New Scientist Tip Sheet for Feb 10, 2001

NEW SCIENTIST
This week sees the start of a brand new 4-page section in the magazine: FRONTIERS - Emerging Technologies:

CALLS FROM THE HEART
Cellphone signals could tell rescue workers vital information about the health of victims trapped inside collapsed buildings. US Scientists have discovered that cellphones can broadcast information about your heartbeat and breathing rate - just by dialling your phone. Page 20

PUSH MY BUTTON
An electrical implant could help women who can't achieve orgasm naturally. US scientists have patented a device which, when implanted into the patient's spinal cord, can deliver an orgasm from a hand-held remote control. Page 23

SWISS ROLLER
Robotic tumbleweeds could one day roll around the surface of Mars, helping scientists measure the planet's complex wind patterns. The collapsible wire "windballs" designed by Swiss inventors would be propelled by the wind at night, when the temperature drops, and collapse flat during the day. Page 21

STARRY EYED
American astrophysicists have found that the best way to view distant, Earth-like planets is through a square hole. By swapping the circular aperture of a telescope to a square one, images of planets could come swimmingly into view. Page 22

WHISTLING WHILE YOU WORK BUT CAN'T NAME THAT TUNE?
Can't place that tune you're humming? Just whistling it to your PC can get you the answer. New search software developed in Norway can scour a database of tunes looking for the right match from as few as five notes. Page 22

OTHER NEWS & FEATURES:

SCENT OF A MAN
Humans use scent to find a good partner, but taking oral contraceptives seems to alters a woman's sense of smell. Could this mean that taking the Pill is tricking women into choosing the wrong guy to father their babies? Pages 36-40

THE DAY THE DYNAMO DIED
When Mars lost its magnetic field, it lost all chance of life. NASA scientists have recently found out that solar wind blasted away the Martian atmosphere, following the demise of its magnetic field four billion years ago. And with no atmosphere, there was little chance of life. Page 4
CONTINUED
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SHORT STORY - NO WRINKLES, NO MIGRAINE
An American plastic surgeon says that smoothing out wrinkly foreheads may relieve patients from migraines. Page 25

DANGEROUS DOG
Your friendly pet could bring in more than muddy paws to your living room when he bounds in from the garden. Dogs can carry poisonous residues into the house from lawn pesticides, according to a preliminary study by an American researcher. Page 16

GREEN MONSTER
Catalytic converters, which were designed to clean up car exhausts, are backfiring on the environment. Italian and French researchers have found heavy metals from these devices in remote regions of Greenland. Page 18

LET'S GET TOGETHER
Which came first--the butterfly or the caterpillar? Both, says a British zoologist. He says creatures such as butterflies are actually the result of a genetic merger between a separate larva-like animal and a butterfly-like adult. Page 17

JOBS FOR THE BOTS
Prepare yourself for a robot invasion - they will soon be moving into your home and taking over your life. Soon robots will be mowing your lawn, taking out the trash and fetching you a beer from the fridge. So can we really just put our feet up?
Pages 27-35

EAT YOUR CRUSTS
How exactly were the world's continents born? Earth scientists are now getting a clearer idea - the land we walk on is a heap of leftovers from gargantuan geological dinners. Pages 42-45

- ENDS -

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ISSUE DATE: 10 FEBRUARY 2001

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