Everything From New Scientist. Stories for the magazine and website. All articles, including links below, © New Scientist Ltd.
DNA Mugshot Gives Cops Another Lead. New Scientist, March 2014. It may soon be possible to create realistic “photofit” likenesses from DNA left at a crime scene. We put this nascent technology to the test.
Our Genomic Future. New Scientist, September 2013. Genome sequencing is starting to deliver a medical revolution for families with rare diseases. The benefits may one day come to us all. Article as PDF.
Death by IQ: US Inmates Condemned By Flawed Tests. New Scientist, August 2012. Executing the intellectually disabled is unconstitutional, but the reluctance of courts to consider errors in IQ test scores can seal a killer's fate.
Crossing The Borderline: Fixing Personality Disorders. New Scientist, August 2011. It’s time to reject the outdated notion that people with these often debilitating conditions are beyond psychiatric help.
Deep Sea Gold Rush: Mining Hydrothermal Vents. New Scientist, June 2011. Do plans to harvest metals from these hostile volcanic sites threaten unique ecosystems? Or is this the future of environmentally responsible mining?
The Stem Cell Wars. New Scientist, June 2010. When a Nobel prize is up for grabs in one of the hottest fields in biology, do scientists from across the globe compete on a level playing field? Methods and results. Article as PDF.
Revealed: Pfizer’s Payments To Censured Doctors. New Scientist, April 2010. Some of the physicians paid to lecture about the pharmaceutical giant’s products have disturbing disciplinary records. With Jim Giles and Brad Stenger.
Hey, Green Spender. New Scientist, February 2010. Do our ideas of which companies are eco-friendly live up to reality? With Phil McKenna, using data from Earthsense and Trucost. Methods and results.
Neighborhoods That Can Kill. New Scientist, January 2010. In Chicago, death rates among black women with breast cancer are shockingly high. Is the strain of life in some of the toughest urban areas in America to blame? Article as PDF.
The Fog Of War. New Scientist, May 2009. The extreme stresses of battle can cloud soldiers’ brains, leaving them vulnerable to oncoming threats. Can we design drugs to help them cope, and to protect them from post-traumatic stress disorder?
How My Genome Was Hacked. New Scientist, March 2009. If a reporter’s DNA is vulnerable to prying eyes, so is yours. All it took was a credit card and companies that asked few questions. With Michael Reilly. Article as PDF.
Global Warming: The Buck Stops Here. New Scientist, June 2007. Which ways of curbing emissions play best with ordinary Americans? Poll run with Stanford University and Resources for the Future. Methods and results. Article as PDF.
Minnesota Stem Cell Investigation. New Scientist, February 2007 onwards. With Eugenie Reich. A series of articles highlighting problems with research at the University of Minnesota’s Stem Cell Institute.
Throwing Away The Key. New Scientist, February 2007. Across the US, thousands of sex offenders who have served jail time are kept incarcerated on questionable grounds. Article as PDF.
Swallowing The Best Advice. New Scientist, October 2006. Does funding from drug and medical device companies influence groups that are supposed to represent patients’ interests? With Jessica Marshall.
Friend Or Foe? New Scientist, October 2006. Efforts in academic labs to combat killer pathogens with new vaccines and drugs could be inadvertently writing a handbook for biowarfare. Article as PDF.
Drugs, Crime And A Conservation Crisis. New Scientist, September 2006. Attempts to protect ecosystems and wildlife are being seriously hampered by the trade in illegal narcotics. Article as PDF.