CURRENT ISSUE
October 2002
Features
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Learning from the Missile Crisis
What Really Happened on Those Thirteen Fateful Days in October
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Subterranean Surprises
Scientists are discovering that caves more complex than we ever imagined may yield vast riches about the origins of life
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Master Class
Like generations of painters before them, artists from around the globe go to Paris to copy the masterpieces at the Louvre
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The Old Man of Olduvai Gorge
Irrepressible Louis Leakey, patriarch of the fossil-hunting family, championed the search for human origins in Africa, attracting criticism and praise
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Going to Extremes
Without the extraordinary dedication of a few conservationists, New Zealand's kakapo would likely have gone the way of the dodo
Politically Correct
Artist Peter Waddell's scrupulously researched paintings of the U.S. Capitol bring history to life
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California Scheming
Los Angeles' insatiable thirst for water, which drained the Owens Valley, has ruined lives, shaped the city's politics and provoked ongoing controversy
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Book Excerpt: Supergerm Warfare
Dragon's drool, frog's glands and shark's stomachs have all been recruited for the fight against drug-resistant bacteria
Departments
Pack Rat
First Virgil Johnson gave up smoking. Then he gave up his breathtaking collection of tobacco-nalia
Net Gains
A California biologist discovered a new insect species and then caught evolution in the act
Making Ends Meet
Iowa abbey monks craft fine caskets for the recently departed and "pre-Need" customers alike
Rain Man
Snow, sleet, hail or volcanic eruption cloud physicist Peter Hobbs will find a way to fly into it