April 2009
Scientific American Magazine

Digital subscribers-sign in for full access

Cover; April 2009; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

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

From the Editor - Nothing Special; April 2009; by John Rennie; 2 Page(s)

We're an ordinary species on an ordinary planet. Or are we?

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

Financial Crisis -- Car Tech -- Earthrise

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

The Mohole -- Analog Voice Recognition -- Our Patent Business

Updates; April 2009; by Philip Yam; 1 Page(s)

Fingerprint Feeling -- Stem Cell Progress -- Moon¿s Backside -- Even Higher Seas

Evolution in a Bottle; April 2009; by W. Wayt Gibbs; 2 Page(s)

Self-replicating RNAs advance science another step toward artificial life

A Chip Against Cancer; April 2009; by Elaine Schattner; 2 Page(s)

Evaluating tumors and their treatment via a blood sample

Colliding Philosophies; April 2009; by Davide Castelvecchi; 3 Page(s)

A novel way to rummage for particles in accelerator debris

Finding Balance; April 2009; by Brendan Borrell; 3 Page(s)

Is poor posture control the real cause of motion sickness?

Thriving on Selfishness; April 2009; by Marina Krakovsky; 2 Page(s)

Why it pays for cheaters to punish other cheaters

Snakebit; April 2009; by Michael Tennesen; 3 Page(s)

Southern California sees a rise in extratoxic venom

News Scan Briefs; April 2009; by Kate Wilcox, Charles Q. Choi, John Matson, David Biello, Coco Ballantyne; 2 Page(s)

Anti-Loudness Protein; Sonic Heat for Genes; A Beetle's Menu Change; A Calcium Conundrum Explained; Math Against Profiling; No Nets in the Arctic; Leaves for Leaving Alone; Quitters' Cash; When Orbits Collide

SciAm Perspectives: Healthy Growth for U.S. Farms; April 2009; by The Editors; 1 Page(s)

Congress and the FDA must upend the nation¿s agricultural policies to keep its food supply safe

Sustainable Developments: Needed: A Fiscal Framework; April 2009; by Jeffrey D. Sachs; 1 Page(s)

Rather than arguing about the value of taxes or spending, economic planners need to take a systematic long view

Skeptic: Inside the Outliers; April 2009; by Michael Shermer; 2 Page(s)

Are successful people primarily the beneficiaries of luck, timing, and cultural legacy?

Anti Gravity: Boobs at Work; April 2009; by Steve Mirsky; 1 Page(s)

Unacceptable ways to waste time on the job

Saving the Honeybee; April 2009; by Diana Cox-Foster and Dennis vanEngelsdorp; 8 Page(s)

The mysterious ailment called colony collapse disorder has wiped out large numbers of the bees that pollinate a third of our crops. The causes turn out to be surprisingly complex, but solutions are emerging

Does Dark Energy Really Exist?; April 2009; by Timothy Clifton and Pedro G. Ferreira; 8 Page(s)

Maybe not. The observations that led astronomers to deduce its existence could have another explanation: that our galaxy lies at the center of a giant cosmic void

The Evolution of Primate Color Vision; April 2009; by Gerald H. Jacobs and Jeremy Nathans; 8 Page(s)

Analyses of primate visual pigments show that our color vision evolved in an unusual way and that the brain is more adaptable than generally thought

The Post-Traumatic Stress Trap; April 2009; by David Dobbs; 6 Page(s)

A growing number of experts insist that the concept of post-traumatic stress disorder is itself disordered and that soldiers are suffering as a result

The Dawn of the Miniature Green Lasers; April 2009; by Shuji Nakamura and Michael Riordan; 6 Page(s)

Semiconductors can generate laser light in all colors except one. But new techniques for growing laser diodes could soon make brilliant full-spectrum displays a reality

Preventing the Next Pandemic; April 2009; by Nathan Wolfe; 6 Page(s)

An international network for monitoring the flow of viruses from animals to humans might help scientists head off global epidemics

Reviews; April 2009; by Michelle Press; 2 Page(s)

Human Mysteries; Mathematical Mysticism; Resistance of the Real

Ask the Experts; April 2009; by Tamara Davis, Jeffrey W. Walker; 1 Page(s)

If galaxies are all moving apart at ever increasing speed, how can they collide? If normal body temperature is about 98 degrees Fahrenheit, why do we feel hot at that air temperature?