August 2009
Scientific American Magazine

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Cover; August 2009; by The Editors; 1 Page(s)

Table of Contents; August 2009; by Staff Editor; 3 Page(s)

From the Editor; August 2009; by Mariette DiChristina; 1 Page(s)

Species and Spaces

Letters; August 2009; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

PTSD; Expanding Universe; Motion Sickness

50, 100 & 150 Years Ago; August 2009; by Daniel C. Schlenoff; 1 Page(s)

Making Waves; Flying into History; Looting Gold

Updates; August 2009; by Daniel C. Schlenoff; 1 Page(s)

Quasicrystals; Billion-Year Memory Drive; Stem Cells from Proteins; Mars Rovers

The Third Way; August 2009; by Michael Moyer; 2 Page(s)

Will a boom in government investment bring true high-speed rail to the U.S.?

Night Stalker; August 2009; by Peter Brown; 2 Page(s)

No end in sight for the bat-killing white nose syndrome

Stumbling Over Data; August 2009; by David Appell; 2 Page(s)

Do minor errors erode public support on climate issues?

Salvia on Schedule; August 2009; by David Jay Brown; 2 Page(s)

New rules on a mind-altering herb could slow medical research

Hypersphere Exotica; August 2009; by Davide Castelvecchi; 2 Page(s)

A 45-year-old problem on higher-dimensional spheres is solved—probably

Cloaking Made Simpler; August 2009; by John Matson; 2 Page(s)

Invisibility without sophisticated metamaterials

Weak Link; August 2009; by Kate Wong; 2 Page(s)

Skepticism about a fossil cast as a missing link in human ancestry

News Scan Briefs; August 2009; by Charles Q. Choi; Katherine Harmon; John Matson; 1 Page(s)

Killer Smile; Nitro Burn; Skin So Bacterial; Caribou Hunting in Lake Huron; Liquid Flowing Up

Cancer Clue from Down Syndrome; August 2009; by Charles Q. Choi; 1 Page(s)

A Seedy Practice; August 2009; by The Editors; 1 Page(s)

Scientists must ask seed companies for permission before publishing independent research on genetically modified crops. That restriction must end

Good News on Malaria Control; August 2009; by Jeffrey D. Sachs; 1 Page(s)

The best price for getting antimosquito bed nets to the poor proves to be "free"

Shakespeare, Interrupted; August 2009; by Michael Shermer; 1 Page(s)

The anti-Stratfordian skeptics are back, and this time they have a Supreme Court justice on their side

Waste Management; August 2009; by Steve Mirsky; 1 Page(s)

Tips for the kind of gas mileage you really want

Twilight of the Neandertals; August 2009; by Kate Wong; 6 Page(s)

Paleoanthropologists know more about Neandertals than any other extinct human. But their demise remains a mystery, one that gets curiouser and curiouser

Adventures in Curved Spacetime; August 2009; by Eduardo Guéron; 8 Page(s)

The possibility of "swimming" and "gliding" in curved, empty space shows that, even after nine decades, Einstein's theory of general relativity continues to amaze

What Now for Nuclear Waste?; August 2009; by Matthew L. Wald; 8 Page(s)

Yucca Mountain was supposed to be the answer to the U.S.'s nuclear waste problem, but after 22 years and $9 billion, that vision is dead. Now some say that doing nothing in the near term may be the smartest solution

Surprises from Celiac Disease; August 2009; by Alessio Fasano; 8 Page(s)

Study of a potentially fatal food-triggered disease has uncovered a process that may contribute to many autoimmune disorders

An Iron Key to High-Temperature Superconductivity?; August 2009; by Graham P. Collins; 8 Page(s)

The discovery that compounds known as iron pnictides can superconduct at 50 degrees above absolute zero has reignited physicists' quest for better high-temperature superconductors and may offer clues to unlocking a 20-year mystery

A New Kind of Drug Target; August 2009; by Melinda Wenner; 6 Page(s)

An emerging class of medicines works its magic by targeting unusual sites on biological molecules

Recommended; August 2009; by Kate Wong; 1 Page(s)

Celestial Views; Bigfoot Pursuits; Scientific Twitterers

Ask the Experts; August 2009; by Herman Merte; 1 Page(s)

How does bathwater well below the boiling point give off steam?