National Geographic November 2006

South Texas Waltz { Laredo; Once Upon a Time in Laredo}
They’ re having a ball in this South Texas town. But as the border between the U. S. and Mexico tightens, life will never be the same. BY MIMI SWARTZ PHOTOGRAPHS BY PENNY DE LOS SANTOS
The Origin of Childhood
She lived 3. 3 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia. Today, the tiny bundle of a little girl’s fossilized bones offers new insights into our early development. BY CHRISTOPHER P. SLOAN PHOTOGRAPHS BY KENNETH GARRETT
From Fins to Wings { Fins to Wings; A Fin Is a Limb Is a Wing: How Evolution Fashioned its Masterworks}
Scientists are tracing the steps through which evolution forged its successes. They’ re finding that the same genetic tool kit can build structures both simple and complex. BY CARL ZIMMER PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROSAMOND PURCELL
Leopard Seals { Deadly Beauty}
Big, fast, sleek, and lethal, leopard seals prowl for penguins along the edges of Antarctic ice. PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAUL NICKLEN ESSAY BY KIM HEACOX
Greatest Mountaineer { The Greatest Mountaineer; Reinhold Messner; Murdering the Impossible}
Seemingly unbound by physical laws, Reinhold Messner propelled himself to the highest peaks- and his own personal summits. BY CAROLINE ALEXANDER PHOTOGRAPHS BY VINCENT J. MUSI
It’s a Frog’s Life
Constant danger and incredible survival tactics define the colorful world of the red- eyed tree frog. BY JENNIFER S. HOLLAND PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTIAN ZIEGLER