January 2005
Scientific American Magazine

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Cover; January 2005; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Table of Contents; January 2005; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

SA Perspectives: Worth a Pound of Cure; January 2005; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Catching the flu--the right way

How to Contact Us and On the Web; January 2005; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Letters to the Editors; January 2005; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

50, 100 and 150 Years Ago; January 2005; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Personality Clash; War Worries; Heavenly Revolutions

Polio Postponed; January 2005; by Christine Soares; 2 Page(s)

Politics slow polio's eradication--and cause it to spread

A Bad Fix for Hubble?; January 2005; by Steven Ashley; 3 Page(s)

Robotic repair may be riskier than first thought

Sound Findings; January 2005; by David Kosub; 2 Page(s)

Sonar offers a way to count salmon accurately

A Glimpse of Supersolid; January 2005; by Graham P. Collins; 2 Page(s)

Solid helium can behave like a superfluid

Through Titan's Haze; January 2005; by Charles Q. Choi; 1 Page(s)

Saturn moon has a surface that is dynamic--and puzzling

Snaking Its Way In; January 2005; by Aimee Cunningham; 1 Page(s)

Feared snakehead fish sets up house in the U.S.

News Scan Briefs; January 2005; by Charles Q. Choi, JR Minkel; 2 Page(s)

Shaky Gravity Boost; Mercurial Spread; Face Painters, Begone!; Eyeing Stem Cells; Alternative Reality

By the Numbers: Nurses in Short Supply; January 2005; by Rodger Doyle; 1 Page(s)

The profession is heading toward its biggest crisis

Skeptic: Quantum Quackery; January 2005; by Michael Shermer; 1 Page(s)

A surprise-hit film has renewed interest in applying quantum mechanics to consciousness, spirituality and human potential

Insights: You, Robot; January 2005; by Chip Walter; 2 Page(s)

He says humans will download their minds into computers one day. With a new robotics firm, Hans Moravec begins the journey from warehouse drones to robo sapiens

Immunity's Early-Warning System; January 2005; by Luke A. J. O'Neill; 8 Page(s)

The innate immune response constitutes the first line of defense against invading microbes and plays a role in inflammatory disease. Surprising insights into how this system operates could lead to new therapies for a host of infectious and immune-related disorders

The Midlife Crisis of the Cosmos; January 2005; by Amy J. Barger; 8 Page(s)

Although it is not as active as it used to be, the universe is still forming stars and building black holes at an impressive pace

Considerate Computing; January 2005; by W. Wayt Gibbs; 8 Page(s)

Digital gadgets demand ever more of our attention with their rude and thoughtless interruptions. Engineers are now testing computers, phones and cars that sense when you're busy and spare you from distraction

Capturing a Killer Flu Virus; January 2005; by Jeffrey K. Taubenberger, Ann H. Reid and Thomas G. Fanning; 10 Page(s)

The deadliest flu strain in history has been resurrected. What can the 1918 virus reveal about why it killed millions and where more like it may be lurking?

Eye of the Beholder; January 2005; by Emily Harrison; 6 Page(s)

Wonders under the lens of the optical microscope

Best-Kept Secrets; January 2005; by Gary Stix; 6 Page(s)

Quantum cryptography has marched from theory to laboratory to real products

Exploding the Self-Esteem Myth; January 2005; by Roy F. Baumeister, Jennifer D. Campbell, Joachim I. Krueger and Kathleen D. Vohs; 8 Page(s)

Boosting people's sense of self-worth has become a national preoccupation. Yet surprisingly, research shows that such efforts are of little value in fostering academic progress or preventing undesirable behavior

Working Knowledge: Open Sesame; January 2005; by Mark Fischetti; 2 Page(s)

Keyless entry

Reviews: How Are the Mighty Fallen?; January 2005; by Robert S. Desowitz, Staff Editors; 4 Page(s)

Collapse considers the choices that kill societies. Also, a shelf of new books on Albert Einstein celebrates the new Year of Physics

Anti Gravity: Captive Audience; January 2005; by Steve Mirsky; 1 Page(s)

"To ferret" means to bring to light by searching

Ask the Experts; January 2005; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

How do computer hackers "get inside" a computer? Why do traffic jams sometimes seem to appear out of nowhere?