New Scientist - Opinion

Comment: The real cost of gold

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Skyrocketing mineral prices are fuelling a mining boom for which few developing nations are prepared, says William Laurance (full text available to subscribers)

Review: Human, by Michael Gazzaniga

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

What is it about our brains that makes us different from apes? (full text available to subscribers)

Interview: The golden age of cryptography

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The "high priest of French cryptography", Jacques Stern, describes how cryptography has emerged from the world of espionage to pervade all of our lives (full text available to subscribers)

Review: 13 Things that Don't Make Sense by Michael Brooks

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The many things that science can't explain could change the way we see the universe - but it takes time (full text available to subscribers)

Senator calls for review of anthrax evidence

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

FBI evidence points to Bruce Ivins as the culprit in the 2001 anthrax attacks, but a US senator is calling for an investigation into the claims

Review: The Undercover Scientist, by Peter J. Bentley

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Want to know what happens when you squirt raw chilli juice in your eye, or when you get a computer virus? This book will tell you

Review: Prehistory by Colin Renfrew

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Archaeology has helped us reconstruct our human past, but unanswered questions remain

Editorial: Better climate forecasts will bring storms

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

We need more accurate climate forecasts, even if their predictions threaten to weaken the political imperative to tackle emissions (full text available to subscribers)

Comment: China's green journey

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

China may look like a carbon-guzzling monster, but there's a clean-tech superpower struggling to get out, says Changhua Wu (full text available to subscribers)

Editorial: Don't overreact over bioterror research

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The US should resist calls to restrict the number of scientists with access to anthrax and other pathogens – we need this crucial research (full text available to subscribers)

Editorial: Intelligence isn't all it's cracked up to be

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

When it comes to complex problems, best to leave the deliberating to the unconscious – or to machines

Interview: The father of the internet in Africa

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Computers are as important for the future of Africa as food and water, says Ghanaian internet guru Nii Quaynor (full text available to subscribers)

Histories: 163 ways to lose your job

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Thomas Edison's 163-question quiz for potential and current employees started a craze for "brain testing" that is still with us (full text available to subscribers)

Commentary: The importance of knowing how

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Critical thinking should be right at the centre of the education system, says A C Grayling (full text available to subscribers)

Comment: Anthropologists should stay off the front line

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The US army is seeking the help of anthropologists to help it understand the cultures in which it operates. Not a good idea, says anthropologist Hugh Gusterson (full text available to subscribers)

Editorial: Where do nutrititional supplements fit in sport?

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Efforts to stop Olympic athletes taking performance-enhancing drugs are well recognised, but little attention is given to nutritional supplements. It's time that changed (full text available to subscribers)

Review: Physics for Future Presidents by Richard A Muller

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Listen up, McCain and Obama – there's stuff you may need to know in here, like why dirty bombs are unlikely weapons for terrorists

Interview: The cosmic explorer

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 12:19:00 +0100

In 1996, George Smoot won a Nobel prize for discovering something "which, if you're religious, is like looking at God". So how does he follow that up? (full text available to subscribers)

Review: Txtng: The Gr8 Db8 by David Crystal

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

A linguist argues that text messaging produces talented young writers

Review: The Score by Faye Flam

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

A new book explains why men do what they do to get women into bed (full text available to subscribers)

Past masters of coastal geology

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

When climate change threatens, coastal engineers and planners should take a few tips from the pre-Raphaelite painters (full text available to subscribers)

Commentary: Why God and science don't mix

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The Templeton Foundation might seem benign, but aiming to prove the existence of God goes against everything science should stand for, says Lawrence Krauss (full text available to subscribers)

Review: Surrealism, Art and Modern Science by Gavin Parkinson

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

New evidence shows how much the surrealist art movement was inspired by the strange worlds of relativity and quantum theory (full text available to subscribers)

Seven reasons why people hate reason