February 2012
Scientific American Magazine

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Cover; February 2012; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Table of Contents; February 2012; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

From the Editor; February 2012; by Mariette DiChristina; 1 Page(s)

A Sea of Spacetime Foam?

Letters; February 2012; by The Editors; 2 Page(s)

Letters to the editor from the October 2011 issue of Scientific American

Science Agenda: ÿUnschooled in Hard Knocks; February 2012; by The Editors; 1 Page(s)

Concussion in children is a serious problem that deserves more attention

Forum: Science and Prejudice; February 2012; by David Kaplan; 1 Page(s)

The NIH may be biased in ways that harm not only African-American researchers but any whose ideas fall outside the mainstream

Tensions over Taikonauts; February 2012; by John Matson; 1 Page(s)

During the cold war the U.S. found ways to collaborate with the Soviet Union on space missions. Should it do the same with China?

A Man-Made Contagion; February 2012; by Jeneen Interlandi; 1 Page(s)

Scientists build a pandemic flu strain in the lab

It Detects Earthquakes and Lactose Intolerance; February 2012; by Melissa Gaskill; 1 Page(s)

A new suitcase-size spectrometer has many functions

What Is It?; February 2012; by Ann Chin; 1 Page(s)

Submerged specks

Just a Click Away; February 2012; by Anne Pycha; 1 Page(s)

Sounds associated with African languages play a larger role in English than previously thought

The Not So Hot Hand; February 2012; by John Matson; 1 Page(s)

Pro basketball players are much more likely to try another three-point shot after making one than after missing one

Mom Is My Wingman; February 2012; by Joan Raymond; 1 Page(s)

Male monkeys who live at home have more luck with females

Peeling Away Microbes; February 2012; by Rose Eveleth; 1 Page(s)

Can feeding orange rind to cows help rid beef of Salmonella and E. coli?

Gumming Up Appetite; February 2012; by Ferris Jabr; 1 Page(s)

The obese may soon have a new tool to curb hunger

A Long Flight but No Baggage; February 2012; by Katherine Harmon; 1 Page(s)

The new monarch genome gives clues to how the butterflies travel

Inside the Mind of a Video Game Champ; February 2012; by Sandra Upson; 1 Page(s)

Cognitive scientists are observing StarCraft 2 players to learn how humans multitask

Making Liquids Go Bipolar; February 2012; by W. Wayt Gibbs and Nathan Myhrvold; 1 Page(s)

It takes a lab to make a perfect salad dressing

In Sync, on a Quantum Level; February 2012; by John Matson; 1 Page(s)

Physicists make two diamonds vibrate as one

Oral Exam; February 2012; by Katherine Harmon; 1 Page(s)

New imaging techniques are helping scientists see what's really going on in your mouth

The Impracticality of a Cheeseburger; February 2012; by David Wogan; 1 Page(s)

A fast-food staple reveals the pros and cons of industrialization

Storybook Wishes for Martian Rovers; February 2012; by Glendon Mellow; 1 Page(s)

A hand-painted sundial will help Curiosity focus its cameras

The Science of Health: A Diabetes Cliffhanger; February 2012; by Maryn McKenna; 2 Page(s)

Researchers are baffled by the worldwide increase in type 1 diabetes, the less common form of the disease

Technofiles: The Future is for Fools; February 2012; by David Pogue; 1 Page(s)

A few guidelines for anyone attempting to predict the future of technology

Is Space Digital?; February 2012; by Michael Moyer; 8 Page(s)

An experiment going up outside of Chicago will attempt to measure the intimate connections among information, matter and spacetime. If it works, it could rewrite the rules for 21st-century physics

The Great Prostate Cancer Debate; February 2012; by Marc B. Garnick; 6 Page(s)

Evidence shows that screening does more harm than good. Now what?

Swept From Africa to the Amazon; February 2012; by Jeffrey Bartholet; 6 Page(s)

What the journey of a handful of dust tells us about our fragile planet

Sleeping With the Enemy; February 2012; by Kenneth F. Haynes; 6 Page(s)

Bed bugs are back. Can science stop them?

All Hands on Deck; February 2012; by Kalee Thompson; 4 Page(s)

Volunteers are combing through the logbooks of World War I-era ships to help researchers fill holes in the earth's climate record

The Future of Chocolate; February 2012; by Harold Schmitz and Howard-Yana Shapiro; 6 Page(s)

Researchers are racing to fortify the embattled cacao tree and to meet increasing demand for cocoa made from its seeds

The Collision Syndrome; February 2012; by Jeffrey Bartholet; 6 Page(s)

Football players diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease may suffer from the effect of repeated blows to the head, controversial new research says

Fetal Armor; February 2012; by Claudia Kalb; 2 Page(s)

The placenta does more than nourish offspring in the womb—it actively shapes brain development

The Brittle Star's Apprentice; February 2012; by Interview by Gareth Cook; 4 Page(s)

Chemist Joanna Aizenberg mines the deep sea and the forest wetlands for nature's design secrets and uses them to fashion new materials that may change the world

Recommended; February 2012; by Anna Kuchment, Michael Moyer; 2 Page(s)

Books and recommendation from Scientific American

Skeptic: Lies We Tell Ourselvess; February 2012; by Michael Shermer; 1 Page(s)

How deception leads to self-deception

Anti-Gravity: Animals Get The Upper Paw, or Hoof, or Claw; February 2012; by Steve Mirsky; 1 Page(s)

Every so often a critter takes a shot at making headlines

50, 100, 150 Years Ago; February 2012; by Daniel C. Schlenoff; 1 Page(s)

Innovation and discovery as chronicled in Scientific American

Graphic Science: How Science Degrees Stack Up; February 2012; by Mark Fischetti; 1 Page(s)

Female students, and management dreams, are changing the mix