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March

Table of Contents March 2011

Discover Magazine's mission is to enable readers to lead richer lives by explaining and expanding their universe. Each month we bring you in depth information and analysis from various topics ranging from technology and space to the living world we live in.

FEATURES

Rediscovering Consciousness in People Diagnosed as "Vegetative"

by Kat McGowan

Often people with bad brain injuries seem unresponsive, but many still have thoughts, feelings, and memories flickering in and out of consciousness. Can neuroscience rescue these lost brains?

The Trillions of Microbes That Call Us Home—and Help Keep Us Healthy

by Michael Tennesen

The human body is a habitat for a huge range of harmless and beneficial microbes, which may be the key to fighting disease without antibiotics.  

The Chemical Ocean Acid Test

by Jennifer Barone

How will marine life respond to ocean waters  that are growing ever more acidic? In a remote  Norwegian fjord, scientists are finding out  by simulating the corrosive seas of the future.

The Priest-Physicist Who Would Marry Science to Religion

by Zeeya Merali

John Polkinghorne leads a disparate group of scientists the  controversial search  for God  within  the  fractured  logic  of  quantum physics.

Weaving a New Web

Four leading computer-network scientists discuss how best to prepare the Internet in a promising but hard-to-predict future.

DEPARTMENTS

5 Questions

5 Questions for the Creator of Truly Potent Stem Cells

by Andrew Grant

Jacob Hanna is headed back to his homeland, Israel, as one of the youngest leaders in one of science's hottest fields.

The Brain

The Brain: The Trouble With Teens

by Carl Zimmer

Fast driving, drugs, and unsafe sex: The risk-loving behavior of adolescents may result from a neurological gap in the developing brain.

Big Idea

Should Conservationists Allow Some Species to Die Out

by Isabelle Groc

In the battle to save endangered animals, some environmentalists say we should ignore the charismatic pandas and condors and instead practice "conservation triage."

Vital Signs

Vital Signs: Those Who Know Us Best

by H. Lee Kagan

A faint whiff of bad breath tells  a worried wife something is seriously  wrong with her husband.

Sliced

Old Faithful Supports Tourism in Wyoming; Cold Faithful May Support Life on Elceladus

by Mara Grunbaum

Geysers gush massive columns of hot water and steam from fissures in the ground, offering a rare look at the earth’s inner workings.

Tools of the Trade

Brand-New Eye in the Sky Will Look at the Very "Foundations of the Universe"

by Joseph Calamia

The powerful AMS detector has a gauntlet of experiments to analyze the thousands of super-energetic particles that plow into it every second.