
The Silent Revolution
An upcoming book deciphers in plain language what ails the patent system
Gary Stix, formerly senior editor of mind and brain topics at Scientific American, edited and reported on emerging advances that have propelled brain science to the forefront of the biological sciences. Stix has edited or written cover stories, feature articles and news on diverse topics, ranging from what happens in the brain when a person is immersed in thought to the impact of brain implant technology that alleviates mood disorders such as depression. Before taking over the neuroscience beat, Stix, as Scientific American's special projects editor, was responsible for the magazine's annual single-topic special issues, conceiving of and producing issues on Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, climate change and nanotechnology. One special issue he oversaw on the topic of time in all of its manifestations won a National Magazine Award. With his wife Miriam Lacob, Stix is co-author of a technology primer called Who Gives a Gigabyte? A Survival Guide for the Technologically Perplexed.

The Silent Revolution
An upcoming book deciphers in plain language what ails the patent system

Homo carnivorous
Are we genetically optimized to down chicken wings?

A Confederacy of Smarts
Can Microsoft's assemblage of all-star researchers transform computing?

Work on Anything (But no Jetés)

Making Drugs, Not Profits
A married couple attacks neglected diseases of the developing world

Patents on Ice
Antarctica as a last frontier for bioprospectors--and their intellectual property

Making Proteins without DNA
A long odyssey produces a synthetic version of a biotech blockbuster

Patent Enforcement
Vacationers to Costa Rica should check first with their tour operators' lawyers

Nano Patterning
IBM brings closer to reality chips that put themselves together

Working the System II
Corporate greed no longer remains the sole domain of the corporation

Micro(mechanical)phones
Integrating microphones and speakers on a chip could be a big deal for MEMS

Working the System
A duo of antibody makers tries to prolong ownership of a key technology

In Search of Better Patents
How to get rid of bad filings without costly lawsuits

Supercharging Protein Manufacture
A career deviation leads to a dynamic approach to producing biotech drugs

Breath Takers
A quixotic career-long quest to diagnose disease simply by exhaling

Shrink-Wrapping the World
A law that would crimp the rights of software buyers suffers a major defeat

Edward Teller, 1908-2003

Kick Me, Myself and I
An inveterate tinkerer creates a technology for self-flagellators

Ultimate Self-Improvement
The brain is still an enigma. But that won't stop us from trying to enhance mental functioning

What a Little Limeade Can Do
Owning the rights for frozen juice to treat angina and for lunar birth control

Hands of Light
Moving particles with photons leads to a new form of nanomanufacturing

Signal Jammer
An academic experiment leads to a new class of drug for attacking heart disease

You Can Patent That?
A selection of recently issued intellectual-property gems

Sign Here
Will a scientist need a legal opinion before starting the next experiment?