April 2012
Scientific American Magazine

Digital subscribers-sign in for full access

Cover; April 2012; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Table of Contents; April 2012; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

From the Editor; April 2012; by Mariette DiChristina; 1 Page(s)

The Story Begins

Letters; April 2012; by The Editors; 2 Page(s)

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

Science Agenda: Who Owns the Past?; April 2012; by The Editors; 1 Page(s)

The federal government should fix or drop new regulations that throttle scientific study of America's heritage

Forum: What Science Wants to Know; April 2012; by ÿÿStuart Firestein; 1 Page(s)

An impenetrable mountain of facts can obscure the deeper questions

The Mind Recovery Act; April 2012; by Gary Stix; 1 Page(s)

Why Obama's "War on Alzheimer's" may pay off

Scanning for E.T.'s Calls; April 2012; by Charles Q. Choi and SPACE.com; 1 Page(s)

A giant telescope will soon begin its search for the first stars and galaxies

Hopeful Vision; April 2012; by Ferris Jabr; 1 Page(s)

Gene therapy restores human sight

Patent Watch; April 2012; by Rose Eveleth; 1 Page(s)

Proprioceptive feedback system

Picky Eaters Club; April 2012; by Carrie Madren; 1 Page(s)

Fungi that orchids need to grow are just as finicky as the exotic flowers themselves

Fast Talkers; April 2012; by Anne Pycha; 1 Page(s)

Some languages sound faster than others, but most convey information at the same rate

Blue Bacteria in Bloom; April 2012; by Lucas Laursen; 1 Page(s)

The proliferation of cyanobacteria in oceans may accelerate warming

Textbooks Come Alive; April 2012; by Charles Q. Choi; 1 Page(s)

Next-generation science e-books may help keep young people engaged

Coffee Mystery; April 2012; by Rose Eveleth; 1 Page(s)

An entomologist describes his efforts to stop Rwanda's coffee from tasting like potatoes

Swimming on Mars; April 2012; by John Matson; 1 Page(s)

The Red Planet may have once been home to an ocean

What Is It?; April 2012; by Katherine Harmon; 1 Page(s)

Seeing green

Cold Call; April 2012; by Caleb A. Scharf; 1 Page(s)

What will scientists find in Antarctica's ancient Lake Vostok?

This Is What a Scientist Looks Like; April 2012; by Christie Wilcox; 1 Page(s)

A new Web site attempts to dispel a pervasive stereotype

The Science of Health: Food Poisoning's Hidden Legacy; April 2012; by Maryn McKenna; 2 Page(s)

Most people think of foodborne illness as an unpleasant few days of fever and diarrhea, but for some there may be lifelong consequences

Technofiles: Technology's Friction Problem; April 2012; by David Pogue; 1 Page(s)

Make buying, voting and losing weight easier by blasting away unnecessary steps

First of Our Kind; April 2012; by Kate Wong; 10 Page(s)

Sensational fossils from South Africa spark debate over how we came to be human

Quantum Gravity in Flatland; April 2012; by Steven Carlip; 8 Page(s)

Imagine space were 2-D rather than 3-D. How would the force of gravity work? The surprising answers are guiding physicists to a unified theory of nature

This Is Your Brain in Meltdown; April 2012; by Amy Arnsten, Carolyn M. Mazure and Rajita Sinha; 6 Page(s)

Neural circuits responsible for conscious self-control are highly vulnerable to even mild stress. When they shut down, primal impulses go unchecked and mental paralysis sets in

Bound for the Moon; April 2012; by Michael Belfiore; 6 Page(s)

The next rover to roam the moon's surface may come not from NASA and its rocket scientists but from college students and private companies working on a shoestring

Polio's Last Act; April 2012; by Helen Branswell; 6 Page(s)

As the number of cases of the paralytic disease fall, world health officials have to grapple with a vexing problem: a component of the most widely used polio vaccine now causes more disease than the virus it is supposed to fight

Birth of a Cold War Vaccine; April 2012; by William Swanson; 4 Page(s)

While the superpowers were busy threatening to destroy each other with nuclear weapons, Albert B. Sabin turned to a surprising ally to test his new oral polio vaccine—a Soviet scientist

Time Traveler; April 2012; by Richard Milner; 4 Page(s)

Artist Charles R. Knight drew on his vast experience depicting living animals to bring prehistoric creatures to life—a practice that made him keenly aware of the finality of extinction

The Limits of Breath Holding; April 2012; by Michael J. Parkes; 6 Page(s)

It's logical to think that the brain's need for oxygen is what limits how long people can hold their breath. Logical, but not the whole story

Recommended; April 2012; by Anna Kuchment, Sandra Upson; 1 Page(s)

Books and recommendation from Scientific American

Skeptic: Climbing Mount Immortality; April 2012; by Michael Shermer; 1 Page(s)

How awareness of our mortality may be a major driver of civilization

Anti-Gravity: The Doctor Is Way Out; April 2012; by Steve Mirsky; 1 Page(s)

An amateur examination of one shrink's noodle

50, 100, 150 Years Ago; April 2012; by Daniel C. Schlenoff; 2 Page(s)

Innovation and discovery as chronicled in Scientific American

Graphic Science: Space Age Wasteland; April 2012; by John Matson; 1 Page(s)

Debris in orbit is here to stay