MAGAZINE ISSUE DATE: 11 OCTOBER 2003, Vol. 180 No. 2416
Newswise — GARDENING GOES HOT AND STEAMYAs temperatures and carbon dioxide levels rise with global warming, gardens across Europe and North America are set for a blooming makeover. Researchers told a conference in New England this week that we can expect: a colourful array of larger, earlier flowers; peach trees and grape vines replacing apple trees, and flowering in the autumn. However, the downside is that the lawn will need mowing well into the winter and we can expect to face a war against superweeds. Page 13
CITIZENS STRIKE BACK IN INTELLIGENCE WARGovernment agencies could come under public scrutiny when a website to be launched later this year allows US citizens to post snippets of information on politicians, officials and organisations. To get round the site's potential legal problems, the two MIT researchers behind the project, are planning to distribute the information around the internet in a similar way to Napster software. Page 22
COMPUTER GAME MAKERS KILL OFF PIRACYComputer game makers have come up with a radical new anti-piracy strategy to beat illegal copying of its games. Games protected by this new system, called Fade, slowly degrade so that guns don't fire properly and you can't steer cars any longer. But by the time the game starts to fall apart, the player is hooked " actually encouraging people to buy the product.Page 21
FREE MARKETS HIT GROWTHFree western-style economies could lead to poverty and corruption for developing countries, according to a new analysis. Israeli economists have found that if a poor country opens up its markets across borders too quickly, the flow of money encourages corruption, which in turn hampers growth. But in those countries with closed economies, corrupt officials spend their dirty money at home, which helps boost the nation's economy. Page 14
A PERFECT HOME FOR ALIEN LIFEThe star 37 Gem, just north-east of Orion, is the likeliest place for alien life, according to an American astrobiologist. Maggie Turnbull has compiled a shortlist of the most promising solar systems to harbour life, for an ambitious NASA project " the Terrestrial Planet Finder " planned to launch in 10 years time. Page 16
DOES THE UNIVERSE GO ON FOREVER?This week a team of NASA scientists announced tantalising hints that the universe is quite small with a hall-of-mirrors illusion tricking us into thinking the universe is infinite. However, the debate continues as evidence from a second team contradicts these findings. Pages 6-7
LASER LIGHT HELPS CELLS REPAIR THEMSELVESLaser therapy is sometimes used to treat joint pain, but no explanation has been given for how this works, or if in fact the effect is real. Now, a physicist has shown that the physical effect of low-energy laser light through a layer of cells triggers the cells' repair mechanisms. Page 12
FEATURES:-
REBEL NETWORKJon Anderson wants to give the internet back to the people. Instead of paying a fortune for broadband wireless internet access, he wants to provide a dirt-cheap network of computers with no size limit and no telecommunications companies providing the connections. It could also be described as self-organised anarchy. Pages 26-29
THE SCIENCE OF HAPPINESS " PART TWO
THE PLEASURE SEEKERSIn this second part of New Scientist's guide to the science of what makes you feel good, we give insights into the biological roots of desire and pleasure. By the 1980s everyone agreed that dopamine release from the "reward centre" of the brain gave us the feeling of pleasure, whether it was from sex, drugs or chocolate. But a few surprise results later and scientists were beginning to realise that the dopamine system was not about pleasure - but desire. While pleasure can be found in a completely different area of the brain, just behind the eyes. Pages 36-40
FIVE KEY QUESTIONS ABOUT PLEASURE-Do animals at play really experience pleasure?-Staying "high" from any pleasure is impossible. So what are the limits to pleasure?-Can we feel pleasure without being aware of it?-Why is music so pleasurable?-Why do we get such a buzz after doing something stressful or dangerous?Pages 41-43
PLEASE MENTION NEW SCIENTIST AS THE SOURCE OF ALL THESE ITEMS AND, IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO:http://www.newscientist.com
New Scientist TVNew Scientist Reports are weekly science bulletins shown onDiscovery Channel's Science Night on Tuesdays from 8pm (Repeated Weds)Top stories this week include: - - How leaf-zapping lasers keep trains running - Subatomic particles for safer planes
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