Today on New Scientist: 18 January 2013







Megaballoon launches big bang telescope in Antarctica

The 2.7-tonne EBEX telescope will detect the weak light that remains from the big bang, helping to reveal the origin and evolutionary history of the universe



Moth navigation probed to improve micro-drone flight

Flying through a virtual forest, hawkmoths tailor their navigation according to visibility conditions



Mussels with backpacks monitor Mississippi's health

Sensors that monitor individual mussels' behaviour will keep watch on the ebb and flow of pollutants in the Mississippi



Cognitive impairment in premature babies not permanent

Babies born preterm often have a smaller cortex - but they still retain a healthy number of brain cells. With the right care, they may escape cognitive impairment



Zoologger: The first solar-powered vertebrate

The spotted salamander is the first backboned animal known to harness sunlight to make food - with the help of photosynthetic algae



What Westerners can learn from tribal societies

In his new book, the Pulitzer-prizewinning author Jared Diamond looks to tribal societies to see how we used to live, and what we can learn from our past



Feedback: Excessive precision at rugby World Cup

Rugby, cancelling cancellation, low, low prices, and more



Matt Damon's new movie is about people, not fracking

The much-debated new movie Promised Land, starring and co-written by Matt Damon, puts a human face on fracking, but doesn't drill deep enough



Spider shackled to work in silk-spinning factory trial

Watch how silk can be harvested from an orb spider, using a technique that draws out fibres on a motorised wheel



Time for science to seize political power

Could you imagine a government that builds its policies on carefully gathered evidence? In the UK, this is no longer a crazy dream, says Michael Brooks



Wild weather: Extreme is the new normal

The wild weather that greeted the new year is a taste of things to come



Wind turbines supercharged with superconductors

Turbines built with superconducting innards promise to triple the wind-power generation of conventional turbines - and be lighter to boot



Time to get serious about curbing drinking

Responsibility for reducing the harmful consumption of alcohol can no longer be left to the industry that produces the stuff



Matching names to genes: the end of genetic privacy?

Publicly available information has been used to match many genomes with their owners' identity, highlighting concerns over misuse of genetic data



Flu checks its biological clock to evade detection

Like a thief, flu viruses know they have only so long until they are spotted - so they use an alarm clock




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