD skills could die out in the next century if a novel method for processing visual information takes off. Now being developed by British-based researchers, the technique enables computers to lip read as well as recognise voices—just like HAL in 2001:A Space Odyssey. According to Andrew Bangham of the School of Information Systems at the …

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Technology

Technology : Fingertip access to information by the screenful

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Technology

Technology : Plants that stay cool in a crisis

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Technology

Netropolitan :

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Technology

Netropolitan :

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Technology

Netropolitan :

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Technology

Netropolitan :

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Technology

Technology : Spider gives kiss of death to pests

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Science : Parasites may deprive female insects of young

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Science : Ancestral bacterium keeps DNA locked apart

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Technology

Technology : Off-the-peg blood suits all types

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Technology

Technology : Phone network runs rings around the world

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Technology

Technology : Clever crossings save lives

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Calculating machine psychs out grandmaster

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Coming up for air

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Net name retreat

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Belgrade cleanup

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Gulf War probe

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Pentium glitch

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Meat and veg man

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How the West gets well

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Science : Does yeast hold secrets of CJD?

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Science : Miniature designers take up weaving

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Science : Thieving ions power X-ray comet

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Science : The language of emotions is universal

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Science : Icy world's clue to Pluto's origins

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Science : Quantum cheats will always win

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Wind and fire bedevil tunnel

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Jetsetters send festering faeces round the world

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Amber alien surprises Lazarus team

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Poisoned water sparks cancer fears

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Don't ignore nature's bottom line

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Rocket hitchhikes its way into history

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Space fridge will rescue Hubble's faulty camera

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Dounreay grasped by strong arm of the law

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Is GPS better than the Pentagon lets on?

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Computer giants fail screen test

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Cheating farmers know the score

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Food safety may have to wait

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Why some boxers are born losers

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Opinion

Editorial : Smart, but not smart enough

A COMPUTER has finally beaten the world's greatest chess player in New York last weekend. Should we feel deeply upset that IBM's supercomputer Deep Blue has overcome an emotional Garry Kasparov? Not really. Machines outperformed most of us at highly skilled tasks long ago. No one would tackle complicated accounting without computer and spreadsheet. And …

Opinion

Editorial : Signing up with the devil

Opinion

Features

Beyond space and time

WHEN Abhay Ashtekar sits down to work at Pennsylvania State University, he doesn't stay in his office for very long. A few lines of mathematics and he's away on an expedition to-well, it's hard to say where, exactly. It's certainly not anywhere you would recognise, and it doesn't even make much sense to talk about …

Features

Dam busting

Features

Computing the uncomputable

Features

One set fits all

Features

Antipodes : Knowing when your food changes its genes

AUSTRALIAN consumers may soon be told if they are eating foods produced using genetically modified organisms. Although the industry says this is irrational, surveys show consumers want to know. And not only in the Antipodes. Knowledge that genetic modification is part of food production is a key concern in Europe and Japan. Dutch law now …

Forum

Forum : Did Sally die in vain?

Forum

Thistle Diary : Times gone by, cod stocks and space hopes

Forum

Review : Right to die

Books & Arts

Review : Know ourselves

Books & Arts

Review : Paperchase

Books & Arts

Review : NHS deforms

Books & Arts

Review : Race ahead

Books & Arts

Review : Loads of stuff

Books & Arts

Review : Horrible histories

Books & Arts

Review : A world unleashed

Books & Arts

Review : Universal learning

Books & Arts

Review : Riddle of the curves

Books & Arts

Bestsellers : from Oxford

Books & Arts

Forum : You are charged with irrelevance . . .

Forum

Review : Collected works

Books & Arts

Birds of Prey by Matthew Lynn

Books & Arts

Regulars

The Last Word

Cracking codes Q: All products on supermarket shelves have bar codes. But are the codes unique? Might a British can of beans appear to be a bag of spaghetti in a Malaysian supermarket? How does a manufacturer decide which codes to put on its products? (continued) A: Your correspondent in Australia has not covered all …

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This week's magazine

17 May 1997

On the cover

Beyond space and time

Dam busting

Computing the uncomputable

One set fits all

Table of contents

51����

Technology

Technology : Read my lips: no more keyboards

Technology

Technology : Fingertip access to information by the screenful

Technology

Technology : Plants that stay cool in a crisis

Technology

Netropolitan :

Technology

Netropolitan :

Technology

Netropolitan :

Technology

Netropolitan :

Technology

Technology : Spider gives kiss of death to pests

Science : Parasites may deprive female insects of young

Science : Ancestral bacterium keeps DNA locked apart

Technology

Technology : Off-the-peg blood suits all types

Technology

Technology : Phone network runs rings around the world

Technology

Technology : Clever crossings save lives

Calculating machine psychs out grandmaster

Coming up for air

Net name retreat

Belgrade cleanup

Gulf War probe

Pentium glitch

Meat and veg man

How the West gets well

Science : Does yeast hold secrets of CJD?

Science : Miniature designers take up weaving

Science : Thieving ions power X-ray comet

Science : The language of emotions is universal

Science : Icy world's clue to Pluto's origins

Science : Quantum cheats will always win

Wind and fire bedevil tunnel

Jetsetters send festering faeces round the world

Amber alien surprises Lazarus team

Poisoned water sparks cancer fears

Don't ignore nature's bottom line

Rocket hitchhikes its way into history

Space fridge will rescue Hubble's faulty camera

Dounreay grasped by strong arm of the law

Is GPS better than the Pentagon lets on?

Computer giants fail screen test

Cheating farmers know the score

Food safety may have to wait

Why some boxers are born losers

Opinion

Editorial : Smart, but not smart enough

Editorial : Signing up with the devil

Features

Beyond space and time

Dam busting

Computing the uncomputable

One set fits all

More

Antipodes : Knowing when your food changes its genes

Forum : Did Sally die in vain?

Thistle Diary : Times gone by, cod stocks and space hopes

Review : Right to die

Review : Know ourselves

Review : Paperchase

Review : NHS deforms

Review : Race ahead

Review : Loads of stuff

Review : Horrible histories

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