Altogether not a bad issue, but I wasn't blown away. Dark Secret is pretty interesting.

• Serial (2 of 4): "Dark Secret" by Edward M. Lerner - A gamma-ray burst (GRB) extinguishes all life on Earth, and mankind's last hope is the six crewmembers of Endeavor--and their cargo of frozen embryos.
• Novelette: "Not Close Enough" by Martin L. Shoemaker - Mars mission astronauts are unsatisfied with tele-operating robotic landers, and take matters into their own hands to devise a manned landing expedition.
• Short story: "Sentinel Chickens" by David W. Goldman - A fresh-out-of-school scientist tests chickens to track the spread of diseases, and makes a startling connection between his work and the sudden cessation of reports of alien abductions with anal probing.
• Short story: "Enjoy the Fishing" by Walter F. Cuirle - A nature lover has seeded a world's laked with an ecosystem that protects itself against overfishing: catch too many, and the guardian fish harass you until you leave. Harassing the guardian summons a monster from the deeps.
• Short story: "Prometheus" by H.G. Stratmann - Dolphins give the gift of fire to proto-humans--who kill the dolphins, cook them, and eat their flesh, thus jumpstarting a new epoch in human civilization.
• Short story: "Geospermia" by Patty Jansen - Shortsighted ecosystem engineers on Mars introduce pandas, which quickly become large, aggressive, breed like rabbits, and wreak havoc on the fragile artificial environment.
• Science Fact: "The Golden Age Comes to Seattle: Is Asteroid Mining Really Part of our Near Future?" by Richard A. Lovett - Probably not, given the difficulties, but perhaps not impossible.S