October 2011: The Search for Alien Life

October 2011: The Search for Alien Life

Features

The Search for Alien Life Is On

New missions and discoveries on Earth, within our solar system and beyond are bringing us closer than ever to finding alien life on other planets by Jennifer Abbasi

Searching in All the Right Places

Why we're closer than ever to the discovery that will change everything by Jennifer Abbasi

Scientist in a Strange Land

Last December, Felisa Wolfe-Simon announced the discovery of a microbe that could change the way we understand life in the universe. Soon she found herself plunged into a maelstrom of bitter backlash and intemperate criticism. A dispatch from the frontiers of the new peer review By Tom Clynes

Our yearly list of young geniuses shaking up science includes scientists making new forms of geometry, better HIV drugs, studying sun plasma, butterfly pharmacology and more.

• The Butterfly Pharmacist
• The Computational Contortionist
• The Chemical Mechanic
• The Molecular Filmmaker
• The Sludge Miner
• The Light Wrangler
• The Neuron Observer
• The Sun Diver
• The Chemical Catcher
• The Robot Trainer

What's New

• The Goods: October 2011's Hottest Gadgets
• Detroit Goes Diesel, Thanks to Tighter Mileage Requirements
• Camera Gear for Capturing the Best Leaves of Autumn
• A Surf Park Serves Up Ocean-Rivaling Artificial Waves Year-Round
• A Personal Turbine Makes Your Rooftop Into a Wind Farm
• A Soccer Ball That Doubles as a Generator

Headlines

• The Incredible Shrinking Shot: Needles Get a Pain-Free Makeover
• Researchers Develop Birth Control for Wildlife
• How a College Class Tracked Down Osama Bin Laden
• Building an Underwater Microphone Modeled on Orca Ears

How 2.0

• You Built What?! A Seven-Foot-High 3-D Printer That Uses the Sun to Transform Sand Into Glass Object
• Gray Matter: The Big Bang Theory
• Ask a Geek: Should I Fully Drain My Laptop Battery Before Recharging It?
• Radio How You Want It
• Two Teenagers One-Up the Neighbors With a Giant Animatronic Dragon Display for Halloween
• The Best Tools for Your DIY Project

FYI

• FYI: Can Anything Move Faster Than Light?
• FYI: Can Wireless Electricity Kill People?
• FYI: How Much Bacteria Do People Carry Around?

Megapixels

• Visitors Enjoy a Nuclear Amusement Park in Germany