New Scientist Magazine - 2010-03-13 - Vol. 205 No. 2751

New Scientist is a weekly international science magazine and website covering recent developments in science and technology for a general English-speaking audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of Reed Elsevier. New Scientist has maintained a website since 1996, publishing daily news. As well as covering current events and news from the scientific community, the magazine often features speculative articles, ranging from the technical to the philosophical.

CONTENTS

NEWS
5 EDITORIAL We should learn to love our fat
6 UPFRONT Giant squid gets plastinated. Methane bubbles out of the Arctic Ocean
8 THIS WEEK Food, not flab, makes obesity a killer. How the primordial soup got the spice of life. Happy mum, active fetus. What the Apollo missions missed. Signs of life may litter Martian surface
11 INSIGHT Climate science battle spreads to US schoolrooms
16 IN BRIEF Earth and Venus's secret tryst. Brain damage linked to stifling parents
19 TECHNOLOGY Will e-cars bring down the power grid? Enforcing cyber-security by law. Artificial neurons

OPINION
24 Elephants in the room The long-running row over whether to sell off stockpiled ivory distracts from the real issues, says Tom Milliken
25 One minute with... Frank Moss, boss of the MIT Media Lab, on autistic glasses and exoskeletons
26 LETTERS Science for peace. Inspiring insects
28 Mathematical magic With two books due out, and a young son, Roger Penrose is incurably optimistic - though not about string theory

FEATURES
30 Accidental origins
34 The arch-polluter goes green The chemical industry is learning to plan its products and processes with the environment in mind
39 Battling the guinea worm One of humanity's most gruesome parasites could soon be banished for good
42 I really feel for you

REGULARS

26 ENIGMA
46 BOOKS & ARTS We should value vagueness more, says computational linguist Kees van Deemter
47 Reviews Paying attention to population. Too much choice
48 Gallery Translucent art from deformed frogs' legs
56 FEEDBACK The chilli-chip nutrition mystery
57 THE LAST WORD Sailing into a sodden wind
50 JOBS & CAREERS