Issue 2006 | Magazine cover date: 2 December 1995

This week's magazine

2 December 1995

Issue 2006

Previous issue Next issue

On the cover

Features

Spheres of influence

��è��Ƶ

Enigma 851

Opinion

How low can we go?

View in the app

Check out this magazine in our easy-to-navigate mobile app

Find a previous edition online

Search through our digital archive of over 30 years of magazines

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Spheres of influence

Features

The way of logic

Features

Plague fiction

Features

Please extinguish your laptop

Features

��è��Ƶ

Enigma 851

Age-old question THE CLASS kept pestering the teacher to tell them her age. So she gave them a numerical exercise leading to it. She wrote two whole numbers on the board which, as she told the class, added together gave the square of her age. Most of the class then correctly worked out her age, …

��è��Ƶ

Growth factors wire the brain for vision

��è��Ƶ

Rare dwarfs unzip tumour mystery

��è��Ƶ

Evolution's big bang explained

��è��Ƶ

Technology

Cancer squad targets 'immortal' gene

��è��Ƶ

Technology

It's good to talk … to your rightful owner

��è��Ƶ

Technology

Fill 'em full of tungsten

��è��Ƶ

Technology

Keeping better track of trains

��è��Ƶ

Technology

Netropolitan – your own home page

��è��Ƶ

Technology

Netropolitan – free space

��è��Ƶ

Technology

Netropolitan – where to find us

��è��Ƶ

Technology

How to switch off the madding crowd

��è��Ƶ

Technology

Take the plunge into virtual art

��è��Ƶ

Technology

Tiny worm turns into a fly killer

��è��Ƶ

Technology

Tricks of the light foil digital data tappers

��è��Ƶ

Burns heal faster with insulin

��è��Ƶ

Shapely polymers go electronic

��è��Ƶ

Cosa Nostra cuckoos rule by terror

��è��Ƶ

'Old faithful' erupts in space

��è��Ƶ

Supercool theory solves hot ice cream puzzle

��è��Ƶ

Hawking throws Higgs into black holes

��è��Ƶ

Kenya's little miracle

��è��Ƶ

A taste for Swede

��è��Ƶ

Nuclear bombshell

��è��Ƶ

Lethal turnaround

��è��Ƶ

Frozen organs

��è��Ƶ

Can't give it away …

��è��Ƶ

Ghost town

��è��Ƶ

Fault finding on the roof of the world

��è��Ƶ

Great and good join forces for world peace

��è��Ƶ

Canadian conservation plans scorned

��è��Ƶ

Trouble in the wind over altered soya beans

��è��Ƶ

Stone Age carving is just a modern fake

��è��Ƶ

Green consumers need incentives

��è��Ƶ

Please don't cuddle the koalas

��è��Ƶ

Virtual woman goes online

��è��Ƶ

Clash over radiation safety limits

��è��Ƶ

Snub for tobacco industry research

��è��Ƶ

Indonesian ban wrecks ocean experiments

��è��Ƶ

Shark extract takes a bite out of sexual diseases

��è��Ƶ

Why shopping trips end in tears for the kids

��è��Ƶ

Terrifying outlook for Chernobyl's babies

��è��Ƶ

The particle now leaving platform 4 …

��è��Ƶ

Opinion

How low can we go?

HOW low must a dose of radiation be before it can be considered safe? For the past few decades, most radiation biologists would have answered that there is no totally safe level. Of course, they would agree that the lower the exposure to radiation, the smaller the risk of damage and of developing cancers such …

Opinion

Features

Spheres of influence

TINY sea creatures create intricate, microscopic structures which have long been the envy of materials scientists. Marine organisms such as radiolarians, diatoms and coccolithophores make themselves delicate shells out of silica or calcium carbonate with exquisite, infinitely varied designs. Now scientists believe they have discovered some of nature's architectural secrets and are using them to …

Features

The way of logic

Features

Plague fiction

Features

Please extinguish your laptop

Features

A little less night music

AS an MP, I hold weekend surgeries when my constituents can air their problems with me. Thirty years ago tiffs with the neighbours were few and far between. Today, there is a constant stream of them. Are we less tolerant and more belligerent now? Well, perhaps both. But I am certain that one of the …

Forum

New Zealand reforms come at a cost

Forum

That's the way the cookie crumbles

Forum

Bestsellers from London

Books & Arts

A bird in the pot or two in the bush?

Forum

Getting to grips with the aliens

Books & Arts

Collected works

Books & Arts

Axe to culture

Books & Arts

Nature study

Books & Arts

Out there?

Books & Arts

Home health

Books & Arts

Hypochondriacs, read on

Books & Arts

Darwinism made too simple

Books & Arts

Who cares?

Books & Arts

The eyes have it

Books & Arts

Rocks and roll

Books & Arts

Evolution by numbers

Books & Arts

Bomb culture

Books & Arts

Regulars

Feedback

IT WAS recently reported in The Scotsman that up to 2500 tonnes of nuclear waste had been deposited on top of a million-tonne dump of Second World War munitions in a stretch of sea no more than ten kilometres off the southwest coast of Scotland called Beauforts Dyke (see "Danger from the deep", ��è��Ƶ, …

Regulars

��è����Ƶ

This week's magazine

2 December 1995

On the cover

Spheres of influence

The way of logic

Plague fiction

Please extinguish your laptop

Table of contents

��è����Ƶ

Enigma 851

Growth factors wire the brain for vision

Rare dwarfs unzip tumour mystery

Evolution's big bang explained

Technology

Cancer squad targets 'immortal' gene

Technology

It's good to talk … to your rightful owner

Technology

Fill 'em full of tungsten

Technology

Keeping better track of trains

Technology

Netropolitan – your own home page

Technology

Netropolitan – free space

Technology

Netropolitan – where to find us

Technology

How to switch off the madding crowd

Technology

Take the plunge into virtual art

Technology

Tiny worm turns into a fly killer

Technology

Tricks of the light foil digital data tappers

Burns heal faster with insulin

Shapely polymers go electronic

Cosa Nostra cuckoos rule by terror

'Old faithful' erupts in space

Supercool theory solves hot ice cream puzzle

Hawking throws Higgs into black holes

Kenya's little miracle

A taste for Swede

Nuclear bombshell

Lethal turnaround

Frozen organs

Can't give it away …

Ghost town

Fault finding on the roof of the world

Great and good join forces for world peace

Canadian conservation plans scorned

Trouble in the wind over altered soya beans

Stone Age carving is just a modern fake

Green consumers need incentives

Please don't cuddle the koalas

Virtual woman goes online

Clash over radiation safety limits

Snub for tobacco industry research

Indonesian ban wrecks ocean experiments

Shark extract takes a bite out of sexual diseases

Why shopping trips end in tears for the kids

Terrifying outlook for Chernobyl's babies

The particle now leaving platform 4 …

Opinion

How low can we go?

Features

Spheres of influence

The way of logic

Plague fiction

Please extinguish your laptop

More

A little less night music

New Zealand reforms come at a cost

That's the way the cookie crumbles

Bestsellers from London

A bird in the pot or two in the bush?

Getting to grips with the aliens

Collected works

Axe to culture

��è��Ƶ

��è��Ƶ