September 2006

The Future of NASA

Michael Griffin is gearing NASA up to build a moon base. Is he paving the way to Mars or jeopardizing the future of American space exploration?

by David H. Freedman

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September

Departments

Natural Selections: The Potential Pandemic You've Never Heard Of

How the connections between pigs, bats, and people could threaten your health.
by Mary C. Pearl

Peer Review: Invading Our Own Privacy

We grumble about prying eyes, yet we love to upload our identities onto the Web.
by Douglas Rushkoff

Map: X-Ray Vision Shows How a Galaxy Cluster Grows

New X-ray data unveils the dynamics of galaxy cluster Abell 3266.
by Jessica Ruvinsky

Raw Data: Do Brothers Make You Gay?

Boys with older brothers are more likely to be gay. But is it nurture or nature?
by Stephen Ornes

Reviews

String theory comes under attack, a geneticist muses on God, and the demise of high-tech trash. Plus: Buckminster Fuller's portable, collapsible house.

20 Things You Didn't Know About... Death

Newsflash: we're all going to die. But here are 20 things you didn't know about kicking the bucket.
by LeeAundra Temescu

Letters

Readers debate the motives of terrorists, vegetarianism, and the hottest physicist on the planet.

Jaron's World: The Murder of Mystery

How Silicon Valley joined the superstitious fringe as the enemy of open inquiry.
by Jaron Lanier

Sky Lights: Confused About Your Direction?

If you lack a sense of personal trajectory, astronomers can help.
by Bob Berman

Blinded by Science: Hawking's Exit Strategy

Why is one of the thinking community's heavy hitters dabbling in doomsday prophecy?
by Bruno Maddox

The Discover Interview: David Baltimore

The retiring president of Caltech delivers some straight talk on AIDS research, celebrity science, and his role in one of the most talked-about fraud scandals of the past 25 years.
by Susan Kruglinski

Vital Signs: Trouble in the Nursery

The dog provides a clue to a family's puzzling seizures.
by Pamela Grim