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Physics

Book Review: Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking by Charles Seife

Review by Davide Castelvecchi.

Physics

Facts and Speculations in Cosmology by Jayant V. Narlikar and Geoffrey Burbidge

Cambridge Univ. Press, 2008, 287 p., $60.

Tech

Neuroengineering the Future: Virtual Minds and the Creation of Immortality by Bruce F. Katz

Infinity Science Press, 2008, 389 p., $49.95.

Plants

Don’t Touch That: The Book of Gross, Poisonous, and Downright Icky Plants and Critters by Jeff Day

Chicago Review Press, 2008, 108 p., $9.95.

Tech

Magnetic Appeal: MRI and the Myth of Transparency by Kelly A. Joyce

Cornell Univ. Press, 2008, 198 p., $21.95.

Tech

Global Catastrophes and Trends: The Next Fifty Years by Vaclav Smil

MIT Press, 2008, 307 p., $29.95.

Science & Society

It’s time for addiction science to supersede stigma

Animals

Not Your Father’s Song

The next generation of birds chooses its music.

Chemistry

Nicotine’s new appeal

Mimicking the addictive compound’s action in the brain could lead to new drugs for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and schizophrenia.

Chemistry

Long Live Plastics

With plastics in museums decomposing, a new effort seeks to halt the demise of materials commonly thought to be unalterable.

Animals

Honeybees still at risk

Bees still suffering from colony collapse disorder.

Space

Try, try again

NASA announced October 23 that, despite a series of setbacks, the prognosis is good for reviving the Hubble Space Telescope.