April 2011 Issue Highlights Seconds Before the Big OneEarthquake detection systems can sound the alarm in the moments before a big tremor strikes—time enough to save lives By Richard Allen The Enemy within: A New Pattern of Antibiotic ResistanceA new pattern of antibiotic resistance that is spreading around the globe may soon leave us defenseless against a frighteningly wide range of dangerous bacterial infections By Maryn McKenna Solving the Cocktail Party ProblemComputers have great trouble deciphering voices that are speaking simultaneously. That may soon change By Graham P. Collins Neuroscience in the CourtroomBrain scans and other types of neurological evidence are rarely a factor in trials today. Someday, however, they could transform judicial views of personal credibility and responsibility By Michael S. Gazzaniga Natural-Born KillerLethal from day one, the tentacled snake uses surprisingly sly tactics to capture fish By Kenneth C. Catania Food FightGenetically modified crops, says agro-research czar Roger Beachy, receive an unjustified shellacking from environmentalists By Brendan Borrell The Orderly Chaos of ProteinsTo do their magic in the cell, proteins must fold into rigid shapes—or so standard wisdom says. But a more tangled story is beginning to emerge By A. Keith Dunker and Richard W. Kriwacki The Inflation DebateIs the theory at the heart of modern cosmology deeply flawed? By Paul J. Steinhardt Can the Dead Sea Live?Irrigation and mining are sucking the salt lake dry, but together Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority could save the sacred sea By Eitan Haddok |