Today on New Scientist: 21 May 2012

Tyrannosaur auctioned despite protests from Mongolia

A near-complete tyrannosaur skeleton has been auctioned for $1 million. The problem? The dinosaur is has only ever been found in Mongolia, and exporting fossils from the country has been illegal for 50 years

Rubber soul: California's 6-million-tyre mountain

Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky explores oil in its industrial and economic context, and its effects on our cultural and social lives

Magnetic space whirlpools give Mercury a plasma shower

The waves in the magnetic field around Mercury are larger and more frequent than those around Earth

Best illusions of 2012: Gravity-defying slope

Watch an illusion that seems to defy gravity with a mind-boggling slope

US baby boomers urged to get tested for hepatitis C

It kills more Americans than AIDS, but a one-off blood test for people born between 1945 and 1965 could prevent 120,000 deaths

Release of Arctic methane could accelerate warming

Melting Arctic permafrost could put even more methane - a potent greenhouse gas - into the atmosphere than previously thought, and accelerate global warming

Telerobotics offers third way for space exploration

Letting astronauts control robots on a planet's surface from orbit will give them far more control and make missions more productive

A history of the insatiably curious

In Curiosity, Philip Ball argues that the root of modern science lies not in deduction but in the experimental curiosity of "natural magicians"

The man who gave us risk intelligence

Humans are poor at assessing probability, but psychologist Dylan Evans has found an elite group with genius scores on a scale he calls risk quotient

Dump the pump: When oil will lose its lustre

Oil production may fall in 10 years - not because it is running out but because electric cars will be cheaper and gasoline engines will be better

Mowing down seagrass meadows will cut loose carbon

Seagrass holds as much carbon per hectare as the world's forests, but is declining dangerously

Launch scrub hits first commercial ISS mission

SpaceX misses its 1-second-long launch window - but there will be another opportunity to launch the rocket on Tuesday

Sumatran orang-utans delay puberty to build up strength

Young male orang-utans can put off sexual maturity for up to 10 years, building up their strength until they're ready to challenge dominant males

Zuckerberg patents aim to simplify Facebook messages

Patents are technology's first draft - and they don't stop coming even when Facebook's initial public offering is hogging the headlines

Lots of nail-biting on the eve of a historic launch

The SpaceX Dragon capsule is prepared for a mission to the International Space Station, and officials are managing expectations

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