Revista Científica Americana
Their dirTy SecreT
War Of The Machines
roboTS TranSForM baTTleS
Dna DrUgs anD Vaccines
July 2010
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www.ScientificAmericAn.com
poTenT TherapieS To coMe
The
Universe is Leaking
Light seems to lose energy as it crosses the cosmos, apparently breaking the laws of physics. What gives?
WhaT DO BaBies KnOW?
© 2010 Scientific American
Far More Than everexpecTed
contents features scientific american July 2010
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Volume 303 number 1
38 stheUniverse I LeakingEnergy?
By Tamara M. Davis
As the cosmos expands, light seems to lose energy, in violation of the laws of physics. What gives?
meDicine
cosmoLoGY
48 DNADrugsComeofAge
transportation
By Matthew P. Morrow and David B. Weiner
New vaccines and medicines in humantrials offer hope for fighting HIV, influenza and other maladies.
54 heDirtyTruth T aboutPlug-inHybrids
By Michael Moyer
Cars that draw electricity from the grid may not be as clean as you think. The key factor? Where you live.
roBotics
38 70
56 WaroftheMachines
By P. W. Singer
Thousands of robots now operate in Iraq and Afghanistan. They mark the most profoundtransformation of warfare since the atom bomb.
64 leanEnergyfromFilthyWater C
By Jane Braxton Little
California cities are pumping their treated wastewater underground to create electricity.
e VoLution
enerGY
70 WingedVictory
By Gareth Dyke
Modern birds, long thought to have arisen after the dinosaurs perished, actually lived alongside them.
psYcHoLoGY
76 HowBabiesThink
By AlisonGopnik
76
on tHe coVer
By some reckoning, the cosmos is leaking energy. Yet, physics tells us, energy is always conserved. The puzzle has an entertaining solution. Photograph by Mark Hooper.
Even the youngest children know, experience and learn far more than scientists ever thought possible.
82 TheDrillersAreComing
By Mark Fischetti
A process for extracting natural gas isexpanding despite concern over risks to drinking water.
J u l y 2 0 10
4
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
© 2010 Scientific American
timothy archibald (baby)
enVironment
contents Departments
8 10 14 16
FromtheEditor Letters 50,100&150YearsAgo NewsScan
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
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14 28 16
Gulf oil spill and the environmental consequences.
REsEaRch & DIscOVERY
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Why upto 4 percent of your DNA is Neandertal. Under stress, women bond and men withdraw. Water detected on asteroid. Microbial mat the size of Greece discovered. Early images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory.
MEDIcINE & hEaLTh
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New connections between insomnia and addiction. Risks from overuse of popular acid reflux drug.
TEchNOLOGY
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Manipulating the wisdom of online crowds.Green tech wilts under Patent Office scrutiny.
36
CriticalMass
By Lawrence M. Krauss
Whether volcanic or nuclear, disasters anywhere in our interconnected world affect us all.
30
Perspectives
By the Editors
The prospect of androids that can hunt and kill on their own should give us all pause.
86 88
Recommended
Earth sans ice caps. Biomimetics. Immortality.
32 34SustainableDevelopments
By Jeffrey D. Sachs
Why curbing public debt is so crucial.
AntiGravity
By Steve Mirsky
Cruising with Mac fans.
Skeptic
By Michael Shermer
When scientists sin.
Go to
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34
.com
Urban Visions: Cities of 2030 What will population centers look like in 20 years’ time? Innovations in urban agriculture, distributed energy and mass transit should make futurecities both more sustainable and more self-reliant, for starters. More at www.scientificamerican.com/jul2010
Scientific American (ISSN 0036-8733), Volume 303, Number 1, July 2010, published monthly by Scientific American, a trading name of Nature America, Inc., 75 Varick Street, 9th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10013-1917. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and at additional mailing...
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