August 2009 Issue: Secrets of the Deep
A new generation of manned subs explores our deepest oceans
Features
Another League Under the Sea
A new generation of manned submersibles will soon open up 98 percent of the world’s oceans to human eyes by diving more than 20,000 feet into the ocean. Fresh energy sources, new species—who knows what we’ll find in Earth’s last unexplored frontier? By Abe Streep
The Future of Farming: Solutions for a Hungry World
To feed a ballooning population despite shrinking farmland, every acre will have to count. Here’s the tech that will turbocharge harvests, including desert cultivation tricks, bacteria that fertilize crops, and fruit-picking robots. By Hillary Rosner
Welcome to Disaster City
What the largest search-and-rescue training facility is teaching us about surviving catastrophe. By Lisa Taddeo
The Green Dream: A Solar-Powered Boiler
Learn from PopSci’s staff photographer as he constructs an eco-friendly and affordable home. This month: solar-powered hot water. By John B. Carnett
Overhyped Health Headlines Revealed
Does red wine make you live longer? Does bacon cause cancer? We uncover what scientific studies really mean for your health. By Jason Daley
Headlines
- New Lawsuit Challenges the Right to Patent Human Genes for Profit
- Blackout Bomb: Air Force’s High-Powered Microwave Weapons Fry Enemy Equipment
- New Flu Treatment Outsmarts Mutations
- An 135-MPH F1 Racecar Made From Vegetables
- 30-Second Science: Sun and Water Enable New Self-Healing Materials
What’s New
- Five Tools To Survive the Apocalypse
- Electric Car Prototypes Are Hitting the Road
- Cellphones That Unleash Your Inner Artist
- Safer Vacations with a Watercraft that Brakes
How 2.0
- You Built What?! A Water-Powered Jetpack
- Kit of the Month: Twitter Your Home’s Power Consumption
- Theme Building: Incredible DIY Projects for Summer
- Ask a Geek: How Can I Make My Computer Boot Up Faster?