CURRENT ISSUE
October 2006
Features
The Planet Hunters
Astronomers have found about 200 planets orbiting other stars, and they say it's only a matter of time before they discover another Earth
What Makes a Planet?
Why our solar system just shrank
Return to the Marsh
The effort to restore the Marsh Arabs' traditional way of life in southern Iraqvirtually eradicated by Saddam Hussein faces new threats
Cricket, Anyone?
The game is both very British and, to Americans, very confusing. But it was once our national pastime, and its gaining fans on these shores
Cricket for Dummies
It's a lot like baseball. Except that it's profoundly different
Fabric of Their Lives
There's a new exhibition of works by the quilters of Gee's Bend, Alabama, whose lives have been transformed by worldwide acclaim for their artistry
Neanderthal Man
Svante Pääbo has probed the DNA of Egyptian mummies and animals. Now he hopes to decode the DNA of our evolutionary cousins
Say What?
In an era of global communications, regional dialects are hanging in there, y'all
The Painter Who Hated Picasso
Sporting artist Alfred Munnings loved horses, the English countryside and a good stiff drink. What he didn't like was modern art
Inventive Abe
In 1849, a future president patented an amazing addition to transportation technology
October Letters
Readers respond to the August issue
Wild Things: Life as We Know It
Bumblebees, elephants and endless summer
October Anniversaries
Momentous or merely memorable
Last Page: Moonstruck
You can't believe everything you think
Departments
Inventive Abe
In 1849, a future president patented an amazing addition to transportation technology
300 Million and Counting
The United States reaches a demographic milestone, thanks largely to immigration
Wanted!
Our fossil collection is already the world's largest. But we're in search of a complete T. rex.