October 2002
Scientific American Magazine

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Cover; October 2002; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Table of Contents; October 2002; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

SA Perspectives: Greenwashing the Car; October 2002; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Don't let fuel cells "greenwash" today's cars

On the Web; October 2002; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Letters to the Editors; October 2002; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

50, 100 and 150 Years Ago; October 2002; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Diphtheria Lethality; Television's Ancient Ancestor; A Diamond's Life

A Pixelated Cosmos; October 2002; by George Musser; 2 Page(s)

How the microwave background could help prove string theory

From Flush to Farm; October 2002; by Rebecca Renner; 2 Page(s)

Sewage is a great fertilizer, but is it a health hazard?

The Next Wave of AIDS; October 2002; by Luis Miguel Ariza; 2 Page(s)

Ignorance and drug resistance may worsen the crisis

Planetary Protection; October 2002; by Steve Nadis; 1 Page(s)

X-ray tests show how to deflect an incoming asteroid

Human-Free Kick; October 2002; by Dennis Normile; 2 Page(s)

At RoboCup 2002, humanoids battle it out in soccer

"X" Marks the Spot; October 2002; by JR Minkel; 1 Page(s)

Shifting radio jets may signal the coalescence of black holes

By the Numbers: Quality of Life; October 2002; by Rodger Doyle; 1 Page(s)

Is the U.S. the best place to live?

News Scan Briefs; October 2002; by JR Minkel, Philip Yam, Steven Ashley, Staff Editors; 2 Page(s)

The Fat Just Melts Away; Sidling Up to the Rich; Aberration Negation; Phylis Morrison, 1927-2002; No Strings Attached; Data Points: Nature's P/E Ratio; Brief Points

Innovations: Adding Sugar to Bioscience; October 2002; by Mike May; 3 Page(s)

A tennis game leads to a method for sequencing polysaccharides

Staking Claims: There's No Stopping Them; October 2002; by Graham P. Collins; 1 Page(s)

Perpetual motion is alive and well at the U.S. patent office

Skeptic: The Physicist and the Abalone Diver; October 2002; by Michael Shermer; 1 Page(s)

The difference between the creators of two new theories of science reveals the social nature of the scientific process

Profile: Salve for the Body and Mind; October 2002; by Bob Kirsch; 2 Page(s)

Palliative care is traditionally aimed at the terminally ill. But it should also treat sufferers of chronic disease, says Ann M. Berger of the National Institutes of Health

Controlling Robots with the Mind; October 2002; by Miguel A. L. Nicolelis and John K. Chapin; 8 Page(s)

People with nerve or limb injuries may one day be able to command wheelchairs, prosthetics and even paralyzed arms and legs by "thinking them through" the motions

The Emptiest Places; October 2002; by Evan Scannapieco, Patrick Petitjean and Tom Broadhurst; 8 Page(s)

Space comes in degrees of emptiness, but even in the wasteland between galaxies it is not a complete void

Vehicle of Change; October 2002; by Lawrence D. Burns, J. Byron McCormick and Christopher E. Borroni-Bird; 10 Page(s)

Hydrogen fuel-cell cars could be the catalyst for a cleaner tomorrow

Skin Deep; October 2002; by Nina G. Jablonski and George Chaplin; 8 Page(s)

Throughout the world, human skin color has evolved to be dark enough to prevent sunlight from destroying the nutrient folate but light enough to foster the production of vitamin D

Technology against Terror; October 2002; by Rocco Casagrande; 6 Page(s)

Biologists and engineers are devising early-warning systems that can detect a bioterrorist attack in time to blunt its effects

The Vigilance Defense; October 2002; by Stephen S. Morse; 2 Page(s)

Proven systems and well-prepared people are our best protection against bioterror

Lightning Rods for Nanoelectronics; October 2002; by Steven H. Voldman; 8 Page(s)

Electrostatic discharges threaten to halt further shrinking and acceleration of electronic devices in the future

Working Knowledge: Vying for Eyes; October 2002; by Mark Fischetti; 2 Page(s)

Flat displays

Technicalities: Computers for the Third World; October 2002; by Fiona Harvey; 3 Page(s)

The Simputer is a handheld device designed for rural villagers

Reviews: Putting Darwin in His Place; October 2002; by Richard Milner, Staff Editors; 2 Page(s)

A new biography puts Charles Darwin in his place. Also, The Editors Recommend

Puzzling Adventures: Prime Spies; October 2002; by Dennis E. Shasha; 1 Page(s)

Prime spies

Anti Gravity: The 2,000-Year-Old Menace; October 2002; by Steve Mirsky; 1 Page(s)

Is it possible that funny is the root of all evil?

Ask the Experts; October 2002; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

How is caffeine removed to produce decaffeinated coffee? Why is spider silk so strong?

Fuzzy Logic; October 2002; by Roz Chast; 1 Page(s)

Ye Olde Math Shoppe