September 2008
Scientific American Magazine

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Cover; September 2008; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Table of Contents; September 2008; by Staff Editor; 3 Page(s)

From the Editor; September 2008; by John Rennie; 1 Page(s)

Here in the Fishbowl

Letters; September 2008; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

Nuclear Recycling -- Snow Line-- Dark Energy

50, 100 and 150 Years Ago; September 2008; by Daniel C. Schlenoff; 1 Page(s)

Scientific Creativity -- Wright Crash -- Fever Riot

Updates; September 2008; by Philip Yam; 1 Page(s)

Jovian Protector -- Personal Gene Tests -- Anesthesia and Pain -- Valdez Payout

The New Radio Sky; September 2008; by Mark Wolverton; 2 Page(s)

Digital upgrades for a radio-astronomy renaissance

Primate Motions; September 2008; by Lizzie Buchen; 3 Page(s)

Swiss ethics ruling could end some basic research on the brain

A Solar Big Gulp; September 2008; by David Appell; 1 Page(s)

Yes, the sun will eventually engulf Earth--maybe

Listening to a Mix; September 2008; by Lucas Laursen; 3 Page(s)

Seismic "noise" in oil-prospecting data could decipher ocean mixing

First in Class; September 2008; by Christine Soares; 3 Page(s)

Rocky debut for a nicotine mimic tempers hope for widespread use

Mammoth Sequences; September 2008; by Charles Q. Choi; 2 Page(s)

A hunt for DNA from extinct titans in the Klondike

A New Neutrino Hunt; September 2008; by Mark Alpert; 1 Page(s)

Fermilab hopes to glimpse a possible visitor from another dimension

News Scan Briefs; September 2008; by Charles Q. Choi; Barbara Juncosa; Philip Yam; Larry Greenemeier; David Biello; JR Minkel; 2 Page(s)

Not So Rapid Eye Movement; Germ-Spreading Playdates; Another Gene for Alzheimer's; The New Stone Age; Who Will Die?; Mountain-Climbing Trees; Location Influences Voters; Martian Hit-and-Run

SciAm Perspectives: Seven Paths to Privacy; September 2008; by The Editors; 1 Page(s)

History is ambiguous about government willingness to protect private life, but a few recommendations can help keep its future secure

Sustainable Developments: The Specter of Malthus Returns; September 2008; by Jeffrey D. Sachs; 1 Page(s)

It remains to be seen whether his famously gloomy prediction is truly wrong or merely postponed

Skeptic: Folk Numeracy and Middle Land; September 2008; by Michael Shermer; 1 Page(s)

Why our brains do not intuitively grasp probabilities, Part 1

Anti Gravity: The Bird Bomb; September 2008; by Steve Mirsky; 1 Page(s)

You really didn't want to be under these feathered flyers

Privacy in an Age of Terabytes and Terror; September 2008; by Peter Brown; 2 Page(s)

Our jittery state since 9/11, coupled with the Internet revolution, is shifting the boundaries between public interest and "the right to be let alone"

Reflections on Privacy 2.0; September 2008; by Esther Dyson; 6 Page(s)

Many issues posing as questions of privacy can turn out to be matters of security, health policy, insurance or self-presentation. It is useful to clarify those issues before focusing on privacy itself

Brave New World of Wiretapping; September 2008; by Whitfield Diffie and Susan Landau; 8 Page(s)

As telephone conversations have moved to the Internet, so have those who want to listen in. But the technology needed to do so would entail a dangerous expansion of the government¿s surveillance powers

Keeping Your Genes Private; September 2008; by Mark A. Rothstein; 6 Page(s)

In spite of recent legislation, tougher laws are needed to prevent insurers and employers from discriminating on the basis of genetic tests

Tools of the Spy Trade; September 2008; by Steven Ashley; 2 Page(s)

Night-vision cameras, biometric sensors and other gadgets already give snoops access to private spaces. Coming soon: palm-size "bug-bots"

RFID Tag--You're It; September 2008; by Katherine Albrecht; 6 Page(s)

Tiny radio-frequency identification tags, long used for tracking supplies and inventory, are now appearing in a growing range of consumer items. A privacy activist argues that the devices pose new security risks to those who carry them, often unwittingly

Beyond Fingerprinting; September 2008; by Anil K. Jain and Sharath Pankanti; 4 Page(s)

Security systems based on anatomical and behavioral characteristics may offer the best defense against identity theft

Information of the World, Unite; September 2008; by Simson L. Garfinkel; 6 Page(s)

Mashing everyone¿s personal data, from credit-card bills to cell phone logs,into one all-encompassing digital dossier is the stuff of Orwellian nightmares. But it is not as easy as most people assume

How to Keep Secrets Safe; September 2008; by Anna Lysyanskaya; 8 Page(s)

A versatile range of software solutions can protect the privacy of your information and online activities to any desired degree

Improving Online Security; September 2008; by Rahul Abhyankar, Whitfield Diffie, Art Gilliland, Patrick Heim, John Landwehr, Steven Lipner, Martin Sadler, Ryan Sherstobitoff; 4 Page(s)

To protect against more numerous and sophisticated attacks by hackers, security professionals call for upgraded technology along with more attention to human and legal factors

The End of Privacy; September 2008; by Daniel J. Solove; 6 Page(s)

Young people share the most intimate details of personal life on social-networking Web sites, portending a realignment of the public and the private

Insights: Safety Dance over Plastic; September 2008; by Adam Hinterthuer; 3 Page(s)

Just how harmful are baby bottles, eyeglasses and other bisphenol-A plastics? Patricia Hunt, who helped to bring the issue to light a decade ago, is still trying to sort it all out

Working Knowledge: Dry Dyes; September 2008; by Mark Fischetti; 2 Page(s)

Instant photo developing

Reviews; September 2008; by Michelle Press; 1 Page(s)

Math Fix for Unfair Elections -- Physics Fix for Uninformed Voters

Ask The Experts; September 2008; by Craig Baumrucker, Arpad Vass; 1 Page(s)

Why does organic milk last so much longer than regular milk? How long does cellular metabolism persist after death?