October 2010
Scientific American Magazine

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Cover; October 2010; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Table of Contents; October 2010; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

From the Editor; October 2010; by Mariette DiChristina; 1 Page(s)

New Yet Familiar

Letters; October 2010; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

Letters to the editor from the June 2010 issue of Scientific American

Science Agenda: Competition and the Internet; October 2010; by The Editors; 1 Page(s)

ÿÿWhy broadband service in the U.S. is so awful, and one step that could change it

Forum: Power Hackers; October 2010; by Melissa Hathaway; 1 Page(s)

The national smart grid is shaping up to be dangerously insecure

The Biggest Bang Theory; October 2010; by Michael Moyer; 1 Page(s)

A new type of supernova is forcing astronomers to rethink the lives of the biggest stars

Death and Chocolate; October 2010; by Michael Moyer; 1 Page(s)

A blight is threatening the world's cocoa supply. Will genetic intervention save our dessert?

The First Butchers; October 2010; by Kate Wong; 1 Page(s)

Trash is Her Treasure; October 2010; by Nicholette Zeliadt; 1 Page(s)

A New York University anthropologist discusses why she has spent the past four years working alongside New York City's garbage men and women

Just How Small Is the Proton?; October 2010; by Davide Castelvecchi; 1 Page(s)

New findings challenge a basic theory of physics that presumably had been settled

The Power of Sniff; October 2010; by Ferris Jabr; 1 Page(s)

A new device lets the disabled move and communicate with their noses

A View to a Kill; October 2010; by Melinda Wenner Moyer; 1 Page(s)

A new imaging technique shows how diseases work in real time

Flight of the Squid; October 2010; by Ferris Jabr; 1 Page(s)

New photos offer the best evidence yet of mollusk aeronautics

There's Wisdom in Those Tweets; October 2010; by Charles Q. Choi; 1 Page(s)

Researchers mine Twitter and find gold

Getting GPS out of a Jam; October 2010; by Charles Q. Choi; 1 Page(s)

How tiny waves of matter may help missiles stay on track

When Small Numbers Lead to Big Errors; October 2010; by Andrew Gelman; 1 Page(s)

A statistician weighs in on the pitfalls of estimating the sizes of small groups

Craving a Cure; October 2010; by Gary Stix; 1 Page(s)

Researchers turn to virtual worlds for real-world insights into addiction

The Science of Health: Closing the Health Gap; October 2010; by Christine Gorman; 2 Page(s)

Expanding primary care may be the best way to resolve chronic disparities

TechnoFiles: Question Time; October 2010; by David Pogue; 1 Page(s)

To find the best answers, digital services are turning to actual humans

How We Are Evolving; October 2010; by Jonathan K. Pritchard; 8 Page(s)

New analyses suggest that recent human evolution has followed a different course than biologists would have expected

Origami Observatory; October 2010; by Robert Irion; 8 Page(s)

NASA is building an innovative and risky space telescope that promises to surpass the hugely successful Hubble. Here's an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the most audacious space project in decades

In Science We Trust; October 2010; by The Editors; 4 Page(s)

Our Web survey of readers suggests that the scientifically literate public still trusts its experts—with some important caveats

Revolution Postponed; October 2010; by Stephen S. Hall; 8 Page(s)

The Human Genome Project has failed so far to produce the medical miracles that scientists promised. Biologists are now divided over what, if anything, went wrong—and what needs to happen next

The (Elusive) Theory of Everything; October 2010; by Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow; 4 Page(s)

Physicists have long sought to find one final theory that would unify all of physics. Instead they may have to settle for several

Robot Be Good; October 2010; by Michael Anderson, Susan Leigh Anderson; 6 Page(s)

Autonomous machines will soon play a big role in our lives. It's time they learned how to behave ethically

Sensational Sucker; October 2010; by Frank W. Grasso; 2 Page(s)

The octopus sucker can feel, taste, grip, manipulate—and act of its own accord

Desperate for an Autism Cure; October 2010; by Nancy Shute; 6 Page(s)

Diagnoses have soared, but valid treatments are few. Parents have turned instead to dubious, and often risky, alternative therapies

Reinventing the Leaf; October 2010; by Antonio Regalado; 4 Page(s)

The ultimate fuel may come not from corn or algae but directly from the sun itself

Digitizer in Chief; October 2010; by Interview by Michael Moyer; 4 Page(s)

The first step toward transparent government, says White House information czar Vivek Kundra, is to make all its information freely available on the Web

Recommended; October 2010; by Kate Wong; 2 Page(s)

Books and recommendations from Scientific American

Sketpic: Can You Hear Me Now?; October 2010; by Michael Shermer; 1 Page(s)

Physics shows that cell phones cannot cause cancer

Anti-Gravity: Real Skyscrapers; October 2010; by Steve Mirsky; 1 Page(s)

Cities' coarse coasts cause cyclonic course corrections

50, 100, 150 Years Ago; October 2010; by Daniel C. Schlenoff; 1 Page(s)

Innovation and discovery as chronicled in Scientific American

Graphic Science: Dying to Eat; October 2010; by Mark Fischetti; 1 Page(s)

Ever fatter Americans risk much higher rates of disease and death