January 2008
Scientific American Magazine

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

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

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

Big and Small Solutions

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

Obesity; Weight and Mortality; Caloric Beverages

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

Uncertainty; Limited Flight; Forbidden Territory

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

Dimmed Hopes; Vioxx Settlement; Prion Holes; Nukes and No Nukes

Regaining Lost Luster; January 2008; by Melinda Wenner; 2 Page(s)

New developments and clinical trials breathe life back into gene therapy

A Dash of Nutrition; January 2008; by Diane Martindale; 2 Page(s)

Iron- and vitamin-fortified salt gets set to fight deficiency diseases

Neutron Oddball; January 2008; by Mark Alpert; 1 Page(s)

A newly discovered neutron star doesn't behave like it's supposed to

Paging Dr. Doolittle; January 2008; by John Whitfield; 2 Page(s)

The "language" gene FOXP2 proves critical for animal vocalizations

Making Space for Time; January 2008; by Scott Dodd; 3 Page(s)

Physicists meet to puzzle out why time flows one way

Relative Distance; January 2008; by Dan Eatherley; 2 Page(s)

Hyena "wingmen" sacrifice sex for an unrelated male

Food for Symbolic Thought; January 2008; by JR Minkel; 1 Page(s)

Besides the first seafood dinner, signs of the earliest symbolic thought

News Scan Briefs; January 2008; by Charles Q. Choi, Nikhil Swaminathan, David Biello, JR Minkel; 2 Page(s)

Bt-Beating Bugs; Weight Loss on Shaky Ground; Bone Sweet Bone; No Mercy from MRSA; Psychiatric Disorders from No Sleep?; Signs of a Green Revolution; Fastballs rom Black Holes; Mother's Milk and IQ; Robo Buddy

SciAm Perspectives: Congress Fails Science; January 2008; by the Editors; 2 Page(s)

The Democratic majority continues a legacy of inaction

Sustainable Developments: Primary Health for All; January 2008; by Jeffrey D. Sachs; 2 Page(s)

Ten resolutions could globally ensure a basic human right at almost unnoticeable cost

Forum: A Better Mosquito Net; January 2008; by Eva Kaplan; 2 Page(s)

Fighting malaria will require more innovative defenses

Skeptic: Evonomics; January 2008; by Michael Shermer; 1 Page(s)

Evolution and economics are both examples of a larger mysterious phenomenon

Anti Gravity: What's in a (Latin) Name?; January 2008; by Steve Mirsky; 1 Page(s)

The special genius behind the species and genus

The SciAm 50; January 2008; by Mark Alpert, Steven Ashley, Charles Q. Choi, Graham P. Collins, Mariette DiChristina, Kaspar Mossman, George Musser, John Rennie, Ricki L. Rusting, Peter Sergo, Christine Soares, Gary Stix, Philip M. Yam; 15 Page(s)

Which researchers, companies and architects of industrial and government policy are leading the most important trends shaping tomorrow's technologies? Our annual roundup of world shakers gives credit where it is due

Taming Vessels to Treat Cancer; January 2008; by Rakesh K. Jain; 8 Page(s)

Drugs that restore order to the chaotic blood vessels inside a tumor open a window of opportunity for attacking it

A Solar Grand Plan; January 2008; by Ken Zweibel, James Mason and Vasilis Fthenakis; 10 Page(s)

An ambitious scheme would enable solar power to end U.S. dependence on foreign oil and slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2050

Second Thoughts about Fluoride; January 2008; by Dan Fagin; 8 Page(s)

New research indicates that a cavity-fighting treatment could be risky if overused

Self-Powered Nanotech; January 2008; by Zhong Lin Wang; 6 Page(s)

Tiny systems that draw waste energy from their surroundings could power nanosize machines

Hotspots Unplugged; January 2008; by John A. Tarduno; 6 Page(s)

Long considered fixed founts of molten material from deep within the planet, the hotspots that raise islands now join the list of the earth's moving parts

The Human Instrument; January 2008; by Ingo R. Titze; 8 Page(s)

When judged by its size, our vocal system fails to impress as a musical instrument. How, then, can it produce all those remarkable sounds?

Insights: Cooking Up Bigger Brains; January 2008; by Rachael Moeller Gorman; 3 Page(s)

Our hominid ancestors could never have eaten enough raw food to create our large, calorie-hungry brains, Richard Wrangham claims. The secret to our evolution, this anthropologist says, is cooking

Working Knowledge: Perpetual Reset Machine; January 2008; by Mark Fischetti; 2 Page(s)

The striking mechanics of bowling pinsetters

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

Conservation and politics in Nepal. Embracing (or questioning) future design

Ask the Experts; January 2008; by Donald A. Wilson, Bruce Batt; 1 Page(s)

How do we remember smells for so long? Why do migratory birds fly in a V formation?

Fact or Fiction?; January 2008; by John Matson; 1 Page(s)

Does infinity come in different sizes?