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This week's magazine

5 September 2009

Issue 2724

New Scientist issue 2724 cover
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Editor's picks

Full without food: Can surgery cure obesity?

Technology

Full without food: Can surgery cure obesity?

Features
13 more things: Morgellons disease

13 more things: Morgellons disease

Features
13 more things: Noise from the edge of the universe

13 more things: Noise from the edge of the universe

Features
13 more things: The elusive monopole

13 more things: The elusive monopole

Features
13 more things: MAGIC results

13 more things: MAGIC results

Features
13 more things: The lithium problem

13 more things: The lithium problem

Features
13 more things: Antimatter mystery

13 more things: Antimatter mystery

Features
13 more things: The Bloop

13 more things: The Bloop

Features
13 more things: Hybrid life

13 more things: Hybrid life

Features
Diamonds are for softies – boron is harder

Technology

Diamonds are for softies – boron is harder

Features
13 more things: Fly-by anomalies

13 more things: Fly-by anomalies

Features
13 more things: Prehistoric hothouse

13 more things: Prehistoric hothouse

Features
13 more things: Dark flow

13 more things: Dark flow

Features
13 more things: The axis of evil

13 more things: The axis of evil

Features
13 more things that don't make sense

13 more things that don't make sense

Features
Secrets of the centenarians: Life begins at 100

Life

Secrets of the centenarians: Life begins at 100

Features
13 more things: The nocebo effect

13 more things: The nocebo effect

Features

Table of contents

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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.

No quick fix for America's sickness

WITH the acrimonious debate over healthcare reform poised to return to Washington following Congress's summer break, two new studies carry a clear message: don't expect an expansion of insurance coverage alone to improve Americans' health. The law-makers are trying to revamp a system that spends around twice as much per person on healthcare as most …

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Forest fire threatens historic California observatory

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Earth

Climate will cost much more than UN thinks

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Space

Egyptian temples followed heavenly plans

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Earth

Circling turbines spell doom for vultures

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Moon orbiter failure dashes hopes for ice search

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60 Seconds

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Life

Pain-free animals could take suffering out of farming

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Top science body calls for geoengineering 'plan B'

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Life

Earth-sized planets are just right for life

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Trick of the light made life's molecules left-handed

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Dark energy lit up by black-hole pairs

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Fasting extends female fertility

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Obama turns to science to clean up interrogations

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Life

Three human genes evolved from junk

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Are girls predisposed to develop a fear of spiders?

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Skin disorder lowers sensitivity to disgust

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Testosterone can damage family life

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Milk drinking began in the Balkans

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Deer mice lightened up fast

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Proteins alone cause prion diseases

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Martian meteorite may have held life

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Laughing gas set to deplete the ozone layer

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Technology

Universal translator for web browsers

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Life

Plasmobot: the slime mould robot

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Technology

Software unearths stuff you never knew about yourself

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Technology

Fly-by-wireless set for take-off

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Technology

Incredible shrinking lasers hit the nano-spot

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Technology

See atoms and molecules more clearly than ever

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Opinion

Climate change: no Eden, no apocalypse

Earth

Climate change: no Eden, no apocalypse

Our desire for control over the climate is reflected in the myth of Prometheus CLIMATE change is everywhere. Not only is the physical climate changing, but the idea of climate change is now active across the full range of human endeavours. Climate change has moved from being a predominantly physical phenomenon to being a social …

Opinion

Pain-free animals would not be guilt-free

Opinion

Gastric bypass blunts our appetite for self-destruction

Opinion

Steam-powered cars should stay in the past

Opinion

Earth

Geoengineering is no longer unmentionable

Opinion

Viewfinder: Opinions from around the world

Opinion

Features

Full without food: Can surgery cure obesity?

Technology

Full without food: Can surgery cure obesity?

The gastric bypass Editorial: Gastric bypass blunts our appetite for self-destruction AT 43 years old, New York chef Thomas Pallozzi-Haynes was morbidly obese and close to despair. While his initial weight gain had been triggered by type 2 diabetes, he now found himself in an endless cycle of failed diets and weight gain that ultimately …

Features

Technology

Diamonds are for softies – boron is harder

Features

Life

Secrets of the centenarians: Life begins at 100

Features

13 more things that don't make sense

Features

13 more things: The axis of evil

Features

13 more things: Dark flow

Features

13 more things: Prehistoric hothouse

Features

13 more things: Fly-by anomalies

Features

13 more things: Hybrid life

Features

13 more things: Morgellons disease

Features

13 more things: The Bloop

Features

13 more things: Antimatter mystery

Features

13 more things: The lithium problem

Features

13 more things: MAGIC results

Features

13 more things: The elusive monopole

Features

13 more things: Noise from the edge of the universe

Features

13 more things: The nocebo effect

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 1561

Some check! Joe has been teaching Penny all about "checksums", which have been used for years to check the accuracy of calculations. To calculate the checksum of a number you add up its digits. If that total is a single digit then that is the checksum; if not, the digits in the total are added …

Regulars

Health

Review: The Emperor's New Drugs and Doctoring the Mind

Books & Arts

Health

Review: An Infinity of Things by Frances Larson

Books & Arts

Life

Review: Crow Planet by Lyanda Lynn Haupt

Books & Arts

Review: Boyle: Between God and science

Books & Arts

Review: The Earwig's Tail by May R. Berenbaum

Books & Arts

Powering transport: Green means go

Careers

What's hot on New51¶¯Âþ.com

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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.

When you're working from the labour ward

MANY readers have responded to our request for examples of ergotopography – which, Feedback has decided, is the art of writing symbols that say where you're working from (25 July) . Unsurprisingly, we received a number of suggestions that are unprintable – either because they use characters or symbols our printers don't have, or because …

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Regulars

Letters

Regulars

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