January 2013: The Year In Ideas

January 2013 Nick Kaloterakis

Letter From The Editor

Lucky 13

By Jacob Ward

Features

The Helmet Wars

Athletes in the U.S. suffer 3.8 million sports-related concussions each year. While helmet makers dither with small improvements, Swedish scientists have built something that could protect us all. By Tom Foster

• Plus: What's Behind The NFL Suicides?

Inside China's Secret Arsenal

The Chinese government is rapidly building a bigger, more sophisticated military. Here’s what they have, what they want, and what it means for the U.S. By Peter W. Singer

2012: The Big Stories

An at-a-glance summary of the year's 25 most important scientific events. By Colleen Park, illustration and design by Headcase Design

The Year In Science

• Physics Enters A New Era By Sean Carroll
• Stem Cells Sidestep Controversy By Clay Risen
• Climate Scientists Say It Again By Curtis Brainard
• Asia Take Two Routes To Space By Valerie Ross
• Energy Levels The Field By Abrahm Lustgarten
• Crowdfunding Pays Off By Cliff Ransom
• Hackers Attack Mobile Phones By Robert Lemos
• Science Funding Remains Strong By Juliet Eilperin

News Bytes From 2013

PopSci predicts the top news stories of the next year. By Miriam Kramer, Taylor Kubota, and Colleen Park

What's New

• Skis For Any Slope
• The Goods: January 2013's Hottest Gadgets
• The Practical Plug-In
• Speakers From Space
• Dustless Drilling
• The Indestructible Drive
• Predictive Television

Headlines

• Wild Among Us
• Bullet Proof
• The Warmup
• Blueprint: Fantastic Voyage
• F=ma: Clone Wars

How 2.0

• You Built What?!: A Home for the Long Haul
• Roach Control
• Clever Measures
• Ask A Geek: Will Yanking A Portable Drive Destroy My Data?
• Retro Spinner

FYI

• Why Don’t Spiders Get Trapped In Their Own Webs?
• Can Too Much Antiperspirant Cause Me To Overheat?

Megapixels

• A Plasma Explosion On The Surface Of The Sun