November 2011
Scientific American Magazine

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Cover; November 2011; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Table of Contents; November 2011; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

From the Editor; November 2011; by Mariette DiChristina; 1 Page(s)

Paths Taken

Letters; November 2011; by The Editors; 2 Page(s)

Letters to the editor from the July 2011 issue of Scientific American

Science Agenda: Safety First, Fracking Second; November 2011; by The Editors; 1 Page(s)

Drilling for natural gas has gotten ahead of the science needed to prove it safe

Forum: A Cybersecurity Nightmare; November 2011; by Scott Borg; 1 Page(s)

We can't keep malware out of our computers if we can't find it

On the Trail of Space Trash; November 2011; by John Matson; 1 Page(s)

The U.S. Air Force has a new plan to track tiny pieces of orbiting debris

Bigger Plates, More Food—Or Is It the Other Way Around?; November 2011; by ÿÿJohn Allen Paulos; 1 Page(s)

When the same set of data yields opposite conclusions

Olympians of the Sky; November 2011; by David Godkin; 1 Page(s)

Researchers unravel some long-standing mysteries of bar-headed geese, the world's highest-flying birds

Zombie Insects; November 2011; by Anna Kuchment; 1 Page(s)

A bug expert discusses a sinister virus that causes gypsy moth caterpillars to self-destruct

Social Medicine; November 2011; by Jeneen Interlandi; 1 Page(s)

A new Facebook-like Web portal turns doctors and patients into research collaborators

Halting Hurricanes; November 2011; by David Biello; 1 Page(s)

Tropical cyclones are nature's most powerful storms. Can they be stopped?

Meet Your Newest Ancestor; November 2011; by Anne-Marie Hodge; 1 Page(s)

A fossil of a shrewlike creature pushes back by 35 million years the day when mammals first nourished their young in the womb

3-D, Hold the Glasses; November 2011; by Larry Greenemeier; 1 Page(s)

A breakthrough may lead to more widespread adoption of 3-D TVs

Of Flash Mobs and Four Loko; November 2011; by Jason G. Goldman; 1 Page(s)

An out-of-context experience can feel more intense

Instant Recall; November 2011; by Charles Q. Choi; 1 Page(s)

How many memories do we create in a day?

You Say Embryo, I Say Parthenote; November 2011; by Julia Galef; 1 Page(s)

Stem cells from unfertilized eggs may be too tightly regulated

Low Taxes, High Rhetoric; November 2011; by Bryn Nelson; 1 Page(s)

What consumers really do with their tax cuts

What Is It?; November 2011; by Ann Chin; 1 Page(s)

Moon grain

The Science of Health: Cholesterol Conundrum; November 2011; by France Diep; 2 Page(s)

Changing HDL and LDL levels does not always alter heart disease or stroke risk

Technofiles: The Joke's on Your Computer; November 2011; by David Pogue; 2 Page(s)

Programmers continue to plug humorous gems into everyday software

The 1st Americans; November 2011; by Heather Pringle; 8 Page(s)

Humans colonized the New World earlier than previously thought—a revelation that is forcing scientists to rethink long-standing ideas about these trailblazers

Digging Mars; November 2011; by Peter H. Smith; 10 Page(s)

The Mars Phoenix mission revived hopes that the Red Planet may be habitable, preparing the way for a new rover to be launched this month

The Smallest Astronauts; November 2011; by David Warmflash; 2 Page(s)

Did space rocks seed Earth with life? To test that idea, a Russian probe is about to see whether microbes can survive a round-trip to Mars

Thought Experiments; November 2011; by Joshua Knobe; 4 Page(s)

Some philosophers today are doing more than thinking deeply. They are also conducting scientific experiments relating to the nature of free will and of good and evil

Can We Feed the World & Sustain the Planet?; November 2011; by Jonathan A. Foley; 6 Page(s)

A five-step global plan could double food production by 2050 while greatly reducing environmental damage

Sleeping Giant; November 2011; by Sid Perkins; 2 Page(s)

The volcano beneath this calm-looking lake has grown restive, inspiring a rare collaboration between Chinese and Korean scientists

The Wipeout Gene; November 2011; by Bijal P. Trivedi; 8 Page(s)

A new breed of genetically modified mosquitoes carries a gene that cripples its own offspring. They could crush native mosquito populations and block the spread of disease. And they are already in the air—though that's been a secret

A Formula for Economic Calamity; November 2011; by David H. Freeman; 4 Page(s)

Despite the lessons of the 2008 collapse, Wall Street is betting our future on flimsy science

The Truth About Fracking; November 2011; by Chris Mooney; 6 Page(s)

Fracturing a deep shale layer one time to release natural gas might pose little risk to drinking-water supplies, but doing so repeatedly could be problematic

The Medical Sleuth; November 2011; by Brendan Borrell; 4 Page(s)

As a disease detective at the NIH, William A. Gahl unravels the cause of illnesses that have stumped other doctors

Recommended; November 2011; by Kate Wong; 1 Page(s)

Books and recommendation from Scientific American

Skeptic: The Real Science behind Scientology; November 2011; by Michael Shermer; 1 Page(s)

It's not what you think

Anti-Gravity: Balancing Act; November 2011; by Steve Mirsky; 1 Page(s)

A statement about a material raises heavy issues

50, 100, 150 Years Ago; November 2011; by Daniel C. Schlenoff; 1 Page(s)

Innovation and discovery as chronicled in Scientific American

Graphic Science: Computers vs. Brains; November 2011; by Mark Fischetti; 1 Page(s)

Computers are good at storage and speed, but brains maintain the efficiency lead