New Scientist 9 September 2010

Hawking's faith in M-theory
Can M-theory explain the birth of our universe? Stephen Hawking thinks so, but without empirical evidence it's just a matter of faith
Unlikely ideas prove how damaging science cuts will be
Ideas once thought mad or bad are now vital to our way of life. Politicians take note: even unpromising brainwaves can have a huge legacy
Bees and climate change cleared in pollination mystery
Even without climate change, even without the decline of bees, pollination is in a downward spiral. And nobody knows why
Bird flu found in pigs
H5N1's jump to pigs brings the virus a step closer to a human pandemic
Ghostwriting probe into HRT articles
Scientific papers "ghostwritten" for drug maker Wyeth may have led to hormone replacement therapy being recommended to healthy menopausal women

First Irish genome sequenced
Analysis of the genome of an Irishman reveals that his compatriots are genetically distinct from their European neighbours
60 Seconds
A 2-hour TB test, tiny seahorse victims of oil spill, fresh hope for the Tevatron, and more
CERN collides with a patent reality
CERN, the organisation that gave away the World Wide Web, is finally thinking about protecting its intellectual property
Laws of physics may change across the universe
A controversial observation suggests that a constant of physics actually varies in space – it could explain why our corner of the cosmos is just right for life
Pakistan's flood weather eased Atlantic hurricanes
The stalled weather pattern behind floods in Pakistan and a heatwave in Russia may have delayed the start of the Atlantic hurricane season
Brain imaging monitors effect of movie magic
Mining your brain's fundamental response to cinematic action could make movies more moving
Thank the ur-worm for Shakespeare's brain
The hallmark of the human brain – its enormous cortex – can be traced back 600 million years to the ancestor of a primitive worm
Civil war in Africa has no link to climate change
Prosperity rather than climate change seems to govern the incidence of civil war in Africa
Exotic matter could show up in the LHC this year
The Large Hadron Collider could glimpse sparticles, diquarks and leptoquarks sooner than thought possible if new-found decay pathways are correct
Ancient Greeks spotted Halley's comet
Halley's comet and a meteorite the size of a "wagonload" triggered a turning point in ancient Greek astronomy
Money can buy you happiness – up to a point
The more money people earn the higher their overall life satisfaction, but your day-to-day emotional wellbeing improves only up to a $75,000 salary
Do Egyptian mummies have a right to privacy?
The assumption that ancient corpses are fair game for science is beginning to be challenged

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