Table of Contents July/August 2013

DSC-July-Aug13NOUPC

This special double issue of DISCOVER Magazine focuses on our invisible planet and the science we don't see. A foldout spread in the center gives you a panoramic view of life under the Antarctic ice. Meet Earth's unlikely hero, the mushroom man, and discover the future of nanobots and x-ray vision apps. Read about cancer's hidden history and solve baseball's most painful puzzle. Plus, explore the shadow galaxy and gravity's weird mysteries.

Stories from this issue will be published online over the course of June and July, so stay tuned and subscribe for early access.

Order this issue
Digital editions

DEPARTMENTS

July and August Calendar

Catch the latest in wearable technology, mark somber anniversaries in atomic history and learn to scuba. 

How Nitrogen Can Help Food Production but Harm Drinking Water

Scientists trace nitrogen through the soil in a quest to tame pollution from agriculture.

Huge Parasitic Cysts Threaten to Flood a Man's Body With Tapeworm Larvae

An old man's liver holds a startling secret. The necessary surgery could kill him, but so could doing nothing.

Similar to Dyslexia, A Math Learning Disability Called Dyscalculia Affects Every Aspect of Daily Life

Can scientists find the cause or a treatment for the learning disability that makes a smart kid so bad at math?

Has Scientific Prejudice Blinded Astronomers to a Parallel Universe of Invisible Dark Matter?

Researchers sifting through data find the "smoking gun" of dark matter and a tantalizing glimpse into a shadow galaxy.

Mystic Milky Way

July is the best month to catch sight of our galaxy's Great Rift, including incubators of stars yet to be.

What to Read, View and Visit in July and August

A smartphone makes you hear voices in your head, data pioneer Ivan Sutherland wants to clean your (computer's) clock and Mayans turn up in Minnesota.

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

The apple of Newton's eye and the focus of Einstein's work, gravity is weaker than you probably think and weirder than you probably imagined.

DATA

faroe-islands

The country is offering whole genome sequencing to every citizen who wants it — a project that will chart the way for the future of genomic medicine.

Giant Squid Photographed for the First Time in the Deep Ocean

Scientists dive to find the 40-foot squid in its native habitat, 2,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

Harmless T-Ray Vision Sees Through Boxes, Walls and Skin

New tetrahertz computer chips offer future smartphone sensor with applications from security scans to cancer screens.

Most Mutations in the Human Genome are Recent and Probably Harmful

Humans have five times as many gene variants as would be expected, and they're not all beneficial.

chimp-molars

Scientists overturn the long-held belief that young chimpanzees wean once their back teeth start coming in.

New Baseball Bat Designed to Dampen the Sting

An acoustics engineer finds out how to avoid a batter's painful hand vibrations.

Does the Templeton Foundation Fund Science or Science Fiction?

The foundation's grants fund research to answer science's big questions, as well as others, from extraterrestrial power to immortality.

rhino-dehorned

Although rhinoceroses are endangered, legalizing the trade in rhino horns may be the best way to protect them from poachers.

ADVERTISEMENT

DISCOVER's Newsletter

Sign up to get the latest science news delivered weekly right to your inbox!

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Collapse bottom bar
DSC-July-Aug13NOUPC
+

Log in to your account

X
Email address:
Password:
Remember me
Forgot your password?
No problem. Click here to have it emailed to you.

Not registered yet?

Register now for FREE. It takes only a few seconds to complete. Register now »