Scientific American 1993-2013 Article Index

Scientific American 1993-2013 Article Index

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Scientific American 1993-2013 Article Index Home | Covers | 1993-2013 | 1970-1992 | Mind | Special | Presents | Online 2013 2012''''''''''' 2011''''''''''' 2010''''''''''' 2009''''''''''' 2008''''''''''' 2007''''''''''' 2006''''''''''' 2005''''''''''' 2004''''''''''' 2003''''''''''' 2002''''''''''' 2001''''''''''' 2000''''''''''' 1999''''''''''' 1998''''''''''' 1997''''''''''' 1996''''''''''' 1995''''''''''' 1994''''''''''' 1993''''''''''' Title

Summary

Jan 2013 technology The Future in 50, 100, and 150 Years

We asked leading scientists and science writers to look forward to what the world will be like in the years 2063, 2113 and 2163 and tell us what role science and technology will play in our future.

space Starship Humanity

How future generations will make the voyage from our earthly home to the planets and beyond—and what it means for our species

quantum physics Strange and Stringy

Newly discovered states of matter embody what Einstein called “spooky action at a distance.” They defy explanation, but lately answers have come from a seemingly unrelated corner of physics: string theory

medical engineering Bionic Connections

A new way to link artificial arms and hands to the nervous system could allow the brain to control prostheses as smoothly as if they were natural limbs

life science Small Wonders

Light microscopy reveals hidden marvels of the natural world

climate The Coming Megafloods

Huge flows of vapor in the atmosphere, dubbed "atmospheric rivers," have unleashed massive floods every 200 years, and climate change could bring more of them

neuroscience A Confederacy of Senses

Our many different senses collaborate even more than previously realized. What we hear depends a lot on what we see and feel

Dec 2012 innovation World Changing Ideas

10 innovations that are radical enough to alter our lives

physics The Unquantum Quantum

Quantum theorists often speak of the world as being pointillist at the smallest scales. Yet a closer look at the laws of nature suggests that the physical world is actually continuous—more analog than digital

climate change The Winters of Our Discontent

Loss of Arctic sea ice is stacking the deck in favor of harsh winter weather in the U.S. and Europe

medical ethics Is Drug Research Trustworthy?

The pharmaceutical industry funnels money to prominent scientists who are doing research that affects its products—and nobody can stop it

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space Four Starry Nights

In the driest place on Earth, one astronomer sifts through starlight to find clues about the Milky Way's evolution. Here is her account of a typical trip, based on four days in March 2011

art conservation The Case of the Disappearing Daguerreotypes

As priceless images from the earliest days of photography were dissolving in front of museumgoers' eyes, an unlikely team set out to save them

neuroscience Mind Theorist

Knowledge of how the brain intuits what someone else is thinking helps Rebecca Saxe devise possible solutions to seemingly intractable political and social conflict

Nov 2012 particle physics The Inner Life of Quarks

What if the smallest bits of matter actually harbor an undiscovered world of particles?

neuroscience Grow Your Own Eye

Biologists have coaxed cells to form a retina, a step toward growing replacement organs outside the body

Loss of ice, melting of permafrost and other climate effects environment Global Warming: Faster Than Expected? are occurring at an alarming pace paleontology The Strangest Bird

Recent fossil discoveries reveal the surprising evolutionary history of penguins

science and society America's Science Problem

The United States faced down authoritarian governments on the left and right. Now it may be facing an even greater challenge from within

biology Autism and the Technical Mind

Children of scientists and engineers may inherit genes that not only confer intellectual talents but also predispose them to autism

quantum physics A New Enlightenment

Quantum theory once seemed like the last nail in the coffin of pure reason. Now it's looking like its savior

Oct 2012 science State of The World's Science

A Measure of the Creativity of a Nation is how Well it Works with those Beyond its Borders

neuroscience The Language of the Brain

The brain makes sense of our experiences by focusing closely on the timing of the impulses that flow through billions of nerve cells

environment Ecosystems on the Brink

To keep jellyfish, fungi and other creatures from overtaking healthy habitats, scientists are exploring food webs and tipping points

physics The Higgs at Last

After a three-decade search, scientists appear to have found the elusive particle. Its peculiar properties suggest a new era in physics could be about to dawn

energy Kinetic Kite

An airborne wind turbine turns sea breezes into electricity

psychology The Wisdom of the Psychopaths

We can learn a lot from psychopaths. Certain aspects of their personalities and intellect are often hallmarks of success

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biochemistry Journey to the Genetic Interior

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What was once known as junk DNA turns out to hold hidden treasures, says computational biologist Ewan Birney

Sep 2012 Beyond Limits

How will we transcend today's barriers to get smarter, live longer, and expand the power of human innovation

evolution Super Humanity

Our drive to exceed our evolutionary limits sets us apart from other beasts

intelligence Can We Keep Getting Smarter?

Ever rising IQ scores suggest that future generations will make us seem like dimwits in comparison

consciousness The Case of the Sleeping Slayer

In the neurological netherworld between sleep and wakefulness, the mind's delirium can turn tragically real

aging How We All Will Live to Be 100

Two approaches to longevity research aim to extend the average life span out to a century or more

neuroengineering Mind in Motion

The idea that paralyzed people might one day control their limbs just by thinking is no longer a Hollywood-style fantasy

technology The Edge of Ambition

10 projects that push the boundaries of the engineered world

complexity Machines of the Infinite

Whether or not machines can quickly answer yes-or-no questions could affect everything from national security to the limits of human knowledge

basic science Questions for the Next Million Years

What would scientists learn if they could run studies that lasted for hundreds or thousands of years—or more?

ecology The Great Climate Experiment

How far can we push the planet?

physics Beyond the Quantum Horizon

Once viewed as imposing absolute limits on knowledge and technology, quantum theory is now expanding the power of computers and the vistas of the mind

Aug 2012 astrophysics The Benevolence of Black Holes

The matter-eating beast at the center of the Milky Way may actually account for Earth's existence and habitability

neuroscience The Joyful Mind

A new understanding of how the brain generates pleasure could lead to better treatment of addiction and depression—and even to a new science of happiness

evolutionary biology New Life for Ancient DNA

Biotechnology reveals how the woolly mammoth survived the cold and other mysteries of extinct creatures

climate Lakes on Ice

Scientists are tracking how water atop Greenland's ice sheet pools and drains. The findings could help predict future rises in sea level

atomosphere science Deadly Rays from Clouds

Thunderstorms give out powerful blasts of gamma rays and x-rays, shooting beams of particles—and even antimatter—into space. The atmosphere is a stranger place than we ever imagined

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education Building a Better Science Teacher

Experience and degrees don't matter in the classroom nearly so much as mastery of science and math and some plain old smarts

health Quiet Little Traitors

Cells that permanently stop dividing have long been recognized as one of the body's defenses against cancer. Now they are also seen as a sometime culprit in cancer and a cause of aging

biodiversity Which Species will Live?

Like battlefield medics, conservationists are being forced to explicitly apply triage to determine which creatures to save and which to let go

bacteriology Phage Factor

Long ignored by mainstream researchers, the viruses that infect bacteria have a role to play in modern medicine, Vincent Fischetti says

Jul 2012 evolution Why We Help

Far from being a nagging exception to the rule of evolution, cooperation has been one of its primary architects

space Reading the Red Planet

At 10:31 p.m. Pacific time on August 5, NASA'S Curiosity rover will begin the first direct search for habitable environments on Mars

health Secrets of the HIV Controllers

A rare group of HIV-positive individuals need no medicine to keep the virus in check. Their good fortune could point the way to more powerful treatments--and perhaps a vaccine

engineering Fleet Foot

Nimble robots like this Cheetah will help the military navigate terrain too rocky for wheels

polar science Witness to an Antarctic Meltdown

As glaciers collapse toward the sea, scientists struggle to figure out how fast the southern continent is melting and what that means for sea-level rise

physics Nobel Pursuits

The tools of science have changed since the golden age of physics, but many of the same questions remain

animal behavior The Rat that Laughed

Do animals other than humans have a sense of humor? Maybe so

artificial intelligence Machines that Think for Themselves

New techniques for teaching computers how to learn are beating the experts

Jun 2012 medicine The Ultimate Social Network

Researchers who study the friendly bacteria that live inside all of us are starting to sort out who is in charge—microbes or people?

astrophysics Super Supernovae

The largest stars die in explosions more powerful than anyone thought possible—some triggered in part by the production of antimatter

neuroscience The Human Brain Project

Building a vast digital simulation of the brain could transform neuroscience and medicine and reveal new ways of making more powerful computers

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technology Fusion's Missing Pieces

On the road to unlimited energy, the world's most complex science experiment encounters a few potholes

ecology Busy Bee

Orchid pollinators are surprisingly promiscuous about the plants they like

infectious disease Waiting to Explode

By concocting bird flu viruses that could potentially spread easily among humans, researchers have ignited a debate about the need for safety versus open inquiry

history of science The Right Way to Get It Wrong

Most errors are quickly forgotten. Others end up remaking the face of science

sociobiology Life is a Shell Game

Like people, hermit crabs and other animals trade up by treasuring what others leave behind

virology Resistance Fighter

Thumbi Ndung'u has moved from Africa to Massachusetts and back in a quest to halt the AIDS epidemic

May 2012 quantum physics Loops, Trees and the Search for New Physics

Maybe unifying the forces of nature isn't quite as hard as physicists thought it would be

future health Tomorrow's Medicine

A look at some of the most promising medical devices now in development

evolution Triumph of the Titans

The long-necked dinosaurs known as sauropods, once seen as icons of extinction, thrived for millions of years all around the world

neuroscience Erasing Painful Memories

The caustic imprint of a traumatic memory may fade or vanish with new drug and behavioral therapies

botany What a Plant Smells

Botanists are getting a whiff of the ways that plants smell one another. Some plants recognize injured neighbors by scent; others sniff out a meal

forensic medicine Telltale Hearts

Despite advances in medical imaging, an autopsy still gives experts the best picture of what ails us

meteorology A Better Eye On the Storm

New technology that increases the warning time for tornadoes and hurricanes could potentially save hundreds of lives every year

photonics Nature's Color Tricks

Understanding seven clever tactics animals use to create dazzling hues may lead to sophisticated new technologies

innovation Professional Seer

The world's largest computer chipmaker employs a corporate futurist, Brian David Johnson, to guess what gadgetry and computing will look like in 2020 and beyond

Apr 2012 human evolution First of Our Kind

Sensational fossils from South Africa spark debate over how we came to be human

physics Quantum Gravity in Flatland

Imagine space were 2-D rather than 3-D. How would the force of gravity work? The surprising answers are guiding physicists to a unified theory of nature

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neuroscience This Is Your Brain in Meltdown

Neural circuits responsible for conscious self-control are highly vulnerable to even mild stress. When they shut down, primal impulses go unchecked and mental paralysis sets in

space science Bound for the Moon

The next rover to roam the moon's surface may come not from NASA and its rocket scientists but from college students and private companies working on a shoestring

medicine Polio's Last Act

As the number of cases of the paralytic disease fall, world health officials have to grapple with a vexing problem: a component of the most widely used polio vaccine now causes more disease than the virus it is supposed to fight

medicine Birth of a Cold War Vaccine

While the superpowers were busy threatening to destroy each other with nuclear weapons, Albert B. Sabin turned to a surprising ally to test his new oral polio vaccine—a Soviet scientist

paleontology Time Traveler

Artist Charles R. Knight drew on his vast experience depicting living animals to bring prehistoric creatures to life—a practice that made him keenly aware of the finality of extinction

physiology The Limits of Breath Holding

It's logical to think that the brain's need for oxygen is what limits how long people can hold their breath. Logical, but not the whole story

Mar 2012 neuroscience What Makes Each Brain Unique

How can identical twins grow up with different personalities? "Jumping genes" move around in neurons and alter the way they work

astrophysics The Far, Far Future of Stars

Some say its glory days are long gone, but the universe has life in it yet. Brand-new types of celestial phenomena will unfold over the coming billions and trillions of years

paleontology Dinosaurs of the Lost Continent

The American West once harbored multiple communities of dinosaurs simultaneously—a revelation that has scientists scrambling to understand how the land could have supported so many behemoths

energy Gather the Wind

If renewable energy is going to take off, we need good ways of storing it for the times when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing

medicine Blocking HIV's Attack

Scientists have rid one man of HIV by preventing the virus from entering certain immune cells. But the treatment was dangerous and likely unrepeatable. Can they figure out a safer, more broadly achievable way to help millions more?

info tech The Shadow Web

Governments and corporations have more control over the Internet than ever. Now digital activists want to build an alternative network that can never be blocked, filtered or shut down

biotechnology Lifting the Black Cloud

Existing antidepressants leave a lot to be desired. They can take weeks to start working, and they fail many people. Researchers are scouting for better options

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climate Hit Them with the Hockey Stick

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Michael E. Mann set out looking for a big scientific problem and wound up at the center of a political storm over climate change. Now he tells his side of the story

Feb 2012 physics Is Space Digital?

An experiment going up outside of Chicago will attempt to measure the intimate connections among information, matter and spacetime. If it works, it could rewrite the rules for 21st-century physics

medicine The Great Prostate Cancer Debate

Evidence shows that screening does more harm than good. Now what?

environment Swept From Africa to the Amazon

What the journey of a handful of dust tells us about our fragile planet

public health Sleeping With the Enemy

Bed bugs are back. Can science stop them?

citizen science All Hands on Deck

Volunteers are combing through the logbooks of World War I-era ships to help researchers fill holes in the earth's climate record

sustainable agriculture The Future of Chocolate

Researchers are racing to fortify the embattled cacao tree and to meet increasing demand for cocoa made from its seeds

brain science The Collision Syndrome

Football players diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease may suffer from the effect of repeated blows to the head, controversial new research says

anatomy Fetal Armor

The placenta does more than nourish offspring in the womb—it actively shapes brain development

bioengineering The Brittle Star's Apprentice

Chemist Joanna Aizenberg mines the deep sea and the forest wetlands for nature's design secrets and uses them to fashion new materials that may change the world

Jan 2012 biology A New Path to Longevity

Researchers have uncovered an ancient mechanism that retards aging. Drugs that tweaked it could well postpone cancer, diabetes and other diseases of old age

cosmology Goldilocks Black Holes

Tipping the scales at less than about a million suns in mass, middleweight black holes may hold clues to how their much larger siblings, and galaxies, first formed

animal behavior The Compass Within

Animals' magnetic sense is real. Scientists are zeroing in on how it works

immunology The Patient Scientist

When Ralph M. Steinman developed pancreatic cancer, he put his own theories about cancer and the immune system to the test. They kept him alive longer than expected--but three days short of learning he had won the Nobel Prize

health Five Hidden Dangers of Obesity

Excess weight can harm health in ways that may come as a surprise

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technology The Department of Pre-Crime

In cities across the U.S. data-rich computer technology is telling cops where crimes are about to happen. Crime is down, and the technology is spreading. But does it really work?

physics The Science of the Glory

One of the most beautiful phenomena in meteorology has a surprisingly subtle explanation. Its study also helps to predict the role that clouds will play in climate change

sustainability More Food, Less Energy

Changes in agriculture, policy and personal behaviors can reduce the energy a nation uses to feed itself and the greenhouse gases it emits

environment Dust Up

Biologist Jayne Belnap warns of the consequences for the American West if we don't preserve a home for the minute organisms that live in desert topsoil

Dec 2011 technology World Changing Ideas

10 new technologies that will make a difference

technology The Machine That Would Predict the Future

If you dropped all the world's data into a black box, could it become a crystal ball that would let you see the future—even test what would happen if you chose A over B? One researcher thinks so, and he could soon get a billion euros to build it

space exploration This Way to Mars

By adapting ideas from robotic planetary exploration, the human space program could get astronauts to asteroids and Mars cheaply and quickly

biology Dazzling Miniatures

Small worlds writ large under the microscope

climate change After the Deluge

A spate of floods, droughts and heat waves is prompting city and state leaders to take bold steps to protect their people and property

neuroscience Hidden Switches in the Mind

Experience may contribute to mental illness in a surprising way: by causing "epigenetic" changes—ones that turn genes on or off without altering the genes themselves

animal behavior Ants & the Art of War

Battles among ants can be startlingly similar to human military operations

forensics Arm in the Ice

New fingerprint- and DNA-identification techniques solve a mystery from a 60-year-old plane crash

education Speaking Out on the "Quiet Crisis"

Strengthening science education is the key to securing our energy future, says Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's president

Nov 2011 archaeology The 1st Americans

Humans colonized the New World earlier than previously thought—a revelation that is forcing scientists to rethink long-standing ideas about these trailblazers

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planetary science Digging Mars

The Mars Phoenix mission revived hopes that the Red Planet may be habitable, preparing the way for a new rover to be launched this month

planetary science The Smallest Astronauts

Did space rocks seed Earth with life? To test that idea, a Russian probe is about to see whether microbes can survive a round-trip to Mars

experimental philosophy Thought Experiments

Some philosophers today are doing more than thinking deeply. They are also conducting scientific experiments relating to the nature of free will and of good and evil

sustainability Can We Feed the World & Sustain the Planet?

A five-step global plan could double food production by 2050 while greatly reducing environmental damage

geology Sleeping Giant

The volcano beneath this calm-looking lake has grown restive, inspiring a rare collaboration between Chinese and Korean scientists

biotechnology The Wipeout Gene

A new breed of genetically modified mosquitoes carries a gene that cripples its own offspring. They could crush native mosquito populations and block the spread of disease. And they are already in the air—though that's been a secret

computing A Formula for Economic Calamity

Despite the lessons of the 2008 collapse, Wall Street is betting our future on flimsy science

energy The Truth About Fracking

Fracturing a deep shale layer one time to release natural gas might pose little risk to drinking-water supplies, but doing so repeatedly could be problematic

diagnostics The Medical Sleuth

As a disease detective at the NIH, William A. Gahl unravels the cause of illnesses that have stumped other doctors

Oct 2011 astrophysics The Dark Side of The Milky Way

Dark matter is not just a puzzle. It is a solution

chemistry Atom Power

2011 is the International Year of Chemistry—a well-deserved celebration of that science's profound power

chemistry 10 Unsolved Mysteries

Many of the most profound scientific questions—and some of humanity's most urgent problems—pertain to the science of atoms and molecules

chemistry The Scent of Your Thoughts

Although we are usually unaware of it, we communicate through chemical signals just as much as birds and bees do

geology Afghanistan's Buried Riches

Geologists say newfound deposits in the embattled country could fulfill the world's desire for rare-earth and critical minerals and end opium's local stranglehold in the process

medicine A New Ally against Cancer

The FDA recently okayed the first therapeutic cancer vaccine, and other drugs that enlist the immune system against tumors are under study

forensics How Skulls Speak

New 3-D software is helping scientists identify the sex and ancestral origins of human remains with greater speed and

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precision physics Waiting for the Higgs

Even as the last protons spin through the most successful particle accelerator in history, physicists hope to conjure one final triumph

paleontology The Dinosaur Baron of Transylvania

A maverick aristocrat's ideas about dinosaur evolution turn out to have been decades ahead of their time

biology Actuary of the Cell

Building on her Nobel Prize-winning research on cell function, Elizabeth H. Blackburn is trying to find a simple measure of a person's health risks

Sep 2011 Street-Savvy

Meeting the biggest challenges starts with the city

The Social Nexus

The best way to harness a city's potential for creativity and innovation is to jack people into the network and get out of the way

Engines of Innovation

Most of humanity now lives in a metropolis. That simple fact helps to fuel our continued success as a species

Global Bazaar

Shantytowns, favelas and jhopadpattis turn out to be places of surprising innovation

Brains Over Buildings

To rejuvenate urban centers, look to teachers and entrepreneurs

How Green Is My City

Retrofitting is the best way to clean up urban living

All Climate Is Local

Mayors are often better equipped than presidents to cut greenhouse gases

The Efficient City

Municipalities worldwide are exploiting a host of creative solutions to reduce energy consumption, water use, waste and emissions, while also making it easier for people to get around

Castles in the Air

The attacks of 9/11 supposedly ended the age of the skyscraper. A decade on we're building more than ever

Street Talk

What innovation -- technological or otherwise -- would make any city a substantially more livable place? We put this question to urban leaders and our own readers. Here's what they said

Life in the Meta City

We walk a line between the anarchy of choice and Disneyfication, says the author of Neuromancer

Aug 2011 cosmology Does the Multiverse Really Exist?

Proof of parallel universes radically different from our own may still lie beyond the domain of science

human origins The Evolution of Grandparents

Senior citizens may have been the secret of our species' success

neuroscience How To Build a Better Learner

Brain studies suggest new ways to improve reading, writing and arithmetic—and even social skills

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energy The False Promise of Biofuels

The breakthroughs needed to replace oil with plant-based fuels are proving difficult to achieve

life science Treasure in the Trees

Nests offer clues about natural history, climate change and their owners' mating habits

medicine A Breath of Fresh Air

Fundamental understanding of basic biology has set the stage for new treatments for cystic fibrosis

sociology How New York Beat Crime

With its judicious use of cops and innovative methods, the Big Apple is a model for how to stem homicides, muggings and other ills

philosophy of science Why Math Works

Is math invented or discovered? A leading astrophysicist suggests that the answer to the millennia-old question is both

archaeology Zahi Hawass, Egypt's Indiana Jones and One-Time Mubarak Ally, Tries to Cozy Up to Pro-Democracy Activists

Egypt had a revolution, but Zahi Hawass, the larger-than-life minister of antiquities, is still calling his own shots and making no apologies

Jul 2011 neuroscience The Limits of Intelligence

The laws of physics may well prevent the human brain from evolving into an ever more powerful thinking machine

astrophysics The Periodic Table of the Cosmos

A simple diagram, which celebrates its centennial this year, continues to serve as the most essential conceptual tool in stellar astrophysics

health care The Best Medicine

A quiet revolution in comparative effectiveness research just might save us from soaring medical costs

climate change The Last Great Global Warming

Surprising new evidence suggests the pace of the earth's most abrupt prehistoric warm-up paled in comparison to what we face today. The episode has lessons for our future

engineering Underground Railroad

A peek inside New York City's subway line of the future

biology Evolution of the Eye

Scientists now have a clear vision of how our notoriously complex eye came to be

cybersecurity Hacking the Lights Out

Computer viruses have taken out hardened industrial control systems. The electrical power grid may be next

disease control Scent of a Human

Decoding how a mosquito sniffs out human targets could lead to better traps and repellents that cut malaria's spread

cosmology Bad Boy of Physics

Leonard Susskind rebelled as a teen and never stopped. Today he insists that reality may forever be beyond reach of our understanding

Jun 2011 physics Living In A Quantum World

Quantum mechanics is not just about teeny particles. It applies to things of all sizes: birds, plants, maybe even people

neuroscience A Test for Consciousness

How will we know when we've built a sentient computer? By making it solve a simple puzzle

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nuclear energy Planning for the Black Swan

The surprising accident at Fukushima puts the spotlight on a new generation of U.S. nuclear reactors. Are they safe enough?

biology A Nobel Celebration

As Nobel Prize winners gather this month to share their wisdom with younger researchers, Scientific American recalls some of the articles that Nobel laureates have published in our pages

technology Inside the Meat Lab

A handful of scientists aim to satisfy the world's growing appetite for steak without wrecking the planet. The first step: grab a petri dish

microbiology The Smartest Bacteria on Earth

One species of soil microbe makes unusually wise communal decisions

health The Devil's Cancer

A contagious tumor threatens to wipe out the famous Tasmanian devil. Could similarly "catching" cancers arise in humans, too?

history of science Greater Glory

In the race to the South Pole, explorer Robert F. Scott refused to sacrifice his ambitious science agenda

global warming "I Stick to Science"

Why Richard A. Muller wouldn't tell House climate skeptics what they wanted to hear

May 2011 sustainability 7 Radical Energy Solutions

The failure rate may be 90 percent, but if any of these exotic technologies succeeds it could significantly improve energy security and efficiency

cosmology The Lost Galaxies

By the latest estimate, the observable universe contains 200 billion galaxies. Astronomers wonder: Why so few?

neuroscience The Hidden Organ In Our Eyes

Our bodies adjust to the cycle of day and night thanks to specialized neurons in our eyes. Ongoing study of these cells could lead to new treatments for winter depression and other conditions

A forgotten number system invented in the 19th century may mathematics provide the simplest explanation for why our universe could The Strangest Numbers in String Theory have 10 dimensions medicine Fast Track to Vaccines

Analyzing all the layers of the immune system at once speeds design and may one day deal a decisive blow against HIV

physics The Space Station's Crown Jewel

A fancy cosmic-ray detector, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, is about to scan the cosmos for dark matter, antimatter and more

agriculture The Growing Menace from Superweeds

Pigweed, ragweed and other monsters have begun to outsmart the advanced technologies that protect the biggest U.S. cash crops

natural history Masters of Disguise

Animal mimicry takes many forms—including chemical and acoustic varieties—and offers unique insights into evolution

creativity Inner Sparks

Hearing specialist and sax player Charles J. Limb says that studying the brain during flights of improvisation may provide

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new understanding of creativity—as well as insight into the musical genius of John Coltrane Apr 2011 cosmology The Inflation Debate

Is the theory at the heart of modern cosmology deeply flawed?

medicine The Enemy Within

A new pattern of antibiotic resistance that is spreading around the globe may soon leave us defenseless against a frighteningly wide range of dangerous bacterial infections

imaging Neuroscience in the Courtroom

Brain scans and other types of neurological evidence are rarely a factor in trials today. Someday, however, they could transform judicial views of personal credibility and responsibility

environment Can the Dead Sea Live?

Irrigation and mining are sucking the salt lake dry, but together Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority could save the sacred sea

artificial intelligence Solving the Cocktail Party Problem

Computers have great trouble deciphering voices that are speaking simultaneously. That may soon change

cell biology The Orderly Chaos of Proteins

To do their magic in the cell, proteins must fold into rigid shapes—or so standard wisdom says. But a more tangled story is beginning to emerge

seismology Seconds Before the Big One

Earthquake detection systems can sound the alarm in the moments before a big tremor strikes—time enough to save lives

sustainability Food Fight

Genetically modified crops, says agro-research czar Roger Beachy, receive an unjustified shellacking from environmentalists

animal behavior Natural-Born Killer

Lethal from day one, the tentacled snake uses surprisingly sly tactics to capture fish

Mar 2011 psychology The Neuroscience of True Grit

When tragedy strikes, most of us ultimately rebound surprisingly well. Where does such resilience come from?

space science Journey to the Innermost Planet

Mercury has never been orbited by a spacecraft before. That will change this month

medicine Diseases in a Dish

A creative use of stem cells made from adult tissues may hasten drug development for debilitating diseases

imaging Signals in a Storm

A new computer imaging technique shows researchers how brain cells communicate—one molecule at a time

archaeology Putting Stonehenge in Its Place

An increasingly accepted view holds that the great stone circle may have been just part of a much larger ceremonial landscape

physics Demons and the Quest Entropy for Absolute Zero

A 19th-century thought experiment has turned into a real technique for reaching ultralow temperatures, paving the way to new scientific discoveries as well as to useful applications

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climate change A Shifting Band of Rain

By mapping equatorial rainfall since A.D. 800, scientists have figured out how tropical weather may change through 2100

public health Not Just an Illness of the Rich

Recent global health campaigns have focused on HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Tackling the growing threat from cancer, says medical anthropologist Paul Farmer, could improve health care more broadly

paleontology Dinosaur Death Trap

On a trip to the Gobi Desert, a team of fossil hunters unearths a death scene that reveals new clues about how dinosaurs lived

Feb 2011 health How to Fix the Obesity Crisis

Although science has revealed a lot about metabolic processes that influence our weight, the key to success may lie elsewhere

space Citizen Satellites

Tiny, standardized spacecraft are making orbital experiments affordable to even the smallest research groups

sustainability The Blue Food Revolution

New fish farms out at sea, and cleaner operations along the shore, could provide the world with a rich supply of much needed protein

cognitive psychology How Language Shapes Thought

The languages we speak affect our perceptions of the world

biology The Inner Life of the Genome

The way our genes are arrayed and move in the 3-D space of the cell nucleus turns out to profoundly influence how they function, in both health and disease

ecology A Friend to Aliens

Buckthorn, garlic mustard and many other invasive species do not pose as big a threat as some scientists think, says ecologist Mark Davis

astrophysics X-Ray Vision

Thanks to amazing nested mirrors, NASA's NuSTAR telescope is set to reveal hidden phenomena in the cosmos

neuroprosthetics Mind Out of Body

In an exclusive excerpt from his new book, a pioneering neuroscientist argues that brain-wave control of machines will allow the paralyzed to walk and portends a future of mind melds and thought downloads

history of science Jefferson's Moose

Thomas Jefferson waged a second revolution, fighting the image created by European naturalists of a degenerate America

Jan 2011 evolution Dawn of the Deed

Fish fossils push back the origin of copulation in backboned animals and suggest that it was a key turning point in our evolution

space Contact The Day After

If we are ever going to pick up a signal from E.T., it is going to happen soon, astronomers say. And we already have a good idea how events will play out

infectious disease Flu Factories

The next pandemic virus may be circulating on U.S. pig farms, but health officials are struggling to see past the front

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gate energy In Search of the Radical Solution

The greatest energy payoffs, says investor Vinod Khosla, will come from fundamentally reinventing mainstream technologies

ecology Seeds of the Amazon

Botanists have collected seeds from one of the most biologically diverse places on earth

neuroscience 100 Trillion Connections

The noise of billions of brain cells trying to communicate with one another may hold a crucial clue to understanding consciousness

environment Casualties of Climate Change

Shifts in rainfall patterns and shorelines will contribute to mass migrations on a scale never before seen

computer science Rise of the Robo Scientists

Machines can devise a hypothesis, carry out experiments to test it and assess results—without human intervention

public health Radioactive Smoke

The tobacco industry has known for decades how to remove a dangerous isotope from cigarettes but has done nothing about it. The government now has the power to force a change

Dec 2010 innovation World Changing Ideas

Ten thoughts, trends and technologies that have the power to transform our lives

physics A Geometric Theory of Everything

Deep down, the particles and forces of the universe are a manifestation of exquisite geometry

paleontology Blood from Stone

Mounting evidence from dinosaur bones shows that, contrary to common belief, organic materials can sometimes survive in fossils for millions of years

biology Life Unseen

Microscopic landscapes show a surprising diversity of forms

health Hallucinogens as Medicine

In a matter of hours, mind-altering substances may induce profound psychological realignments that can take decades to achieve on a therapist's couch

info science Long Live the Web

The Web is critical not merely to the digital revolution but to our continued prosperity—and even our liberty. Like democracy itself, it needs defending

life science Jane of the Jungle

Primatologist Jane Goodall shares insights from her 50 years among chimpanzees

space exploration Jump-Starting the Orbital Economy

Why NASA's plan to get out of the manned spaceflight business may (finally) make space travel routine

robotics Cyborg Beetles

Tiny flying robots that are part machine and part insect may one day save lives in wars and disasters

Nov 2010 cosmology Dark Worlds

A shadow cosmos, woven silently into our own, may have its own rich inner life

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neuroscience Controlling the Brain with Light

With a technique called optogenetics, researchers can probe how the nervous system works in unprecedented detail. Their findings could lead to better treatments for psychiatric problems

engineering How to Build the Supergrid

The U.S. needs a new electric transmission system to deliver cleaner, more reliable power nationwide. Four steps could clear hurdles

ecology Phosphorus Lake

Strip-mining Florida to fertilize the nation

physics Dr. Unification

For years the cosmos and the atom have been at odds with one another. If any physicist can reconcile them, it's Steven Weinberg

A new malaria vaccine, a plan to immunize mosquitoes and medicine other "crazy" ideas have brightened prospects for Halting the World's Most Lethal Parasite vanquishing this killer technology From Silk Cocoon to Medical Miracle

Scientists are crafting arteries, ligaments, circuitry and holograms from worm yarn

environment Climate Heretic

Why can't we have a civil conversation about climate?

Oct 2010 evolution How We Are Evolving

New analyses suggest that recent human evolution has followed a different course than biologists would have expected

astronomy Origami Observatory

NASA is building an innovative and risky space telescope that promises to surpass the hugely successful Hubble. Here's an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the most audacious space project in decades

poll In Science We Trust

Our Web survey of readers suggests that the scientifically literate public still trusts its experts—with some important caveats

medicine Revolution Postponed

The Human Genome Project has failed so far to produce the medical miracles that scientists promised. Biologists are now divided over what, if anything, went wrong—and what needs to happen next

physics The (Elusive) Theory of Everything

Physicists have long sought to find one final theory that would unify all of physics. Instead they may have to settle for several

robotics Robot Be Good

Autonomous machines will soon play a big role in our lives. It's time they learned how to behave ethically

biology Sensational Sucker

The octopus sucker can feel, taste, grip, manipulate—and act of its own accord

mind Desperate for an Autism Cure

Diagnoses have soared, but valid treatments are few. Parents have turned instead to dubious, and often risky, alternative therapies

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energy Reinventing the Leaf

The ultimate fuel may come not from corn or algae but directly from the sun itself

info science Digitizer in Chief

The first step toward transparent government, says White House information czar Vivek Kundra, is to make all its information freely available on the Web

Sep 2010 Eternal Fascinations with the End

Why we're suckers for stories of our own demise

medicine Why Can't We Live Forever

As we grow old, our own cells begin to betray us. By unraveling the mysteries of aging, scientists may be able to make our lives longer and healthier

bioethics When Does Life Belong to the Living?

With thousands of people on the waiting lists for organs, doctors are bending the rules about when to declare that a donor is dead. Is it ethical to take one life and give it to another?

forensics Dust to Dust

The brief, eventful afterlife of a human corpse

anthropology Last of Their Kind

The world's cultures have been disappearing, taking valuable knowledge with them, but there is reason to hope

technology Good Riddance

A highly selective list of human creations the world would be better off without

environment How Much is Left?

A graphical accounting of the limits to what one planet can provide

risk analysis Laying Odds on the Apocalypse

Could modern civilization really come to an end? Experts take stock of eight doomsday scenarios

cosmology Could Time End?

Yes. And no. For time to end seems both impossible and inevitable. Recent work in physics suggests a resolution to the paradox

trends What Comes Next

The flip side to every ending is a new beginning. We asked the visionary scientists on our advisory board what new trends will shape the decades to come

Aug 2010 space Planets We Could Call Home

The night skies are littered with distant planets, but what are they really like? Theoretical models suggest that a surprising number of "exoplanets" could be similar to Earth—and may even support life

special Origins

Sometimes we forget where a story really starts. Are electric cars new? Were did malaria start? Who invented spaghetti? Read on, for the surprising origins of many strange and familiar things.

anthropology When the Sea Saved Humanity

Shortly after Homo sapiens arose, harsh climate conditions nearly extinguished our species. Recent finds suggest that the small population that gave rise to all humans alive today survived by exploiting a unique combination of resources along the southern coast of Africa

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medicine Robot Pills

A voyage through the human body is no longer mere fantasy. Tiny devices may soon perform surgery, administer drugs and help diagnose disease

environment Threatening Ocean Life from the Inside Out

Carbon dioxide emissions are making the oceans more acidic, imperiling the growth and reproduction of species from plankton to squid

imaging Filming the Invisible in 4D

Picture this: a movie revealing the inner workings of a cell or showing a nanomachine in action. A new microscopy is making such imaging possible

technology The Hacker in Your Hardware

As if software viruses weren't bad enough, the microchips that power every aspect of our digital world are vulnerable to tampering in the factory. The consequences could be dire

environment Plastic Surf

Small remnants of toys, bottles and packaging have an unhealthful afterlife in the ocean

Jul 2010 cosmology Is The Universe Leaking Energy?

Total energy must be conserved. Every student of physics learns this fundamental law. The trouble is, it does not apply to the universe as a whole

medicine DNA Drugs Come of Age

After years of false starts, a new generation of DNA vaccines and medicines for HIV, influenza and other stubborn illnesses is now in clinical trials

transportation The Dirty Truth About Plug-In Hybrids

How green is that electric car? Depends on where you plug it in

robotics War of the Machines

Robots on and above the battlefield are bringing about the most profound transformation of warfare since the advent of the atom bomb

energy Clean Energy From Filthy Water

California cities are pumping their treated wastewater underground to create electricity

evolution Winged Victory

Modern birds, long thought to have arisen only after the dinosaurs perished, turn out to have lived alongside them

psychology How Babies Think

Even the youngest children know, experience and learn far more than scientists ever thought possible

environment The Drillers Are Coming

Companies and regulators are squaring off over a controversial technique that yields natural gas but threatens to pollute water supplies

Jun 2010 Several events, both natural and man-made, can happen suddenly and at any time, completely transforming societies. future 12 Events That Will Change Everything Many of these events will not unfold the way popular conceptions have imagined they will. medicine Alzheimer's - Forestalling the Darkness

Interventions before symptoms appear could be key to slowing or stopping the leading cause of dementia

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physics Is Time An Illusion?

The concepts of time and change may emerge from a universe that, at root, is utterly static

environment Washing Carbon Out of the Air

Machines could absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, slowing or even reversing its rise and reducing global warming

archaeology Did Neandertals Think Like Us?

João Zilhão defends his controversial view that our oft-maligned relatives shared our cognitive abilities

earth science The Earth's Missing Ingredient

The discovery of a novel high-density mineral means that the earth's mantle is a more restless place than scientists suspected—and offers new clues to the planet's history

security Fake Botox, Real Threat

A booming market for a counterfeit beauty product could put a deadly biological weapons agent in the wrong hands

May 2010 astrophysics Through Neutrino Eyes

Neutrinos are no longer just a curiosity of physics but a practical tool for astronomy

medicine Your Inner Healers

Reprogramming cells from your own body could give them the therapeutic power of embryonic stem cells, without the political controversy

transportation Revolutionary Rail

High-speed trains are coming to the U.S.

neuroscience Uncanny Sight in the Blind

Some people who are blind because of brain damage have "blindsight": an extraordinary ability to react to emotions on faces and even navigate around obstacles without knowing they can see anything

climate change Arctic Plants Feel the Heat

Global warming is dramatically revamping not only the ice but also tundra and forests at the top of the world, greening some parts and browning others. The alterations could exacerbate climate change

innovations A Better Lens on Disease

Computerized pathology slides may help doctors make faster and more accurate diagnoses

food science Breeding Cassava to Feed the Poor

The world's third-largest source of calories has the potential to become a more productive and more nutritious crop, alleviating malnutrition in much of the developing world

Apr 2010

astronomy 8 Wonders of the Solar System

Artist Ron Miller takes us on a journey to eight of the most breathtaking views that await intrepid explorers of our solar system. The scale of these natural wonders dwarfs anything Earth has to offer. What might we see and feel if we could travel to these distant domains? The artist's eye—interpreting data from probes such as NASA's Cassini, which is now exploring the Saturnian system, and MESSENGER, which has flown by Mercury three times and goes into permanent orbit next March—allows us an early visit to these unforgettable locales.

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neuroscience Faulty Circuits

Neuroscience is revealing the malfunctioning connections underlying psychological disorders and forcing psychiatrists to rethink the causes of mental illness

sustainability Boundaries for a Healthy Planet

Humankind has fundamentally altered the planet. But new thinking and new actions can prevent us from destroying ourselves. Scientists have set thresholds for key environmental processes that, if crossed, could threaten Earth's habitability

sustainability Solutions to Environmental Threats

Ominously, three thresholds for key environmental processes have already been exceeded. Experts tell Scientific American which actions will keep key processes in bounds

sustainability Breaking the Growth Habit

Society can safeguard its future only by switching from reckless economic growth to smart maintenance of wealth and resources

medicine Regaining Balance with Bionic Ears

Electronic implants in the inner ear may one day restore clear vision and equilibrium in some patients who experience disabling unsteadiness

technology The Rise of Instant Wireless Networks

Wireless networks that do not depend on a fixed infrastructure will allow for ubiquitous connectivity regardless of the situation

biology The Hidden Life of Truffles

Not just for gourmands, truffles play essential roles in the health of ecosystems

Mar 2010 planetary science The Moon That Would Be A Planet

Titan, Saturn's largest natural satellite, scarcely deserves to be a called a mere moon. It has an atmosphere thicker than Earth's and a surface that is almost as varied

neuroscience The Brain's Dark Energy

Brain regions active when our minds wander may hold a key to understanding neurological disorders and even consciousness itself

energy Fusion's False Dawn

Scientists have long dreamed of harnessing nuclear fusion—the power plant of the stars—for a safe, clean and virtually unlimited energy supply. Even as a historic milestone nears, skeptics question whether a working reactor will ever be possible

geology Evolution of Minerals

Looking at the mineral kingdom through the lens of deep time leads to a startling conclusion: most mineral species owe their existence to life

medicine Toxic Gas, Lifesaver

Hydrogen sulfide, a lethal gas best known for smelling like rotten eggs, turns out to play key roles in the body—a finding that could lead to new treatments for heart attack victims and others

animal behavior Worm Charmers

As Charles Darwin had suspected, earthworms that flee from ground vibrations do so to escape hungry moles—even though sometimes it is humans chasing them

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environment Climate Change: A Controlled Experiment

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Scientists have carefully manipulated grasslands and forests to see how precipitation, carbon dioxide and temperature changes affect the biosphere, allowing them to forecast the future

Feb 2010 astronomy Cloudy with a Chance of Stars

Making a star is no easy thing

evolution The Naked Truth

Recent findings lay bare the origins of human hairlessness—and hint that naked skin was a key factor in the emergence of other human traits

transportation Better Mileage Now

Emerging technologies could make the internal-combustion engine substantially more fuel-efficient, even as green vehicles make inroads

medicine The Art of Bacterial Warfare

New research reveals how bacteria hijack our body's cells and outwit our immune system—and how we can use their own weapons against them

environment Fixing the Global Nitrogen Problem

Humanity depends on nitrogen to fertilize croplands, but growing global use is damaging the environment and threatening human health. How can we chart a more sustainable path?

perception Seeing Forbidden Colors

People can be made to see reddish green and yellowish blue—colors forbidden by theories of color perception. These and other hallucinations provide a window into the phenomenon of visual opponency

life science The Prolific Afterlife of Whales

On the deep seafloor, the carcasses of the largest mammals give life to unique ecosystems

Ask the Experts

Can people ever lose their fingerprints?

Jan 2010 cosmology Looking for Life in the Multiverse

Universes with different physical laws might still be habitable

biology The Rise and Fall of Nanobacteria

Once believed to be the smallest pathogens known, nanobacteria have now proved to be something almost as strange. They do play a role in health—just not the one originally thought

earth science Violent Origins of Continents

Did asteroid strikes during the earth's youth spawn the earliest fragments of today's landmasses?

info tech Real Money from Virtual Worlds

Online fantasy games enable developing world entrepreneurs to make a living by trading stashes of make-believe gold for hard cash

environment Local Nuclear War, Global Suffering

Worry has focused on the U.S. versus Russia, but a regional nuclear war between India and Pakistan could blot out the sun, starving much of the human race

computers The Next 20 Years of Microchips

Designers are pushing all the boundaries to make integrated circuits smaller, faster and cheaper

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medicine A Plan to Defeat Neglected Tropical Diseases

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The poorest people are not only poor. They are also chronically sick, making it harder for them to escape poverty. A new global initiative may break the vicious cycle

Dec 2009 astronomy Portrait of a Black Hole

By adapting a global network of telescopes, astronomers will soon get their first look ever at the dark silhouette of a black hole

innovation World Changing Ideas

20 ways to build a cleaner, healthier, smarter world

origin of life Expanding the Limits of Life

Analyses of a recently discovered type of hot vent ecosystem in the seafloor suggest new possibilities for how life evolved

environment Methane: A Menace Surfaces

Arctic permafrost is already thawing, creating lakes that emit methane. The heat-trapping gas could dramatically accelerate global warming. How big is the threat? What can be done?

archaeology Decoding an Ancient Computer

New explorations have revealed how the antikythera mechanism modeled lunar motion and predicted eclipses, among other sophisticated tricks

medicine The Double Life of ATP

The molecule ATP, famous as an essential energy source inside cells, also carries critical messages between cells. That dual role is suggesting fresh ideas for fighting human diseases

microscopy Illuminating the Lilliputian

A gallery of images captured by light microscopy reveals the high art of the natural world

Ask the Experts

Why did NASA decide to launch space shuttles from weather-beaten Florida?

Nov 2009 astronomy The Long Lost Siblings of the Sun

The sun was born in a family of stars. What became of them?

neuroscience New Culprits in Chronic Pain

Glia are nervous system caretakers whose nurturing can go too far. Taming them holds promise for alleviating pain that current medications cannot ease

energy A Path to Sustainable Energy by 2030

Wind, water and solar technologies can provide 100 percent of the world's energy, eliminating all fossil fuels. Here's how

human evolution Rethinking the Hobbits of Indonesia

New analyses reveal the mini human species to be even stranger than previously thought and hint that major tenets of human evolution need revision

info tech The Everything TV

Modern insights into the immune system have revived interest in adding ingredients that can supercharge old vaccines and make entirely new ones possible

sustainability The Rise of Vertical Farms

Growing crops in city skyscrapers would use less water and fossil fuel than outdoor farming, eliminate agricultural runoff and provide fresh food

auto tech The Future of Cars

Industry Leaders Look Way Down the Road

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How Does the Coast Guard Find People Lost at Sea?

Oct 2009 astrophysics Black Stars, Not Holes

Quantum effects may prevent true black holes from forming and give rise instead to dense entities called black stars

neuroscience Turbocharging the Brain

Will a pill at breakfast improve concentration and memory—and will it do so without long-term detriment to your health?

energy Squeezing More Oil from the Ground

Amid warnings of a possible "peak oil," advanced technologies offer ways to extract every last possible drop

archaeology Lost Cities of the Amazon

The Amazon tropical forest is not as wild as it looks

medicine Boosting Vaccine Power

Modern insights into the immune system have revived interest in adding ingredients that can supercharge old vaccines and make entirely new ones possible

security Privacy and the Quantum Internet

Courtesy of some of the weirdest laws of physics, we may someday be able to search and surf the Web without anyone collecting our data

industry Biotech's Plans to Sustain Agriculture

Popular movements may call for more organic methods, but the agricultural industry sees biotechnology as a crucial part of farming's future

Ask the Experts

Why do whales beach themselves

Sep 2009 cosmology Origin of the Universe

Cosmologists are closing in on the ultimate processes that created and shaped the universe

neuroscience Origin of the Mind

The first step in figuring out how the human mind arose is determining what distinguishes our mental processes from those of other creatures

biology Origin of Life on Earth

Fresh clues hint at how the first living organisms arose from inanimate matter

info tech Origin of Computing

The information age began with the realization that machines could emulate the power of minds

innovations, history Origins - The Start of Everything

Where do rainbows come from? What about flying cars, love and LSD?

Aug 2009 human evolution Twilight of the Neandertals

Paleoanthropologists know more about Neandertals than any other extinct human. But their demise remains a mystery, one that gets curiouser and curiouser

physics Adventures in Curved Spacetime

The possibility of "swimming" and "gliding" in curved, empty space shows that, even after nine decades, Einstein's theory of general relativity continues to amaze

energy policy What Now for Nuclear Waste?

Yucca Mountain was supposed to be the answer to the U.S.'s nuclear waste problem, but after 22 years and $9 billion, that

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vision is dead. Now some say that doing nothing in the near term may be the smartest solution medicine Surprises from Celiac Disease

Study of a potentially fatal food-triggered disease has uncovered a process that may contribute to many autoimmune disorders

electronics An Iron Key to High-Temperature Superconductivity?

The discovery that compounds known as iron pnictides can superconduct at 50 degrees above absolute zero has reignited physicists' quest for better high-temperature superconductors and may offer clues to unlocking a 20-year mystery

innovations, medicine A New Kind of Drug Target

An emerging class of medicines works its magic by targeting unusual sites on biological molecules

Ask the Experts

How does bathwater well below the boiling point give off steam?

Jul 2009 space exploration From the Moon to Mars

The only scientist and field geologist ever to visit the moon offers some pointers to those who will one day visit Mars

medicine New Ways to Squash Superbugs

Scientists are using new tools and tactics in the race to discover novel antibiotics

biofuels Grassoline at the Pump

Scientists are turning agricultural leftovers, wood and fast-growing grasses into a huge variety of biofuels—even jet fuel. But before these next-generation biofuels go mainstream, they have to compete with oil at $60 a barrel

neuroscience Origins of the Left & Right Brain

The division of labor by the two cerebral hemispheres—once thought to be uniquely human—predates us by half a billion years. Speech, right-handedness, facial recognition and the processing of spatial relations can be traced to brain asymmetries in early vertebrates

conservation The Ivory Trail

The illegal slaughter of African elephants for ivory is now worse than it was at its peak in the 1980s. New forensic tools based on DNA analysis can help stop the cartels behind this bloody trade

economics The Science of Bubbles & Busts

The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression has prompted a reassessment of how financial markets work and how people make decisions about money

Ask the Experts

Why haven't humans evolved eyes in the back of the head?; Instead of sequestering carbon dioxide to reduce its effects on global climate, why don't we split it into harmless carbon and oxygen?

Jun 2009 astronomy Improbable Planets

Astronomers are finding planets where there were not supposed to be any

medicine The Price of Silent Mutations

Small changes to DNA that were once considered innocuous enough to be ignored are proving to be important in human diseases, evolution and biotechnology

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sustainability Phosphorus: A Looming Crisis

This underappreciated resource—a key part of fertilizers—is still decades from running out. But we must act now to conserve it, or future agriculture will collapse

tech leaders Scientific American 10

Certain researchers, politicians, business executives and philanthropists have recently demonstrated outstanding commitment to making sure that the benefits of new technologies and knowledge will accrue to humanity

evolution The Taming of the Cat

Genetic and archaeological findings hint that wildcats became house cats earlier--and in a different place--than previously thought

info tech Data in the Fast Lanes of Racetrack Memory

A device that slides magnetic bits back and forth along nanowire "racetracks" could pack data in a three-dimensional microchip and may replace nearly all forms of conventional data storage

Ask the Experts

What causes albinism? Are there any treatments for it?; Why do two things I like to eat sometimes taste so bad when eaten together?

May 2009 planetary science The Planetary Air Leak

As Earth's atmosphere slowly trickles away into space, will our planet come to look like Venus?

evolution What Makes Us Human?

Comparisons of the genomes of humans and chimpanzees are revealing those rare stretches of DNA that are ours alone

environment Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?

The biggest threat to global stability is the potential for food crises in poor countries to cause government collapse. Those crises are brought on by ever worsening environmental degradation

security How to Steal Secrets

Information thieves can now do an end run around encryption, networks and the operating system

biotech Progress in Tissue

Pioneers in building living tissue report important advances over the past decade

nanotech Powering Nanorobots

Catalytic engines enable tiny swimmers to harness fuel from their environment and overcome the weird physics of the microscopic world

Ask the Experts

How does food irradiation work? Is it safe? Indoor plants tend to grow toward the light, so why do trees outdoors grow straight instead of leaning toward the equator?

Apr 2009 life science Saving the Honeybee

The mysterious ailment called colony collapse disorder has wiped out large numbers of the bees that pollinate a third of our crops. The causes turn out to be surprisingly complex, but solutions are emerging

cosmology Does Dark Energy Really Exist?

Maybe not. The observations that led astronomers to deduce its existence could have another explanation: that our galaxy lies at the center of a giant cosmic void

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evolution The Evolution of Primate Color Vision

Analyses of primate visual pigments show that our color vision evolved in an unusual way and that the brain is more adaptable than generally thought

psychology The Post-Traumatic Stress Trap

A growing number of experts insist that the concept of post-traumatic stress disorder is itself disordered and that soldiers are suffering as a result

materials science The Dawn of the Miniature Green Lasers

Semiconductors can generate laser light in all colors except one. But new techniques for growing laser diodes could soon make brilliant full-spectrum displays a reality

public health Preventing the Next Pandemic

An international network for monitoring the flow of viruses from animals to humans might help scientists head off global epidemics

Ask the Experts

If galaxies are all moving apart at ever increasing speed, how can they collide? If normal body temperature is about 98 degrees Fahrenheit, why do we feel hot at that air temperature?

Mar 2009 physics A Quantum Threat to Special Relativity

Entanglement, like many quantum effects, violates some of our deepest intuitions about the world. It may also undermine Einstein’s special theory of relativity

nanotech The World's Smallest Radio

A single carbon nanotube can function as a radio that detects and plays songs

neuroscience Saving New Brain Cells

Fresh neurons arise in the adult brain every day. New research suggests that the cells ultimately help with learning complex tasks—and the more they are challenged, the more they flourish

energy The Power of Renewables

The need to tackle global climate change and energy security makes developing alternatives to fossil fuels crucial.

medicine New Tactics Against Tuberculosis

The pandemic is growing in many places, and strains resistant to all existing drugs are emerging. To fight back, biologists are applying a host of cutting-edge drug development strategies

security Monitoring for Nuclear Explosions

Detecting a test of a nuclear weapon has become so effective and reliable that no nation could expect to get away with secretly exploding a device having military significance

Insights: Escape from the Killing Fields

As the world warms up, some species cannot move to cooler climes in time to survive. Camille Parmesan thinks humans should help—even if it means creating invasive species

Ask the Experts

How do spacecraft orient themselves in the absence of magnetic poles? Is there any truth to the system they use on Star Trek?; How long will global uranium deposits fuel the world’s nuclear reactors at present consumption rates?

Feb 2009 physics Naked Singularities

The black hole has a troublesome sibling, the naked singularity. Physicists have long thought--hoped--it could never exist. But could it?

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medicine, nanotech Nanomedicine Targets Cancer

Viewing each human body as a system of interacting molecular networks and targeting disruptions in the system with nanoscale technologies can transform how disease is understood, attacked and possibly prevented

earth science The Origin of the Land Under the Sea

The deep basins under the oceans are carpeted with lava that spewed from submarine volcanoes and solidified. Scientists have solved the mystery of how, precisely, all that lava reaches the seafloor

space science New Dawn for Electric Rockets

Efficient electric plasma engines are propelling the next generation of space probes to the outer solar system

neuroscience Sculpting the Brain

New studies are revealing how the brain’s convolutions take shape—findings that could aid the diagnosis and treatment of autism, schizophrenia and other mental disorders

climate change The Greenhouse Hamburger

Producing beef for the table has a surprising environmental cost: it releases prodigious amounts of heat-trapping greenhouse gases

Insights: Chaos and the Catch of the Day

There are fewer fish in the sea than ever. Complexity theory, argues mathematician George Sugihara, provides a counterintuitive way to revitalize the world’s fisheries

Working Knowledge: Smart Phones

Touch Screens Redefine the Market

Ask the Experts

Why do wind turbines have three narrow blades, whereas my fan at home has five wide blades?; What happens to the donor’s DNA in a blood transfusion?

Jan 2009 evolution Darwin's Living Legacy

A Victorian amateur undertook a lifetime pursuit of slow, meticulous observation and thought about the natural world, producing a theory 150 years ago that still drives the contemporary scientific agenda

evolution Testing Natural Selection

Biologists working with the most sophisticated genetic tools are demonstrating that natural selection plays a greater role in the evolution of genes than even most evolutionists had thought

evolution From Atoms to Traits

Charles Darwin saw that random variations in organisms provide fodder for evolution. Modern scientists are revealing how that diversity arises from changes to DNA and can add up to complex creatures or even cultures

evolution The Human Pedigree

Some 180 years after unearthing the first human fossil, paleontologists have amassed a formidable record of our forebears

evolution This Old Body

Evolutionary hand-me-downs inherited from fish and tadpoles have left us with hernias, hiccups and other maladies

evolution What Will Become of Homo sapiens?

Contrary to popular belief, humans continue to evolve. Our bodies and brains are not the same as our ancestors’ were—or as our descendants’ will be

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evolution Four Fallacies of Pop Evolutionary Psychology

Some evolutionary psychologists have made widely popularized claims about how the human mind evolved, but other scholars argue that the grand claims lack solid evidence

evolution Evolution in the Everyday World

Understanding of evolution is fostering powerful technologies for health care, law enforcement, ecology, and all manner of optimization and design problems

evolution The Science of Spore

A computer game illustrates the difference between building your own simulated creature and real-life natural selection

evolution The Latest Face of Creationism

Creationists who want religious ideas taught as scientific fact in public schools continue to adapt to courtroom defeats by hiding their true aims under ever changing guises

Insights: A Theory of a Deadly Fusion

The ability to spread underlies the killing power of cancer. The process occurs, John Pawelek thinks, when tumor cells fuse with white blood cells— an idea that, if right, could yield new therapies

Working Knowledge: New Designs Going Up

Elevators

Ask The Experts

How does solar power work? Why does my voice sound so different when it is recorded and played back?

Dec 2008 planetary science The Restless World of Enceladus

Wrinkled landscapes and spouting jets on Saturn’s sixthlargest moon hint at underground waters

biotech A New Molecule of Life

Peptide nucleic acid, a synthetic hybrid of protein and DNA, could form the basis of a new class of drugs—and of artificial life unlike anything found in nature

neuroscience The Magic and the Brain

Magicians have been testing and exploiting the limits of cognition and attention for hundreds of years. Neuroscientists are just beginning to catch up

microscopy The Light Fantastic

Biological specimens yield extraordinary images in the hands of talented light microscopists

auto tech Driving Toward Crashless Cars

Next-generation automotive safety technology could give us vehicles that are difficult to crash—and eventually may not need drivers at all

biology Taking Wing

At last, fossil and genetic findings elucidate the evolution of bats--and settle a long-standing debate over the origins of flight and echolocation

info tech Can Phishing be Foiled?

Understanding the human factors that make people vulnerable to online criminals can improve both security training and technology

Insights: Turning Back the Cellular Clock

Shinya Yamanaka discovered how to revert adult cells to an embryonic state. These induced pluripotent stem cells might soon supplant their embryonic cousins in therapeutic promise

Working Knowledge: Global Positioning Where on Earth You Are System

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Nov 2008 geoengineering A Sunshade for Planet Earth

Global warming has become such an overriding emergency that some climate experts are willing to consider schemes for partly shielding the planet from the sun’s rays. But no such scheme is a magic bullet

neuroscience Jacking into the Brain

How far can science advance brain-machine interface technology? Will we one day pipe the latest blog entry or NASCAR highlights directly into the human brain as if the organ were an outsize flash drive?

physics The Long Arm of the Second Law

In seeming defiance of the second law of thermodynamics, nature is filled with examples of order emerging from chaos. A new theoretical framework resolves the apparent paradox

medicine The Vaccine Search Goes On

The unfinished quest for an AIDS vaccine has become a search for new approaches to the problem

medicine Can HIV Be Cured?

Eliminating HIV from the body would require flushing the virus out of its hiding places and preventing those reservoirs from being refilled. A tall order but perhaps not impossible

information science DNA Computers for Work and Play

Logic gates made of DNA could one day operate in your bloodstream, collectively making medical decisions and taking action. For now, they play a mean game of in vitro tic-tac-toe

innovations The Incredible Shrinking Scanner

A portable version of a room-size nuclear magnetic resonance machine can probe the chemistry and structure of objects ranging from mummies to tires

Insights: The Christian Man's Evolution

A geneticist ordained as a Dominican priest, Francisco J. Ayala sees no conflict between Darwinism and faith. Convincing most of the American public of that remains the challenge

Working Knowledge: Dinner and a Show

Microwave Ovens

Oct 2008 cosmology Follow the Bouncing Universe

Our universe may have started not with a big bang but with a big bounce—an implosion that triggered an explosion, all driven by exotic quantum-gravitational effects

neuroscience Lighting Up the Brain

A clever combination of optics and genetics is allowing neuroscientists to map—and even control—brain circuits with unprecedented precision

geology Birth of an Ocean

Formation of an ocean is a rare event, one few scientists have ever witnessed. Yet this geophysical nativity is unfolding today in one of the hottest and most inhospitable corners of the globe. Visit the site in safety through this extraordinary photographic essay

neuroscience The Search for Intelligence

IQ is easy to measure and reflects something real. But scientists hunting among our genes for the factors that shape intelligence are discovering they are more elusive than

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expected info tech Web Science Emerges

Studying the Web will reveal better ways to exploit information, prevent identity theft, revolutionize industry and manage our ever growing online lives

life science Barcode of Life

Inspired by commercial barcodes, DNA tags could provide a quick, inexpensive way to identify species

innovations With Open-Source Arms

A community of engineers, designers and innovators is collaborating online to make better prosthetic hands and arms for amputees. One of the lead engineers lost his own arm in Iraq

How did self-replicating molecules come to dominate the Insights: Outcalculating the Competition early earth? Using the mathematics of evolutionary dynamics, Martin A. Nowak can explain the change from no life to life Working Knowledge: Competing Candidates

Voting machines

Sep 2008 technology Privacy in an Age of Terabytes and Terror

Our jittery state since 9/11, coupled with the Internet revolution, is shifting the boundaries between public interest and "the right to be let alone"

technology Reflections on Privacy 2.0

Many issues posing as questions of privacy can turn out to be matters of security, health policy, insurance or self-presentation. It is useful to clarify those issues before focusing on privacy itself

technology Brave New World of Wiretapping

As telephone conversations have moved to the Internet, so have those who want to listen in. But the technology needed to do so would entail a dangerous expansion of the government’s surveillance powers

medicine Keeping Your Genes Private

In spite of recent legislation, tougher laws are needed to prevent insurers and employers from discriminating on the basis of genetic tests

surveillance Tools of the Spy Trade

Night-vision cameras, biometric sensors and other gadgets already give snoops access to private spaces. Coming soon: palm-size "bug-bots"

technology RFID Tag--You're It

Tiny radio-frequency identification tags, long used for tracking supplies and inventory, are now appearing in a growing range of consumer items. A privacy activist argues that the devices pose new security risks to those who carry them, often unwittingly

biometrics Beyond Fingerprinting

Security systems based on anatomical and behavioral characteristics may offer the best defense against identity theft

computing Information of the World, Unite

Mashing everyone’s personal data, from credit-card bills to cell phone logs,into one all-encompassing digital dossier is the stuff of Orwellian nightmares. But it is not as easy as most people assume

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cryptography How to Keep Secrets Safe

A versatile range of software solutions can protect the privacy of your information and online activities to any desired degree

Improving Online Security

To protect against more numerous and sophisticated attacks by hackers, security professionals call for upgraded technology along with more attention to human and legal factors

The End of Privacy

Young people share the most intimate details of personal life on social-networking Web sites, portending a realignment of the public and the private

Insights: Safety Dance over Plastic

Just how harmful are baby bottles, eyeglasses and other bisphenol-A plastics? Patricia Hunt, who helped to bring the issue to light a decade ago, is still trying to sort it all out

Working Knowledge: Dry Dyes

Instant photo developing

Aug 2008 environment Facing the Freshwater Crisis

As demand for freshwater soars, planetary supplies are becoming unpredictable. Existing technologies could avert a global water crisis, but they must be implemented soon

medicine Why Migraines Strike

Biologists finally are unraveling the medical mysteries of migraine, from aura to pain

quantum physics Quantum Computing with Ions

Researchers are taking the first steps toward building ultrapowerful computers that use individual atoms to perform calculations

public health China's Children of Smoke

Epidemiologists find molecular clues to air pollution's impact on youngsters

planetary science Bracing for a Solar Superstorm

A recurrence of the 1859 solar superstorm would be a cosmic Katrina, causing billions of dollars of damage to satellites, power grids and radio communications

materials science Self-Cleaning Materials

The lotus plant's magnificent ability to repel dirt has inspired a range of self-cleaning and antibacterial technologies that may also help control microfluidic "lab-on-a-chip" devices

innovations Magnifying Taste

Compounds that enhance the sweet and salty flavors of foods could combat obesity and heart disease

Insights: No More Cloning Around

Like many stem cell pioneers, Ian Wilmut, the creator of Dolly the sheep, has jumped to an alternative approach. Is this the beginning of the end for embryonic cloning?

Working Knowledge: Warming and Cooling

Home heat pumps

Jul 2008 physics The Self-Organizing Quantum

A new approach to the decades-old problem of quantum gravity goes back to basics and shows how the building blocks of space and time pull themselves together

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medicine New Jobs for Ancient Chaperones

Protective heat shock proteins present in every cell have long been known to counteract stress. Newly recognized roles in cancer and immunity make them potential therapeutic allies

anthropology Traces of a Distant Past

DNA furnishes an ever clearer picture of the multimillennial trek from Africa all the way to the tip of South America

innovations Hands On Computing

Multi-touch screens could improve collaboration without a mouse or keyboard

agriculture No-Till: The Quiet Revolution

The age-old practice of turning the soil before planting a new crop is a leading cause of farmland degradation. Many farmers are thus looking to make plowing a thing of the past

neuroscience The Neuroscience of Dance

Recent brain-imaging reveal some of the complex neural choreography behind our ability to dance

mathematics Simple Groups at Play

A new set of puzzles inspired by Rubik’s Cube offers puzzle lovers the chance to get acquainted with the secret twists and turns of mathematical entities called sporadic simple groups

Going with His Gut Bacteria

The body and its intestinal flora produce chemicals with hidden health information, Jeremy Nicholson has found. Someday treating disease may mean treating those bacteria

Working Knowledge: Nimble Skyscrapers at Sea

Cruise ships

Jun 2008 cosmology The Cosmic Origins of Time's Arrow

One of the most basic facts of life is that the future looks different from the past. But on a grand cosmological scale, they may look the same

medicine Gaining Ground on Breast Cancer

The newest targeted therapies are helping doctors to tailor increasingly effective treatments to individual patients

info tech Digital Image Forensics

Modern software has made manipulation of photographs easier to carry out and harder to uncover than ever before, but the technology also enables new methods of detecting doctored images

biology What Is a Species?

To this day, scientists struggle with that question. A better definition can influence which animals make the endangered list

astronomy The Tunguska Mystery

Finding a piece of the elusive cosmic body that devastated a Siberian forest a century ago could help save the earth in the centuries to come

neuroscience The Neurobiology of Trust

Our inclination to trust a stranger stems in large part from exposure to a small molecule known for an entirely different task: inducing labor

policy The Ethics of Climate Change

Weighing our own prosperity against the chances that climate change will diminish the well-being of our grandchildren calls on economists to make hard ethical judgments

Walter Fiers found a protein segment on the influenza virus Insights: Beating the Flu in a Single Shot that could lead to a universal flu vaccine, which would end

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seasonal shots and provide pandemic protection Working Knowledge: Library to Go

E-Book Readers

May 2008

astronomy The Genesis of Planets

Theorists long imagined that the formation of young solar systems was a serene process with a stately progression, in which the eventual appearance of planets was a foregone conclusion. The latest evidence, however--including observations of worlds circling other stars--argues that planet formation is startlingly chaotic

evolution Regulating Evolution

Most animals share similar genes. The staggering diversity in their physical forms springs from switches in the DNA that govern where and when those genes are active

info tech Science 2.0

Is posting raw experimental data online, for all to see, a great tool or a great risk?

biology How Cells Clean House

Autophagy, a process that normally keeps cells in good working order, seems to be linked to aging and diseases such as Alzheimer's

neuroscience Hooked from the First Cigarette

Cigarette addiction can arise astonishingly fast. New research could help make quitting easier

nuclear policy Rethinking Nuclear Fuel Recycling

Plans are afoot to reuse spent reactor fuel in the U.S. But the advantages of the scheme pale in comparison with its dangers

health Fighting Killer Worms

Bloodsucking worms called schistosomes are among the world's most worrisome human parasites. A new genome sequence and powerful genetic tools promise to help crack their secrets

Insights: Dark Forces at Work

The universe will expand forever at an ever faster rate, thanks to an unseen energy. Astronomer Saul Perlmutter expects that new observations will soon illuminate the universe's dark side

Working Knowledge: Living Cover

Green roofs

Apr 2008

space science The Color of Plants on Other Worlds

If it isn't easy being green on Earth, where chlorophyll is well tuned to absorb most of the energy in our sun's yellow light, imagine the difficulties elsewhere in the galaxy. Plants growing on worlds around cooler, brighter or more tempestuous stars would need to rely on red, blue or even black pigments to survive. That insight offers astronomers new clues about what to look for in their search for extraterrestrial life

medicine Regrowing Human Limbs

The ability to regenerate lost body parts--salamanderstyle--could revolutionize the treatment of amputations and major wounds

ecology Reclaiming the Aral Sea

Mismanagement turned the world's fourth-largest lake into a dry, toxic wasteland. Now the northern part, at least, is coming back

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physics Rulers of Light

A kind of laser light called an optical frequency comb can make atomic clocks and other instruments much more precise

psychology The Doping Dilemma

Game theory suggests how to stop the pervasive abuse of drugs in cycling, baseball and other sports

materials science Carbon Wonderland

A newly recognized form of carbon--single sheets of atoms-provides a rich lode of novel theoretical physics and practical applications

national security Detecting Nuclear Smuggling

Radiation monitors at U.S. ports cannot reliably detect highly enriched uranium, which onshore terrorists could assemble into a nuclear bomb

Insights: At the Edge of Life's Code

What happens in the black box between DNA and the proteins it produces? Chris Wiggins uses machine-learning techniques to peer inside

Working Knowledge: Weapons Revealed

Whole-body scanning for airline passengers

Mar 2008 economics When Markets Beat the Polls

Internet-based financial markets may predict elections more reliably than polls do. They can augur future box-office returns and flu seasons, too.

cosmology The End of Cosmology?

"Will the big bang be forgotten? The accelerating cosmic expansion is wiping away every trace of the universe's origin."

neuroscience White Matter Matters

Long regarded as passive support for cogitating neurons, the brain's white matter shows that it actively affects learning and mental illness.

info tech The Limits of Quantum Computers

Futuristic quantum computers could be exceptionally fast at certain tasks, but for most problems they would only modestly outclass today's conventional machines.

environment The Bluefin in Peril

The only way to save the bluefin tuna, a marvelous but dwindling ocean fish, may be to domesticate it.

defense Space Wars

Recent pronouncements and actions by the U.S. and China threaten to ignite a new arms race in space that would be contrary to everyone's interests.

public health Soliving the Massive Worker Health Puzzle

A sophisticated industrial health study--the largest one ever-struggles with an apparent cancer cluster and highlights why science cannot always protect workers on the job.

Insights: Not Tonight, Dear, I Have to Reboot

Is love and marriage with robots an institute you can disparage? Computing pioneer David Levy doesn't think so--he expects people to wed droids by midcentury. Is that a good thing?

Working Knowledge: The Switch Is On

The switch is on to compact fluorescents.

Feb 2008

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physics The Discovery Machine

The Large Hadron Collider, the biggest and most complicated particle physics experiment ever seen, is nearing completion and is scheduled to start colliding protons this year

physics The Coming Revolutions in Particle Physics

No matter what the Large Hadron Collider finds, it is going to take physics into new territory

physics Building the Next-Generation Collider

To further investigate the intricacies of high-energy particle physics, researchers must construct a more powerful electron-positron collider

climate change The Unquiet Ice

Abundant liquid water discovered underneath the great polar ice sheets could catastrophically intensify the effects of global warming on the rise of sea level around the world

innovations RFID Powder

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags label all kinds of inventoried goods and speed commuters through toll plazas. Now tiny RFID components are being developed with a rather different aim: thwarting counterfeiters

medicine Your Cells Are My Cells

Many, perhaps all, people harbor a small number of cells from genetically different individuals--from their mothers and, for women who have been pregnant, from their children. What in the world do these foreigners do in the body?

science and society Building a Future on Science

Brazilian neuroscientist Miguel A. L. Nicolelis taps into the chatter of neurons to drive robotic prosthetics. Now he hopes to tap the potential of his country's population by building a network of "science cities"

Insights: Maverick against the Mendelians

Autistic people generally do not have children, so why do autism genes persist? Michael Wigler thinks that he knows

Working Knowledge: Leap of Faith

The video magic of blue screen

Jan 2008 tech leaders The SciAm 50

Which researchers, companies and architects of industrial and government policy are leading the most important trends shaping tomorrow's technologies? Our annual roundup of world shakers gives credit where it is due

medicine Taming Vessels to Treat Cancer

Drugs that restore order to the chaotic blood vessels inside a tumor open a window of opportunity for attacking it

energy A Solar Grand Plan

An ambitious scheme would enable solar power to end U.S. dependence on foreign oil and slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2050

public health Second Thoughts about Fluoride

New research indicates that a cavity-fighting treatment could be risky if overused

nanotech Self-Powered Nanotech

Tiny systems that draw waste energy from their surroundings could power nanosize machines

earth science Hotspots Unplugged

Long considered fixed founts of molten material from deep within the planet, the hotspots that raise islands now join the list of the earth's moving parts

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physiology The Human Instrument

When judged by its size, our vocal system fails to impress as a musical instrument. How, then, can it produce all those remarkable sounds?

Insights: Cooking Up Bigger Brains

Our hominid ancestors could never have eaten enough raw food to create our large, calorie-hungry brains, Richard Wrangham claims. The secret to our evolution, this anthropologist says, is cooking

Working Knowledge: Perpetual Reset Machine

The striking mechanics of bowling pinsetters

Dec 2007 astronomy Window on the Extreme Universe

The GLAST satellite is about to open up an unexplored region of the electromagnetic spectrum, where dark matter and other mysteries might be seen

biology Are Aliens among Us?

All life on Earth is generally understood to have descended from a common ancestor. But if cells evolved independently more than once, some microbes radically different from all known organisms might still survive in extreme environments of our planet. The search is on for evidence of these strangers

environment Making Carbon Markets Work

Limiting climate change without damaging the world economy depends on stronger and smarter market signals to regulate carbon dioxide

gallery Radiant Information

State-of-the-art light microscopy from the Olympus BioScapes competition illuminates life exquisitely

genetics Diet Advice from DNA?

Are personalized diets based on genetic tests cutting-edge science or high-tech horoscopes?

info tech The Semantic Web in Action

Networks that handle data more intelligently are already here

physics The Many Worlds of Hugh Everett

Whatever became of the creator of the now celebrated quantum theory of multiple universes?

Working Knowledge: Progress Accelerates

Adaptive cruise control

Nov 2007 cosmology The Great Cosmic Roller-Coaster Ride

Could cosmic inflation be a sign that our universe is in a far vaster realm?

biology Cell Defenses and the Sunshine Vitamin

Scientists now recognize that vitamin D does much more than build strong bones and that many people are not getting enough of it

weaponry Nuclear Weapons in a New World

Countries are altering their nuclear arsenals, prompting the U.S. to refurbish its own warheads

weaponry The Nuclear Threat

A look at strike capabilities worldwide, and how a bomb would affect single cities and people

weaponry A Need for New Warheads?

The U.S. government's proposal to build the first new muclear warhead in two decades raises a host of questions

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medicine Playing Defense against Lou Gehrig's Disease

Researchers have proposed potential therapies for a paralyzing disorder once thought to be untreatable

info tech Brilliant Displays

A new technology can make cell phone and other displays bright and clear, even in the sun's glare

science and society The Science of Doing Good

Information technology, satellite imaging and research carried out in disaster-relief areas have begun to transform humanitarian aid into a more efficient endeavor

Working Knowledge: Two Technologies Shine

Digital projectors shine

Oct 2007 environment Conservation for the People

Pitting nature and biodiversity against people makes little sense. Many conservationists now argue that human health and well-being should be central to conservation efforts

space exploration The Future of Space Exploration

The launch of the Soviet Sputnik satellite half a century ago inaugurated the Space Age. What comes next?

space exploration To the Moon and Beyond

Humans are returning to the moon. This time the plan is to stay a while

space exploration Five Essential Things to Do in Space

Planetary scientists have a quintet of goals for exploring the solar system

psychology How Does Consciousness Happen?

One of the greatest mysteries in science is how brain activity gives rise to subjective experience. Two leading neuroscientists compare their differing theories

physics The Diamond Age of Spintronics

Revolutionary electronic devices can harness the spins of electrons instead of their charge. Such devices might one day enable room-temperature quantum computers--made of diamond

medicine Experimental Drugs on Trial

A controversial lawsuit challenges the FDA's system of controlling access to experimental drugs and, some say, the scientific basis of drug approval

innovations Big Lab on a Tiny Chip

Squeezing a chemistry lab down to fingernail size could provide instant medical tests at home and on the battlefield

Working Knowledge: Heating Up

Geothermal energy

Sep 2007 sustainability A Question of Sustenance

Globalization ushered in a world in which more than a billion are overfed. Yet 800 million or so still suffer from hunger's persistent scourge

nutrition Eating Made Simple

How do you cope with a mountain of conflicting diet advice? Also: Paul Raeburn reviews the best scientific guidance on weight loss

health Can Fat Be Fit?

Popular books have questioned the ill effects of being overweight. They are probably wrong

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physiology What Fuels Fat

Understanding obesity as a breakdown in the body's weight regulation could yield new ways to fight fat

nutrition This Is Your Brain on Food

Neuroimaging reveals what chocoholics have in common with drug addicts. Interview with Nora D. Volkow

public health The World Is Fat

How can the poorest countries fight obesity?

nutrition Still Hungry

One eighth of the world does not have enough to eat

biotech Sowing a Gene Revolution

A new green revolution based on genetically modified crops could help reduce poverty and hunger, but only if formidable institutional challenges are met

security Is Your Food Contaminated?

New approaches to protect the food supply

Working Knowledge: Fresh from the Sea Desalination of seawater Aug 2007 policy Race in a Bottle

Drugmakers are eager to develop medicines targeted at ethnic groups, but so far they have made poor choices based on unsound science

modelling Predicting Wildfires

Fires are burning more acres than ever. Where will the next blazes ignite? Can we prevent them? Should we?

neuroscience Windows on the Mind

Tiny flicks of the eyes underpin much of our ability to see. They may also reveal subliminal thoughts

environment The Physical Science behind Climate Change

Why climatologists are now so confident that human activity is to blame for a warming world

biology The Shark's Electric Sense

An astonishingly sensitive detector of electric fields helps sharks zero in on prey

agriculture Future Farming: A Return to Roots?

Agriculture would become more sustainable if major crop plants built deep, lasting root systems

innovations Data Center in a Box

A shipping container stuffed with servers could usher in the era of cloud computing

Working Knowledge: Blu-ray vs. HD DVD

High-definition video

Jul 2007 climate change Warmer Oceans, Stronger Hurricanes

Evidence is mounting that global warming enhances a cyclone's damaging winds and flooding rains

neuroscience The Memory Code

Researchers are closing in on the rules that the brain uses to lay down memories. Discovery of this memory code could lead to new ways to peer into the mind

medicine A Malignant Flame

Understanding chronic inflammation, which contributes to heart disease, Alzheimer's and other ailments, may be a key to unlocking the mysteries of cancer

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genetics The Evolution of Cats

Genomic paw prints in the DNA of the world's wild cats have clarified the feline family tree and uncovered several remarkable migrations in their past

environment An Earth without People

Interview with Alan Weisman. One way to examine humanity's impact on the environment is to consider how the world would fare if all the people disappeared

info tech Broadband Room Service by Light

Encoded light transmissions can provide the wireless devices in a room with multimedia Web services

science and society Should Science Speak to Faith?

Two prominent defenders of science discuss how scientists ought to approach believers

Working Knowledge: In or Out?

Hawkeye on the tennis court

Jun 2007 biology A Simpler Origin for Life

Energy-driven networks of small molecules may be more likely first steps for life than the commonly held idea of the sudden emergence of large self-replicating molecules such as RNA

medicine Lifting the Fog around Anesthesia

Learning why current anesthetics are so potent and sometimes dangerous will lead to a new generation of safer targeted drugs

cosmology When Fields Collide

The history of particle cosmology shows that science can benefit from wrenching changes

ecosystems Restoring America's Big, Wild Animals

Pleistocene rewilding--a proposal to bring back animals that disappeared from North America 13,000 years ago--offers an optimistic agenda for 21st-century conservation

info tech Breaking Network Logjams

Network coding could dramatically enhance the efficiency of communications networks

innovations Seeing Triple

Anticipated for decades, machines are finally displaying objects in three true dimensions

game theory The Traveler's Dilemma

People playing this simple game consistently reject the rational choice. In fact, by acting illogically, they end up reaping a larger reward--an outcome that demands a new kind of formal reasoning

Working Knowledge: The Write Type

Optical character recognition finds the write type

May 2007 space science The Mystery of Methane on Mars and Titan

Could the methane in the atmospheres of Mars and Titan be caused by unusual geologic activity--or life?

medicine Chromosomal Chaos and Cancer

Current wisdom on the role of genes in malignancy may not explain some of the features of cancer, but stepping back to look at the bigger picture inside cells reveals a view that just might

energy Preventing Blackouts

A smarter power grid that automatically responds to problems could reduce the rising number of debilitating blackouts

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paleontology South America's Missing Mammals

An unexpected menagerie of unique mammal fossils is overturning long-held ideas about South America's geologic history

info tech, nanotech Carbon Nanonets Spark New Electronics

Random networks of tiny carbon tubes could make possible low-cost, flexible devices such as "electronic paper" and printable solar cells

neuroscience Eyes Open, Brain Shut

Brain-imaging techniques yield a better understanding of patients in the vegetative state

physics A Do-It-Yourself Quantum Eraser

Carry out a home experiment to illustrate one of the weirdest effects in quantum mechanics

Working Knowledge: Psst ... Hey, You

Beams of sound

Apr 2007 astronomy The Ghosts of Galaxies Past

Strangely moving stars may be the remnants of past galaxies devoured by our Milky Way

biotech Seeking the Connections: Alcoholism and Our Genes

Identifying the genetic influences on vulnerability to alcohol addiction can lead to more targeted treatments and help individuals make better-informed choices

info tech The Promise of Plasmonics

A technology that squeezes electromagnetic waves into minuscule structures may yield superfast computer chips, ultrasensitive molecular detectors and perhaps even invisibility cloaks

animal behavior Just How Smart Are Ravens?

Recent experiments show that these birds use logic to solve problems and that some of their abilities approach or surpass those of the great apes

neuroscience The Movies in Our Eyes

The retina processes information much more than anyone has ever imagined, sending a dozen different movies to the brain

energy Gassing Up with Hydrogen

Researchers are working on ways for fuel-cell vehicles to hold the hydrogen they need for long-distance travel

medicine A Cure for Rabies?

The survival of a Wisconsin teenager who contracted rabies may point the way to a treatment for this horrifying disease

Working Knowledge: Steer Clear

Electronic stability control for autos

Technicalities: The Car Doctor Is In

A way to diagnose engine problems without ever having to look under the hood

Mar 2007 astrophysics Black Hole Blowback

A single black hole, smaller than the solar system, can control the destiny of an entire cluster of galaxies

biotech Mapping the Cancer Genome

The Cancer Genome Atlas will help chart a new course across the complex landscape of human malignancies

info tech A Digital Life

New systems may allow people to record everything that has touched their lives and to store all these data in a personal digital archive

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environment Down Go the Dams

Many dams are being torn down these days, allowing rivers and the ecosystems they support to rebound. But ecological risks abound as well. Can they be averted?

medicine New Predictors of Disease

Predictive autoantibodies appear in the blood years before people show symptoms of various disorders. Tests that detected these molecules could warn of the need to take preventive action

energy Diesels Come Clean

Improved engines and exhaust scrubbers, combined with a new fuel, will make energy-efficient diesels nearly as green as hybrids

neuroscience Illusory Color and the Brain

The brain may not separate perception of color from perception of form and depth

Working Knowledge: Restoring Flow

Left ventricular assist devices

Feb 2007 cosmology The Universe's Invisible Hand

Dark energy does more than hurry along the expansion of the universe. It also has a stranglehold on the shape and spacing of galaxies

paleontology Tracking an Ancient Killer

The case was cold--the bones in the mass grave were 70 million years old. But critical clues pointed to the killer's identity

climate change Methane, Plants and Climate Change

The surprising discovery that living plants produce a potent greenhouse gas poses new questions for managing global warming

info tech Making Silicon Lase

Scientists have at last persuaded silicon to emit laser beams. In a few years, computers and other devices will handle light as well as electrons

innovations Spice Healer

An ingredient in curry shows promise for treating Alzheimer's, cancer and other diseases

consumer electronics Digital TV at Last?

Analog TV broadcasting is set to end in two years, but its legacy could make the digital transition anything but smooth

nanotech Molecular Lego

Small molecular building blocks that snap together rigidly enable chemists to design and manufacture nanometer-scale structures in virtually any shape

Working Knowledge: Song Beams

Satellite radio

Technicalities: Power Walker

Nothing could match the Segway's initial hype, but how far has it come since?

Jan 2007 astrophysics What Is a Planet?

The controversial new official definition of "planet," which banished Pluto, has its flaws but by and large captures essential scientific principles

energy Is Ethanol for the Long Haul?

Ethanol could displace gasoline, but it won't pay off until we find a way to distill cornstalks, not corn.

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molecular biology The Power of Riboswitches

Recently discovered RNA segments that act like on-off switches for genes may be targets for new classes of drugs

info tech A Robot in Every Home

Microsoft's founding CEO predicts that robotics is on the verge of a grand awakening and that intelligent mobile devices will soon be everywhere

life science Evolved for Cancer?

Some scientists hope to find new clues to help fight cancer by studying the evolutionary history of the disorder in our species

earth science The Mississippi's Curious Origins

Mountains once blocked the interior of North America from the south. Geologic sleuthing reveals how that barrier was breached, allowing the Mississippi to reach the Gulf of Mexico

innovations Better Ways to Target Pain

Improved understanding of the chemical pathway on which aspirin and Vioxx act may lead to superior analgesics

Working Knowledge: Grass vs. Plastic

High-tech turf

Dec 2006 tech leaders The Scientific American 50

Nanotech viruses, global warming, greener cars, stem cells and innovative funding all take a bow in our fifth annual salute to the research, business and policy leaders of technology

planetary science The Red Planet's Watery Past

For a billion years, liquid water may have covered much of Mars

neuroscience Seeking the Neural Code

How does a storm of electrical pulses in the brain translate into information?

paleontology Lucy's Baby

An amazing skeleton from 3.3 million years ago renews debate over the evolution of upright walking

photonics The Ultimate White Light

"Supercontinuum" laser light could drive optical data transmission to record speeds

medicine Cancer Clues from Pet Dogs

Studies of canine malignancies could improve medical care for humans and man's best friend alike

metrology Weighty Matters

Replacing the century-old standard reference for mass measurement is a heavy challenge

Working Knowledge: Hot Commodity

Why lithium batteries can overheat

Nov 2006 cosmology The Dark Ages of the Universe

Between the big bang and the formation of the first stars, the cosmos was utterly lightless. But astronomers can finally start peering into the darkness

neuroscience Mirrors in the Mind

Mirror neurons, a special class of cells in the brain, may mediate our ability to mimic, learn and understand the actions and intentions of others

neuroscience Broken Mirrors: A Theory of Autism

When the brain's mirror neuron system malfunctions, perhaps lack of empathy and other characteristics of autism are the result

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info tech Malware Goes Mobile

Consumers, phone makers and security companies must move quickly to quash the threat of new viruses targeting mobile devices

ecology Reviving Dead Zones

Around the world, nutrients in runoff are turning coastal sea areas into oxygen-deprived dead zones hostile to life. But the example of the Black Sea shows these regions can be saved

technology Seeing with Superconductors

Sensors made of superconducting material can detect individual photons and have applications ranging from antiterrorism to astronomy

astronomy The Origin of the Greek Constellations

Was the Great Bear constellation named before hunter nomads first reached the Americas more than 13,000 years ago?

Working Knowledge: Gunk-Free Fiber

The sticky problem of paper recycling

Oct 2006 astrophysics How to Blow Up a Star

It is not as easy as you would think. Models of supernovae have failed to reproduce these explosions--until recently

info tech, nanotech Viral Nanoelectronics

Viruses that coat themselves in selected substances can self-assemble into such devices as liquid crystals, nanowires and electrodes

cell biology Peacekeepers of the Immune System

Regulatory T cells keep the immune system from attacking the body itself. Therapies using these cells could ease conditions from diabetes to transplant rejection

earth science Impact from the Deep

Strangling heat and gases from the earth and sea, not asteroids, most likely caused several ancient mass extinctions. Could the same conditions build again?

robotics Ballbots

A new mode of locomotion would enable robots to stand tall and move gracefully through busy everyday environments

anthropology Hydraulic Engineering in Prehistoric Mexico

Three thousand years ago precursors of the Aztecs built the first large-scale water management systems in the New World

biotech The Promise of Molecular Imprinting

Tiny plastic imprints and mimics of biological molecules could speed drug discovery, warn of bioterror attacks and remove toxins from the environment

Working Knowledge: Steady Cam

Image stabilization in digital cameras

Sep 2006 energy A Climate Repair Manual

Coping with global warming will take innovations in both energy technology and policy

energy A Plan to Keep Carbon in Check

Multiple technologies, each taking a slice out of carbon dioxide emissions, could slow warming

energy Fueling Our Transportation Future

New technologies, lighter vehicles and alternative fuels can lower greenhouse gas releases from cars and trucks

energy An Efficient Solution

In buildings and in industrial processes, using power more judiciously is the quickest, cheapest solution

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energy What to Do about Coal

Coal is plentiful, but we must manage its environmental dark side

energy The Nuclear Option

Nuclear power could stave off more than a billion tons of carbon emissions annually

energy The Rise of Renewable Energy

Solar cells, wind turbines and biofuels are poised to become major energy sources

energy High Hopes for Hydrogen

Hydrogen-fueled cars could slash carbon emissions, but it won't happen soon

energy Plan B for Energy

Eventually, even more radical energy sources will be needed. Here are some possibilities under consideration

Working Knowledge: Tall Task

A tall task for water towers

Aug 2006 astronomy The Strangest Satellites in the Solar System

With peculiar orbits that often move against the grain of the rest of the solar system, an odd breed of planetary satellites is reshaping ideas about the formation of the solar system

life science The Real Life of Pseudogenes

Disabled genes, once dismissed as detritus on the genomic landscape, trace the path of evolution--and may not always be entirely dead

space science Power for a Space Plane

Creating a revolutionary hypersonic jet engine that could propel a space plane to orbit affordably and routinely is a tough but seemingly achievable task

psychology, neuroscience The Expert Mind

The mental processes of chess grandmasters are unlike those of novices, a fact that illuminates the development of expertise in other fields

New studies of the Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau suggest earth science that climate and geology can be partners in a long, slow Climate and the Evolution of Mountains dance info tech A Great Leap in Graphics

Soon even home computers should be able to produce quick, high-quality 3-D graphics, thanks to speedier new ways to simulate the flight of light

ecology The Fish and the Forest

Salmon carcasses left behind by predatory bears are unexpectedly important sources of nutrients for forests

Working Knowledge: Going Vertical

How disk-drive makers raise storage capacities by making bits stand on end

Technicalites: Weather Gets Personal

Here's the five-day forecast for your backyard

Jul 2006 astronomy Hubble's Top 10

As they wait for the space telescope to be serviced one last time, astronomers reflect on its discoveries over the past 16 years

medicine Stem Cells: The Real Culprits in Cancer?

A dark side of stem cells--their potential to turn malignant--is at the root of a handful of cancers and may be the cause of many more. Eliminating the disease could depend on tracking down and destroying these elusive killer cells

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physics, optics The Quest for the Superlens

Built from "metamaterials" with bizarre, controversial optical properties, a superlens could produce images that include details finer than the wavelength of light that is used

life science What Birds See

Evolution has endowed birds with a system of color vision that surpasses that of all mammals, including humans

energy A Power Grid for the Hydrogen Economy

Cryogenic, superconducting conduits could be connected into a "SuperGrid" that would simultaneously deliver electrical power and hydrogen fuel

forensics CSI: Reality

Attorneys, investigators and educators have felt the impact of television's popular forensics programs

info tech A Farewell to Keywords

The reigning obsession with search technology has elicited new ways of using images to track down information on the Web

Working Knowledge: Expanding Use

Vascular stents

Jun 2006 earth science The Secrets of Supervolcanoes

Microscopic crystals of volcanic ash are revealing surprising clues about the world's most devastating eruptions

biotech Engineering Life: Building a Fab for Biology

Principles and practices learned from engineering successes can help transform biotechnology from a specialized craft into a mature industry

ecology Wading in Waste

Thanks to unchecked development along America's coasts, disease-causing microbes are increasingly fouling beaches and shellfish beds

medicine Toward Better Pain Control

Advances in understanding the cells and molecules that transmit pain signals are providing new targets for drugs that could relieve various kinds of pain--including those poorly controlled by existing therapies

info tech Dependable Software by Design

Computers fly our airliners and run most of the world's banking, communications, retail and manufacturing systems. Now powerful analysis tools will at last help software engineers ensure the reliability of their designs

medicine, pharmacology A New Assault on HIV

The constant search for weak points in the virus yields ideas for a wholly new class of drug

mathematics The Science behind Sudoku

Solving a Sudoku puzzle requires no math, not even arithmetic. Even so, the game poses a number of intriguing mathematical problems

Working Knowledge: Carbon Hooch

Oil refineries

Technicalities: The Ultimate Blood Test

A pricey way to determine health risks: 250 tests at once

May 2006 physics, cosmology The First Few Microseconds

In recent experiments, physicists have replicated conditions of the infant universe--with startling results

info tech, nanotech Bringing DNA Computer to Life

Tapping the computing power of biological molecules gives rise to tiny machines that can speak directly to living cells

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earth science The Birth of the Mighty Amazon

Insight into how the world's largest river formed is helping scientist explain the extraordinary abundance of plant and animal life in the Amazon rain forest

biotech Blockbuster Dreams

New understanding of the biology behind a successful cancer therapy may lead to a drug that can treat an array of solid tumors

astronomy Giant Telescopes of the Future

The astronomical version of Moore's law says that telescopes double in size every few decades. But today's designers think they can build a telescope three, five or even 10 times bigger within a decade

medicine Shutting Down Alzheimer's

New research reveals strategies for blocking the molecular processes that lead to this memory-destroying disease

mathematics When Slide Rules Ruled

Before electronic calculators, the mechanical slide rule dominated scientific and engineering computation

Working Knowledge: Cutting Work

Robot mowers

Apr 2006 astrophysics The Mysterious Origins of Solar Flares

New observations are beginning to reveal what triggers these huge explosions of the sun's atmosphere

medicine New Hope for Defeating Rotavirus

Although its name is unfamiliar to many, rotavirus is the leading cause of severe childhood diarrhea worldwide and a frequent killer of young children in developing nations. Now--after 30 years of investigation--vaccines that may well conquer it are ready for market

info tech Computing with Quantum Knots

A machine based on bizarre particles called anyons that represents a calculation as a set of braids in spacetime might be a shortcut to practical quantum computation

evolution Why Are Some Animals So Smart?

The unusual behavior of orangutans in a Sumatran swamp suggests a surprising answer

transportation Hybrid Vehicles Gain Traction

As car buyers turn to fuel-sipping gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, a new generation of greener hybrids is just coming over the horizon

biotech An Antibiotic Resistance Fighter

A compound that tweaks a pivotal protein may quell development of antibiotic resistance

economics Does Globablization Help or Hurt the World's Poor?

The answer is: both. The real question is how to maximize the help and minimize the hurt

Working Knowledge: Big Squeeze

Jet engines

Technicalities: Sharp Shooter

Sony's R1 combines near pro-quality images with live preview

Mar 2006 space science Shielding Space Travelers

The perils of cosmic rays pose severe, perhaps insurmountable, hurdles to human spaceflight to Mars and beyond

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biotech Unlocking the Secrets of Longevity Genes

A handful of genes that control the body's defenses during hard times can also dramatically improve health and prolong life in diverse organisms. Understanding how they work may reveal the keys to extending human life span while banishing diseases of old age

ecology The Dangers of Ocean Acidification

Much of the carbon dioxide given off from the burning of fossil fuels goes into the ocean, where it changes the acid balance of seawater. The repercussions for marine life may be enormous

info tech Cognitive Radio

Smart radios and other new wireless devices will avoid transmission bottlenecks by switching instantly to nearby frequencies that they sense are clear

mathematics The Limits of Reason

Ideas of complexity and randomness originally suggested by Gottfried W. Leibniz in 1686, combined with modern information theory, imply that there can never be a "theory of everything" for all mathematics

chemistry Little Green Molecules

Chemists have invented a new class of catalysts that can destroy some of the worst pollutants before they get into the environment

innovations, computing The Elusive Goal of Machine Translation

Statistical methods hold tha promise of moving computerized translation out of the doldrums

Working Knowledge: Spin and Swing

Tiny motors

Feb 2006 physics Plasma Accelerators

A new method of particle acceleration in which the particles "surf" on a wave of plasma promises to unleash a wealth of applications

physiology, immunology Intrigue at the Immune Synapse

Images of interacting immune cells reveal structured connections similar to the ones neurons use to communicate. Studying these synapses is providing new insights into how the cells form an information-sharing network to fight disease

defense Thwarting Nuclear Terrorism

Many civilian research reactors contain highly enriched uranium that terrorists could use to build nuclear bombs

engineering Protecting New Orleans

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast. The storm season starts again this June--and every June. Can coastal communities ever be safeguarded?

innovations, nanotech Miniaturized Power

With nanobatteries, power sources finally shrink with the rest of electronics

biotech Owning the Stuff of Life

Patents on DNA have not caused the severe disruption of biomedical research and societal norms anticipated by critics. But the deluge may be yet to come

info tech Putting a Face on the First President

Solving a surprisingly long-standing mystery, a forensic anthropologist reconstructs what George Washington looked like as a young man

Working Knowledge: Into the Breach

Levees

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Technicalities: My Virtual War

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A disturbing stroll through a simulated battlefield

Jan 2006 astrophysics The Mystery of Brown Dwarf Origins

By throwinig a wrench into the theories of planet and star formation, brown dwarfs may help fix them

biotech Genomes for All

Next-generation technologies that make reading DNA fast, cheap and widely accessible are coming in less than a decade. Their potential to revolutionize research and bring about the era of truly personalized medicine means the time to start preparing is now

earth science Tsunami: Wave of Change

In the tragic aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004, scientists and warning centers are now better equipped to forecast and model these monstrous waves

robotics Innovations from a Robot Rally

This year's Grand Challenge competition spurred advances in laser sensing, computer vision and autonomous navigation--not to mention a thrilling race for the $2-million prize

neuroscience The Maternal Brain

Pregnancy and motherhood change the structure of the female mammal's brain, making mothers attentive to their young and better at caring for them

info tech Recognition Engines

New computer designs process networked "streams" of data for better spam and virus detection

toxicology Protecting More than Animals

Reducing animal suffering often has the unexpected benefit of yielding more rigorous safety tests

Working Knowledge: No More Gears

Continuously variable transmission

Dec 2005 tech leaders The Scientific American 50

Flu preparedness, flexible electronics and stem cells all star in our fourth annual salute to the research, business and policy leaders of technology

physics An Echo of Black Holes

Sound waves in a fluid behave uncannily like light waves in space. Black holes even have acoustic counterparts. Could spacetime literally be a kind of fluid, like the ether of pre-Einsteinian physics?

medicine Tackling Malaria

Interventions available today could lead to decisive gains in prevention and treatment--if only the world would apply them

energy Smarter Use of Nuclear Waste

Fast-neutron reactors could extract much more energy from recycled nuclear fuel, minimize the risks of weapons proliferation and markedly reduce the time nuclear waste must be isolated

public health Sick of Poverty

New studies suggest that the stress of being poor has a staggeringly harmful influence on health

evolution Getting a Leg Up on Land

Recent fossil discoveries cast light on the evolution of four-limbed animals from fish

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neuroscience Inside the Mind of a Savant

Kim Peek possesses one of the most extraordinary memories ever recorded. Until we can explain his abilities, we cannot pretend to understand human cognition

Working Knowledge: Better Exposure

Digital x-rays

Technicalities: Easy Rider

Automatic transmission makes cycling a breeze

Nov 2005 medicine Preparing for a Pandemic

One day a highly contagious and lethal strain of influenza will sweep across all humanity, claiming millions of lives. It may arrive in months or not for years--but the next pandemic is inevitable. Are we ready?

physics The Illusion of Gravity

The force of gravity and one of the dimensions of space might be generated out of the peculiar interactions of particles and fields existing in a lower-dimensional realm

planetary science Did Life Come from Another World?

New research indicates that microorganisms could have survived a journey from Mars to Earth

info tech, nanotech Crossbar Nanocomputers

Crisscrossing assemblies of defect-prone nanowires could succeed today's silicon-based circuits

earth science The Workings of an Ancient Nuclear Reactor

Two billion years ago parts of an African uranium deposit spontaneously underwent nuclear fission. The details of this remarkable phenomenon are just now becoming clear

neuroscience The Neurobiology of the Self

Biologists are beginning to tease out how the brain gives rise to a constant sense of being oneself

biotech The Land of Milk and Money

The first drug from a transgenic animal may be nearing approval

Working Knowledge: Case Cracked

Nuts

Oct 2005 astrophysics Ripples in a Galactic Pond

Astronomers are coming to realize that the beautiful shapes of galaxies are not merely incidental. They are essential to the galaxies' growth and development

biotech New Bull's-Eyes for Drugs

A familiar class of cell-surface receptors turns out to offer an array of fresh targets that could yield new treatments for disorders ranging from HIV to obesity

earth science A Cool Early Earth?

The textbook view that the earth spent its first half a billion years drenched in magma could be wrong. The surface may have cooled quickly--with oceans, nascent continents and the opportunity for life to form much earlier

neuroscience The Forgotten Era of Brain Chips

The work of Jose Delgado, a pioneering star in brainstimulation research four decades ago, goes largely unacknowledged today. What happened?

innovations Better Than a Dog

The search is on for a sensor that bests a canine at detecting explosives

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genetics Founder Mutations

A special class of genetic mutations that often cause human disease is enabling scientists to trace the migration and growth of specific human populations over thousands of years

info tech Smart Wi-Fi

Wireless access to the Internet via Wi-Fi is increasingly popular, so the technology is being upgraded to ensure that users get prompt, reliable service

Working Knowledge: Paving the Way

Roads

Technicalities: Heavy-Metal Sweat

Does an infrared sauna really detoxify the body?

Sep 2005 anthropology The Climax of Humanity

Demographically and economically, our era is unique in human history. Depending on how we manage the next few decades, we could usher in environmental sustainability--or collapse

anthropology Human Population Grows Up

As we swell toward nine billion in the next half a century, humanity will undergo historic changes in the balance between young and old, rich and poor, urban and rural. Our choices now and in years ahead will determine how well we cope with our coming of age

anthropology Can Extreme Poverty Be Eliminated?

Market economics and globalization are lifting the bulk of humanity out of extreme poverty, but special measures are needed to help the poorest of the poor

ecology Sustaining the Variety of Life

A new understanding of how species become extinct suggests how to preserve them--and at a cost that doesn't break the bank

energy More Profit with Less Carbon

Focusing on energy efficiency will do more than protect Earth's climate--it will make businesses and consumers richer

agriculture The Big Potential of Small Farms

With the help of affordable irrigation and access to markets, farmers in the developing world can grow more food and climb out of poverty

public health Public Health in Transition

Chronic disorders such as heart disease and diabetes, once common only in the industrial nations, are now sweeping the rest of the globe. Meanwhile the threat of infectious diseases still looms large. New public health priorities are urgently needed

economics Economics in a Full World

The global economy is now so large that society can no longer safely pretend it operates within a limitless ecosystem. Developing an economy that can be sustained within the finite biosphere requires new ways of thinking

policy How Should We Set Priorities?

The world faces no shortage of problems--or of good ideas to solve them. Which should we tackle next? Even as leaders converge on some answers, new markets are being set up to preempt politics

Working Knowledge: Private and Cool

Smart glass

Aug 2005

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biotech Test-Tube Teeth

More complicated than they look, teeth are actually tiny organs. If tissue engineers can manufacture living replacement teeth, they would blaze a trail for engineering larger organs while leading dentistry into the age of regenerative medicine

paleontology The Early Evolution of Animals

Tiny fossils reveal that complex animal life is older than we thought--by at least as much as 50 million years

cosmology Is the Universe Out of Tune?

Like the discord of key instruments in a skillful orchestra quietly playing the wrong piece, mysterious discrepancies have arisen between theory and observations of the "music" of the cosmic microwave background. Either the measurements are wrong or the universe is stranger than we thought

info tech Morphware

Magnetic logic may usher in an era in which computing devices can change instantly from one type of hardware to another

medicine Beating a Sudden Killer

When a young woman nearly died from a ruptured aneurysm, the author and the woman's husband began searching for ways to save other aneurysm patients from catastrophe

psychology Mindful of Symbols

On the way to learning that one thing can represent another, young children often conflate the real item and its symbol. These errors show how difficult it is to start thinking symbolically

innovations, nanotech Nanobodies

Antibodies, often described as magic bullets, are actually more like tanks: big, complicated and expensive. Tinier "nanobodies," derived from camels and llamas, may be able to infiltrate a wider range of diseases at lower cost. That is the hope, at least, of one small start-up in Belgium

Working Knowledge: Ease the Grind

Ball bearings

Technicalities: Heavenly Music in Your Hand

Portable satellite radio is a palmtop cornucopia of music

Jul 2005 planetary science The Many Faces of Mars

One rover found an ancient desert; the other, a once watery world. The Red Planet's diversity rivals Earth's

physics The Mysteries of Mass

Physicists are hunting for an elusive particle that would reveal the presence of a new kind of field that permeates all of reality. Finding that Higgs field will give us a more complete understanding about how the universe works

medicine The Future of Stem Cells

A special report from Scientific American and Financial Times

climate change Can We Bury Global Warming?

Pumping carbon dioxide underground to avoid warming the atmosphere is feasible, but only if several key challenges can be met

paleontology How Dinosaurs Grew So Large--and So

Overlooked clues to how fast the creatures grew and how long they lived lurk in their bones

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Small info tech Shrinking Circuits with Water

Semiconductor manufacturers are giving their products a dousing in the name of faster, smaller, cheaper

biotech New Movement in Parkinson's

Recent genetic and cellular discoveries are among the advances pointing to improved treatments for this increasingly common disorder

archaeology Simulating Ancient Societies

Computer modeling is helping unravel the archaeological mysteries of the American Southwest

Working Knowledge: Make It Quick

Rapid prototyping

Jun 2005 biotech Buying Time in Suspended Animation

An ability to put the human body on hold could safeguard the critically injured or preserve donor organs for transport. Does the power to reversibly stop our biological clocks already lie within us?

cosmology Inconstant Constants

Do the inner workings of nature change with time?

info tech Conversational Computers

Efforts to make computers speak naturally will let machines better communicate meaning

health Obesity: An Overblown Epidemic?

A growing number of dissenting researchers accuse government and medical authorities--as well as the media--of misleading the public about the health consequences of rising body weights

physics Making Cold Antimatter

Low-energy atoms of antihydrogen will enable researchers to test a fundamental property of the universe

archaeology The Morning of the Modern Mind

Controversial discoveries suggest that the roots of our vaunted intellect run far deeper than is commonly believed

policy Doubt Is Their Product

Industry groups are fighting government regulation by fomenting scientific uncertainty

Working Knowledge: Lean and Mean

Hybrid vehicles

Technicalities: The Multipath to Clarity

Receiving HDTV over the air takes luck and lots of patience

May 2005 neuroscience His Brain, Her Brain

It turns out that male and female brains differ quite a bit in architecture and activity. Research into these variations could lead to sex-specific treatments for disorders such as depression and schizophrenia

physics Quantum Black Holes

Physicists could soon be creating black holes in the laboratory

info tech Neuromorphic Microchips

Compact, efficient electronics based on the brain's neural system could yield implantable silicon retinas to restore vision, as well as robotic eyes and other smart sensors

meteorology A Bolt out of the Blue

New research shows that lightning is a surprisingly complex and mystifying phenomenon

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medicine Can Chlamydia Be Stopped?

Chlamydia is a rampant sexually transmitted disease, the world's leading cause of preventable blindness and a possible contributor to heart disease. Recent discoveries are suggesting new ways to curtail its spread

planetary science What Heated the Asteroids?

Collisions among asteroids in the early history of the solar system may help explain why many of these rocky bodies reached high temperatures

biotech Molecular Treasure Hunt

A software tool elicits previously undiscovered gene or protein pathways by combing through hundreds of thousands of journal articles

Working Knowledge: Thin Is In

Slim TV

Apr 2005 info tech Stopping Spam

What can be done to stanch the flood of junk e-mail messages?

earth science Probing the Geodynamo

Scientists have long wondered why the polarity of the earth's magnetic field occasionally reverses. Recent studies of our planet's churning interior are offering intriguing clues about how the next reversal may begin

biotech, genetics The Alternative Genome

The old axiom "one gene, one protein" no longer holds true. The more complex an organism, the more likely it became that way by extracting multiple protein meanings from individual genes

policy Shaping the Future

Scientific uncertainty often becomes an excuse to ignore long-term problems, such as climate change. It doesn't have to be so

psychology How Animals Do Business

Humans and other animals share a heritage of economic tendencies--including cooperation, repayment of favors and resentment at being shortchanged

materials science Low-Temperature Superconductivity Is Warming Up

Magnesium diboride defies the once conventional wisdom about what makes a good superconductor. It becomes superconducting near the relativity warm temperature of 40 kelvins--which promises a variety of applications

innovations A Toxin against Pain

For years, scientists have promised a new wave of drugs derived from sea life. A recently approved analgesic that is a synthetic version of a snail toxin has become one of the first marine pharmaceuticals

Working Knowledge: Uniform Variety

Tennis balls

Technicalities: Hot Stuff

New thermal cameras show the world in infrared

Mar 2005 cosmology Misconceptions about the Big Bang

Baffled by the expansion of the universe? You're not alone. Even astronomers frequently get it wrong

climate change How Did Humans First Alter Global Climate?

A bold new hypothesis suggests that our ancestors' farming practices kicked off global warming thousands of years before we started burning coal and driving cars

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info tech If Smallpox Strikes Portland…

"EpiSims" unleashes virtual plagues in real cities to see how social networks spread disease. That knowledge might help stop epidemics

innovations On the Road to Fuel-Cell Cars

Although fleets of fuel-cell prototypes are hitting the streets, basic technical and market obstacles must be hurdled before the clean, hydrogen-powered cars reach dealer showrooms

biotech Taming Lupus

Teasing out the causes of this autoimmune disorder is a daunting challenge. But the payoff should be better, more specific treatments

biography Inventor of Dreams

Nikola Tesla, the father of today's AC electrical system and other key inventions, often failed to bring his visionary ideas to real-world fruition

ecology Endangered Wild Equids

Wild zebra, asses and horses are being killed for meat, medicine and money. Combined with vanishing habitats and naturally slow reproduction, such predation threatens remaining populations

Working Knowledge: Take My Pixel

Digital photography

Feb 2005 biotech An Endangered Species in the Stomach

Is the decline of Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium living in the human stomach since time immemorial, good or bad for public health?

physics Atom Chips

Magnetic fields on a microchip can produce tiny, coherent clouds of atoms called Bose-Einstein condensates. The chips could have uses n ultraprecise sensors for aircraft and in quantum computing

anthropology The Littlest Human

A spectacular find in Indonesia reveals that a strikingly different hominid shared the earth with our kind in the not so distant past

info science Seeking Better Web Searches

Deluged with superfluous responses to online queries, users will soon benefit from improved search engines that deliver customized results

neuroscience Making Memories Stick

Some moments become lasting recollections while others just evaporate. The reason may involve the same processes that shape our brains to begin with

innovations, nanotech Nanotubes in the Clean Room

Talismans of a thousand graduate projects may soon make their way into electronic memories

technology The New College Try

Innovation is alive and kicking on campus

Working Knowledge: Reducing a Roar

Noise-canceling headphones

Technicalities: Every Breath You Take

Now a high-tech shirt can record your vital signs all day and night

Jan 2005

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life science Immunity's Early-Warning System

The innate immune response constitutes the first line of defense against invading microbes and plays a role in inflammatory disease. Surprising insights into how this system operates could lead to new therapies for a host of infectious and immune-related disorders

astrophysics The Midlife Crisis of the Cosmos

Although it is not as active as it used to be, the universe is still forming stars and building black holes at an impressive pace

info science Considerate Computing

Digital gadgets demand ever more of our attention with their rude and thoughtless interruptions. Engineers are now testing computers, phones and cars that sense when you're busy and spare you from distraction

biotech Capturing a Killer Flu Virus

The deadliest flu strain in history has been resurrected. What can the 1918 virus reveal about why it killed millions and where more like it may be lurking?

gallery Eye of the Beholder

Wonders under the lens of the optical microscope

innovations, cryptography Best-Kept Secrets

Quantum cryptography has marched from theory to laboratory to real products

psychology Exploding the Self-Esteem Myth

Boosting people's sense of self-worth has become a national preoccupation. Yet surprisingly, research shows that such efforts are of little value in fostering academic progress or preventing undesirable behavior

Working Knowledge: Open Sesame

Keyless entry

Dec 2004 tech leaders The Scientific American 50

Our third annual salute to the people and institutions brightening our future recognizes accomplishments in stem cells, nanocomputers, mini fuel cells and more

medicine The Brain's Own Marijuana

Research into natural chemicals that mimic marijuana's effects in the brain could help to explain--and suggest treatments for--pain, anxiety, eating disorders, phobias and other conditions

science and art Optics and Realism in Renaissance Art

A much publicized assertion holds that 15th-century painters achieved a new level of realism with the help of lenses and mirrors. But recent findings cast doubt on that idea

paleontology The Dinosaurs of Arctic Alaska

Seventy-five million years ago, a group of hardy dinosaurs thrived in the harsh climate of what is now northern Alaska

astronomy The Case of the Pilfered Planet

Did the British steal Neptune?

biology Are Viruses Alive?

Although viruses challenge our concept of what "living" means, they are vital members of the web of life

Working Knowledge: Crowded Skies

Air traffic control

Technicalities: More Than Just Music

Accessories can enhance the iPod music player

Nov 2004

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biotech Rebuilding Broken Hearts

Biologists and engineers working together in the fledgling field of tissue engineering are within reach of one of their greatest goals: constructing a living human heart patch

physics Black Hole Computers

In keeping with the spirit of the age, researchers can think of the laws of physics as computer programs and the universe as a computer

climate change Abrupt Climate Change

Winter temperatures plummeting six degrees Celsius and sudden droughts scorching farmland around the globe are not just the stuff of scary movies. Such striking climate jumps have happened before--sometimes within a matter of years

defense Holes in the Missile Shield

The national missile defense now being deployed by the U.S. should be replaced with a more effective system

info tech Computing at the Speed of Light

Emerging ways to make photonic connections to electronic microchips may dramatically change the shape of computers in the decade ahead

neuroscience Music and the Brain

What is the secret of music's strange power? Seeking an answer, scientists are piecing together a picture of what happens in the brains of listeners and musicians

innovations A Split at the Core

Physics is forcing the microchip industry to redesign its most lucrative products. That is bad news for software companies

Working Knowledge: Keep the Beat

Pacemakers

Oct 2004 astrophysics A Universe of Disks

New research reveals the dynamics of the spinning disks of gas that surround young stars and gargantuan black holes

molecular biology The Hidden Genetic Program of Complex Organisms

Biologists assumed that proteins alone regulate the genes of humans and other complex organisms. But an overlooked regulatory system based on RNA may hold the keys to development and evolution

meteorology Controlling Hurricanes

Can hurricanes and other severe tropical storms be moderated or deflected?

info tech The Internet of Things

The principles that gave rise to the Internet are now leading to a new kind of network of everyday devices, an "Internet-0"

physiology Dying to See

Studies of the lens of the eye not only could reveal ways to prevent cataracts but also might illuminate the biology of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other diseases in which cells commit suicide

policy Fixing the Vote

Electronic voting machines promise to make elections more accurate than ever before, but only if certain problems--with the machines and the wider electoral process--are rectified

biotech Hitting the Genetic Off Switch

A host of start-ups is speeding development of a new class of drugs that block the action of RNA

Working Knowledge: Shock Absorbed

Earthquake protection

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All-in-one cell phones can do just about anything

Sep 2004 physics The Patent Clerk's Legacy

In 1905 the musings of a functionary in the Swiss patent office changed the world forever. His intellectual bequest remains for a new generation of physicists vying to concoct a theory of everything

consumer electronics Everyday Einstein

Finding your way out of the woods with GPS? Hanging a picture frame with a laser level? Making photocopies? Better thank Einstein

technology Atomic Spin-offs for the 21st Century

A new generation of technologies aims to put Einstein's theories to work in computers, hospitals - even submarines

physics Einstein's Compass

What was it about the magnetism of an iron bar that could divert Einstein from perfecting his celebrated theory of general relativity?

physics A Cosmic Conundrum

A new incarnation of Einstein's cosmological constant may point the way beyond general relativity

physics The String Theory Landscape

The theory of strings predicts that the universe might occupy one random "valley" out of a virtually infinite selection of valleys in a vast landscape of possibilities

physics Was Einstein Right?

Unlike nearly all his contemporaries, Albert Einstein thought quantum mechanics would give way to a classical theory. Some researchers nowadays are inclined to agree

physics The Search for Relativity Violations

To uncover evidence for an ultimate theory, scientists are looking for infractions of Einstein's once sacrosanct physical principle

physics A Century of Einstein

Scientific American has covered Einstein's theories - and the refinements and reactions to them - ever since scientists began to grasp the import of his landmark 1905 papers. Read on for a sampling of our reports, some by leading physicists of their times

Working Knowledge: String Theory

Yo-yo

Aug 2004 biotech Back to the Future of Cereals

Genomic studies of the world's major grain crops, together with a technology called marker-assisted breeding, could yield a new green revolution

space science Electrodynamic Tethers in Space

By exploiting fundamental physical laws, tethers may provide low-cost eletrical power, drag, thrust, and artificial gravity for spaceflight

medicine Virtual-Reality Therapy

Patients can get relief from pain or overcome their phobias by immersing themselves in computer-generated worlds

weaponry Nuclear Bunker Buster Bombs

New burrowing nuclear weapons could destroy subterranean military facilities - but their strategic and tactical utility is questionable

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info tech Next Stretch for Plastic Electronics

Organic semiconductor devices can make more than just bendable displays. They will find use in wearable electronics, chemical sensors, skin for robots and innumerable other applications

cosmology Questions That Plague Physics

Lawrence M. Krauss speaks about unfinished business

public health Arsenic Crisis in Bangladesh

Arsenic in drinking water could severly poison 50 million people worldwide. Strategies being tested in Bangladesh might help prevent the problem

Working Knowledge: Seeing Inside

Medical imaging

Technicalities: Crippled but Not Crashed Neural networks can help pilots land damaged planes Jul 2004 astronomy The Extraordinary Deaths of Ordinary Stars

The demise of the sun in five billion years will be a spectacular sight. Like other stars of its ilk, the sun will unfurl into nature's premier work of art: a planetary nebula

genetics Gene Doping

Gene therapy for restoring muscle lost to age or disease is poised to enter the clinic, but elite athletes are eyeing it to enhance performance. Can it be long before gene doping changes the nature of sport?

info tech, nanotech Magnetic Field Nanosensors

Tiny devices that take advantage of a recently discovered physical effect called extraordinary magnetoresistance could be used in blazingly fast computer disk drives with huge capacities and in dozens of other applications involving the sensing of magnetic fields

earth science When Methane Made Climate

Today methane-producing microbes are confined to oxygen-free settings, such as the guts of cows, but in Earth's distant past, they ruled the world

biotech Detecting Mad Cow Disease

New tests can rapidly identify the presence of dangerous prions - the agents responsible for the malady - and several compounds offer hope for treatment

mathematics The Shapes of Space

A Russian mathematician has proved the century-old Poincaré conjecture and completed the catalogue of threedimensional spaces. He might earn a $1-million prize

cryptography The Mystery of the Voynich Manuscript

New analysis of a famously cryptic medieval document suggests that it contains nothing but gibberish

Working Knowledge: Big Air

Pipe organs

Jun 2004 planetary science Saturn at Last!

After a seven-year journey, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft is preparing to unveil the mysteries of Saturn, its rings and its giant moon, Titan

nanotech Nanotechnology and the Double Helix

DNA is more than just the secret of life - it is also a versatile component for making nanoscopic structures and devices

ecology Lessons from the Wolf

Bringing the top predator back to Yellowstone has triggered a cascade of unanticipated changes in the park's ecosystem

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info tech Smart Sensors to Network the World

An emerging class of pillbox-size computers, outfitted with sensors and linked together by radios, can form perceptive networks able to monitor a factory, a store - even an ecosystem. Such devices will more intimately connect the cyberworld to the real world

biotech The Stem Cell Challenge

What hurdles stand between the promise of human stem cell therapies and real treatments in the clinic?

weaponry Nuclear Explosions in Orbit

The spread of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles raises fears of atomic attacks on the global satellite system

Technicalities: Security at Your Fingertips

Fingerprint sensors can guard your computer data

May 2004 cosmology The Myth of the Beginning of Time

String theory suggests that the big bang was not the origin of the universe but simply the outcome of a preexisting state

energy Questions about a Hydrogen Economy

Much excitement surrounds the progress in fuel cells, but the quest for a hydrogen economy is no trivial pursuit

biotech Synthetic Life

Biologists are crafting libraries of interchangeable DNA parts and assembling them inside microbes to create programmable, living machines

neuroscience Freud Returns

Neuroscientists are finding that their biological descriptions of the brain may fit together best when integrated by psychological theories Freud sketched a century ago. Also: Counterpoint from J. Allan Hobson, who argues that Freud's thinking is still highly suspect

From hikers navigating with handheld locators to pilots landing in zero-visibility conditions, the Global Positioning info tech Retooling the Global Positioning System System now serves more than 30 million users. See what's coming next planetary science The Transit of Venus

When Venus crosses the face of the sun this June, scientists will celebrate one of the greatest stories in the history of astonomy

Working Knowledge: Clear Favorite

Laser eye surgery

Puzzling Adventures: Jump Snatch

Jumping to a conclusion

Apr 2004 neuroscience The Other Half of the Brain

Mounting evidence suggests that glial cells, overlooked for half a century, may be nearly as critical to thinking and learning as neurons are

planetary science The Hidden Members of Planetary Systems

The solar system consists of more than just planets; it is also a beehive of asteroids and comets. Is that the case for other planetary systems, too?

psychology The Tyranny of Choice

Logic suggests that having options allows people to select precisely what makes them happiest. But, as studies show, abundant choice often makes for misery

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info tech The First Nanochips

As scientists and engineers continue to push back the limits of chipmaking technology, they have quietly entered into the nanometer realm

biotech Evolution Encoded

New discoveries about the rules governing how genes encode proteins have revealed nature's sophisticated "programming" for protecting life from catastrophic errors while accelerating evolution

space science Blastoffs on a Budget

Private ventures seeking to make routine access to space affordable see big potential in going small

Working Knowledge: Complete Burn

Fuel injection

Technicalities: Plug-and-Play Robots

Personal robots may soon be as cheap and customizable as personal computers

Puzzling Adventures: Bluffhead

The game of Bluffhead

Mar 2004 planetary science The Spirit of Exploration

NASA's rover fights the curse of the Angry Red Planet

info tech, robotics A New Race of Robots

Around the U.S., engineers are finishing one-year crash projects to create robots able to dash 200 miles through the Mojave Desert in a day, unaided by humans. Scientific American tailed the odds-on favorite team for 10 months and found that major innovations in robotics are not enough to win such a contest. Obsession is also required

climate change Defusing the Global Warming Time Bomb

Global warming is real, and the consequences are potentially disastrous. Nevertheless, practical actions, which would also yield a cleaner, healthier atmosphere, could slow, and eventually stop, the process

biotech The Addicted Brain

Drug abuse produces long-term changes in the reward circuitry of the brain. Knowledge of the cellular and molecular details of these adaptations could lead to new treatments for the compulsive behaviors that underlie addiction

earth science The Threat of Silent Earthquakes

A lack of rumbling does not necessarily make an earthquake harmless. Some of the quiet types could presage devasting tsunamis or larger, ground-shaking shocks

science and society The Fairest Vote of All

All voting systems have drawbacks. But by taking into account how voters rank candidates, one system gives the truest reflection of the electorate's views

Working Knowledge: Rock Clock

Quartz watches

Puzzling Adventures: Grid Speed

Traffic on the grid

Feb 2004 biotech Insights into Shock

Still a last step before death for thousands of people, shock is shedding some of it medical mystery and becoming more treatable

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cosmology The Cosmic Symphony

New observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation show that the early universe resounded with harmonious oscillations

cosmology Reading the Blueprints of Creation

The latest maps of the cosmos have surveyed hundreds of thousands of galaxies, whose clustering has grown from primordial fluctuations

cosmology From Slowdown to Speedup

Distant supernovae are revealing the crucial time when the expansion of the universe changed from decelerating to accelerating

cosmology Out of the Darkness

Maybe cosmic acceleration isn't caused by dark energy after all but by an inexorable leakage of gravity out of our world

info tech Better Displays with Organic Films

Light-emitting organic materials offer brighter and more efficient displays than LEDs. An you'll be able to unroll them across a tabletop

criminology The Case of the Unsolved Crime Decline

Criminologists have not yet cracked the case, but they now know more about why U.S. crime rates plummeted in the 1990s - and how to help keep them down

Working Knowledge: Data Driven

Automobile black box

Technicalities: A Walk in the Woods

Satellites show the way in the new sport of geocaching

Puzzling Adventures: All or Nothing

Numerical messages

Jan 2004 astronomy Our Growing, Breathing Galaxy

Long assumed to be a relic of the distant past, the Milky Way turns out to be a dynamic, living object

neuroscience Decoding Schizophrenia

A fuller understanding of signaling in the brain of people with this disorder offers new hope for improved therapy

Already common in security systems and tollbooths, radioinfo tech frequency identification tags and readers stand poised to take RFID: A Key to Automating Everything over many processes now accomplished by human toil physics Atoms of Space and Time

We perceive space and time to be continuous, but if the amazing theory of loop quantum gravity is correct, they actually come in discrete pieces

archaeology Women and Men at Çatalhöyük

The largest known Neolithic settlement yields clues about the roles played by the two sexes in early agricultural societies

environment Spring Forward

As temperatures rise sooner in spring, interdependent species in many ecosystems are shifting dangerously out of sync

mathematics The Curious History of the First Pocket Calculator

It was called the Curta, and it proved lifesaving when its inventor was trapped in a Nazi concentration camp

Working Knowledge: Phantom Gain

Virtual 1st down marker

Puzzling Adventures: Verifying Your Circuits

Verifying circuits

Dec 2003

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tech leaders The Scientific American 50

Our second annual salute to the elite of research, industry and politics whose accomplishments are shaping a better, wiser technological future for the world

biology Does Race Exist?

If races are defined as genetically discrete groups, no. But researchers can use some genetic information to group individuals into clusters with medical relevance

planetary science The New Moon

Recent lunar missions have shown that there is still much to learn about Earth's closest neighbor

aviation The Equivocal Success of the Wright Brothers

The Wrights used aerial control as the key to building and flying the first airplane. But trying to refine their invention in secret nearly cost them their glory

earth science The Day the World Burned

The dinosaur-killing impact set off a wave of wildfires that consumed Earth's forests

biotech The Unseen Genome: Beyond DNA

DNA was once considered the sole repository of heritable information. But biologists are starting to decipher a separate, much more malleable layer of information encoded within the chromosomes. Genetics, make way for epigenetics

Working Knowledge: At the Moment

Electronic skis

Technicalities: Science for Cops

A behind-the-scenes look at a high-tech police lab

Puzzling Adventures: You Don't Say!

Parallel repetition

Nov 2003 biotech The Unseen Genome: Gems among the Junk

Just when scientists thought they had DNA almost figured out, they are discovering in chromosomes two vast, but largely hidden, layers of information that affect inheritance, development and disease

space science The Asteroid Tugboat

To prevent an asteroid from hitting Earth, a space tug equipped with plasma engines could give it a push

robotics An Army of Small Robots

For robot designers these days, small is beautiful

physics The Future of String Theory - A Conversation with Brian Greene

The physicist and best-selling author demystifies the ultimate theories of space and time, the nature of genius, multiple universes, and more

evolution Stranger in a New Land

Stunning finds in the Republic of Georgia upend long-standing ideas about the first hominids to journey out of Africa

aviation Flying on Flexible Wings

Future aircraft may fly more like birds, adapting geometrics of their wings to best suit changing flight conditions

neuroscience Why We Sleep

The reasons that we sleep are gradually becoming less enigmatic

Working Knowledge: Staying Power

Nails and staples

Puzzling Adventures: Liquid Switchboard

Liquid switchboard

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Oct 2003 astronomy The Unexpected Youth of Globular Clusters

Conventional wisdom says that globular star clusters are the stodgy old codgers of the universe, but it turns out that many of these clusters are young

materials science Artificial Muscles

Novel motion-producing devices - actuators, motors, generators - based on polymers that change shape when stimulated electrically are nearing commercialization

environment Meltdown in the North

Sea ice and glaciers are melting, permafrost is thawing, tundra is yielding to shrubs - and scientists are struggling to understand how these changes will affect not just the Arctic but the entire planet

biotech Tumor-Busting Viruses

A new technique called virotherapy harnesses viruses, those banes of humankind, to stop another scourge--cancer

space science China's Great Leap Upward

By boosting astronauts into orbit, China hopes to become the newest superpower in space

economics The Economics of Child Labor

Campaigns against child labor are most likely to succeed when they combine the long arm of the law with the invisible hand of the marketplace

Working Knowledge: Cool Shirt

Smart fabrics

Technicalities: The Infinite Arcade Machine

Building the world's largest video arcade - in your family room

Puzzling Adventures: Strategic Bullying

Strategic bullying

Sep 2003 neuroscience Brain, Repair Yourself

How do you fix a broken brain? The answers may literally lie within our heads. The same approaches might also boost the power of an already healthy brain

neuroscience The Quest for a Smart Pill

New drugs to improve memory and cognitive performance in impaired individuals are under intensive study. Their possible use in healthy people already triggers debate

neuroscience Stimulating the Brain

Activating the brain's circuitry with pulsed magnetic fields may help ease depression, enhance cognition, even fight fatigue

neuroscience Mind Readers

Brain-scanning machines may soon be capable of discerning rudimentary thoughts and separating fact from fiction

neuroscience The Mutable Brain

Score one for believers in the adage "use it or lose it." Targeted mental and physical exercises seem to improve the brain in unexpected ways

neuroscience Taming Stress

An emerging understanding of the brain's stress pathways points toward treatments for anxiety and depression beyond Valium and Prozac

neuroscience Diagnosing Disorders

Psychiatric illnesses are often hard to recognize, but genetic testing and neuroimaging could someday be used to improve detection

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Working Knowledge: On the Money

Bill validators

Puzzling Adventures: Missing Hiker

Find the missing hiker

Aug 2003 biotech Censors of the Genome

Biologists have been surprised to discover that most animal and plant cells contain a built-in system to silence individual genes by shredding the RNA they produce. Biotech companies are already working to exploit it

info tech Demystifying the Digital Divide

The simple binary notion of technology haves and have-nots doesn't quite compute

neuroscience Rethinking the "Lesser Brain"

Long thought to be solely the brain's coordinator of body movement, the cerebellum is now known to be active during a wide variety of cognitive and perceptual activities

Theoretical results about black holes suggest that the universe physics Information in the Holographic Universe could be like a gigantic hologram archaeology Questioning the Delphic Oracle

When science meets religion at this ancient Greek site, the two turn out to be on better terms than scholars had originally thought

evolution Planet of the Apes

During the Miocene epoch, as many as 100 species of apes roamed throughout the Old World. New fossils suggest that the ones that gave rise to living great apes and humans evolved not in Africa but Eurasia

Working Knowledge: Seeing Green

Night vision

Technicalities: Converging on the Couch

New devices connect the stereo and TV to the home data network

Puzzling Adventures: Short Taps

Outwitting spies

Jul 2003 astronomy The Galactic Odd Couple

Why do giant black holes and stellar baby booms, two phenomena with little in common, so often go together?

environment Counting the Last Fish

Overfishing has slashed stocks - especially of large predator species - to an all-time low worldwide, according to new data. If we don't manage this resource, we will be left with a diet of jellyfish and plankton stew

info tech Antennas Get Smart

Adaptive antenna arrays can vastly improve wireless communications by connecting mobile users with virtual wires

biotech Untangling the Roots of Cancer

Recent evidence challenges long-held theories of how cells turn malignant - and suggests new ways to stop tumors before they spread

archaeology Uncovering the Keys to the Lost Indus Cities

Recently excavated artifacts from Pakistan have inspired a reevaluation of one of the great early urban cultures - the enigmatic Indus Valley civilization

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medicine Pumphead

In what has become almost routine, the heart-lung machine "breathes" for patients during coronary-bypass operations. But could this lifesaving device have a dark side?

Insights: Terms of Engagement

Irving Weissman directs a new institute dedicated to the cloning of human embryonic stem cells. Just don't call it cloning

Working Knowledge: Fine Focus

Scanning electron microscopes

Puzzling Adventures: High Spies

Tracking contraband shipments

Jun 2003 medicine Shoot This Deer

Chronic wasting disease, a cousin of mad cow disease, is spreading among wild deer in parts of the U.S. Left unchecked, the fatal sickness could threaten North American deer populations - and maybe livestock and humans

astronomy The Unearthly Landscapes of Mars

The Red Planet is no dead planet

computing Self-Repairing Computers

By embracing the inevitability of system failures, recoveryoriented computing returns service faster

biotech Pandora's Baby

In vitro fertilization was once considered by some to be a threat to our very humanity. Cloning inspires similar fears

physics The Dawn of Physics Beyond the Standard Model

The Standard Model of particle physics is at a pivotal moment in its history: it is both at the height of its success and on the verge of being surpassed

info science Chain Letters and Evolutionary Histories

A study of chain letters shows how to infer the family tree of anything that evolves over time, from biological genomes to languages to plagiarized schoolwork

May 2003 cosmology Parallel Universes

Not just a staple of science fiction, other universes are a direct implication of cosmological observations

neuroscience Hearing Colors, Tasting Shapes

People with synesthesia - whose senses blend together - are providing valuable clues to understanding the organization and functions of the human brain

info tech Scale-Free Networks

Scientists have recently discovered that various complex systems have an underlying architecture governed by shared organizing principles. This insight has important implications for a host of applications, from drug development to Internet security

archaeology The Iceman Reconsidered

Where was the Iceman's home and what was he doing at the high mountain pass where he died? Painstaking research especially of plant remains found with the body - contradicts many of the initial speculations

biotech The Orphan Drug Backlash

The Orphan Drug Act of 1983 was supposed to provide incentives for private industry to develop needed, but unprofitable, drugs to treat rare diseases. It has done so, but not without eliciting controversy

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Working Knowledge: Catch a Wave

Antennas

Puzzling Adventures: Bounded Regrets

Competitive analysis and the regret ratio

Apr 2003 astrophysics Solving the Solar Neutrino Problem

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory has solved a 30-year-old mystery by showing that neutrinos from the sun change species en route to the earth

biotech Where a Pill Won't Reach

How to get drugs where they need to go

earth science Mount Etna's Ferocious Future

Europe's biggest and most active volcano is growing more dangerous. Luckily, the transformation is happening slowly

genetics A Conversation with James D. Watson

The co-discoverer of DNA's double helix reflects on the molecular model that changed both science and society

life science Questioning the Oldest Signs of Life

In the past year scientists have been forced to reconsider how they identify life in the most ancient rocks on earth - and elsewhere in the solar system

info tech The Grid: Computing without Bounds

By linking digital processors, storage systems and software on a global scale, grid technology is poised to transform computing from an individual and corporate activity into a general utility

medicine The Lowdown on Ginkgo Biloba

This popular herbal supplement may slightly improve your memory, but you can get the same effect by eating a candy bar

Working Knowledge: Potent Patches

Transdermal drug delivery

Technicalities: Screen Writing

The tablet PC is a high-tech tool for scribblers

Puzzling Adventures: The Graph of Life Graphing the origins of species Mar 2003 physics The Search for Dark Matter

Dark matter is usually thought of as something "out there." But we will never truly understand it unless we can bring it down to earth

energy, environment Dismantling Nuclear Reactors

Taking apart a nuclear power plant that has reached the end of its life is a complicated task. But not for the reasons you might expect

biotech Restoring Aging Bones

The bone decay of osteoporosis can cripple, but an improved understanding of how the body builds and loses bone is leading to ever better prevention and treatment options

info tech Digital Entertainment Jumps the Border

New broadcasting technologies are challenging the restrictions on the viewing of American television shows and films in other countries

evolution Which Came First, the Feather or the Bird?

A long-cherished view of how and why feathers evolved has now been overturned

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neuroscience Bugs in the Brain

Time for a bit of humility. Some microorganisms can manipulate neural circuitry better than we can

Working Knowledge: No Two Alike

Fingerprint readers

Puzzling Adventures: Safecracking

The safecracker's strategy

Feb 2003 astrophysics Magnetars

Some stars are magnetized so intensely that they emit huge bursts of magnetic energy and alter the very nature of the quantum vacuum

neuroscience Why? The Neuroscience of Suicide

New research addresses the wrenching question left when someone ends his or her own life

info tech Evolving Inventions

Computer programs that function via Darwinian evolution are creating inventions that are novel and useful enough to be patented

environment Explaining Frog Deformities

An eight-year investigation into the cause of a shocking increase in deformed amphibians has sorted out the roles of three prime suspects

weaponry Satellite-Guided Munitions

Highly accurate yet affordable strike weapons, proved in Afghanistan, are the latest upgrades to America's arsenal

medicine Drink to Your Health?

Three decades of research shows that drinking small to moderate amounts of alcohol has cardiovascular benefits. A thorny issue for physicians is whether to recommend drinking to some patients

Working Knowledge: Carbon Copy

Synthetic diamonds

Technicalities: Robots That Suck

Have they finally come out with a robot for the rest of us?

Puzzling Adventures: Five Trusty Flares

Choosing trustworthy flares

Jan 2003 medicine New Light on Medicine

Pigments that turn caustic on exposure to light can fight cancer, blindness and heart disease. Their light-induced toxicity may also help explain the origin of vampire tales

info tech, nanotech The Nanodrive Project

Inventing a nanotechnology device for mass production and consumer use is trickier than it sounds

paleontology An Ancestor to Call Our Own

Controversial new fossils could bring scientists closer than ever to the origin of humanity

nutrition Rebuilding the Food Pyramid

The dietary guide introduced a decade ago has led people astray. Some fats are healthy for the heart, and many carbohydrates clearly are not

earth science Earthquake Conversations

Contrary to prevailing wisdom, large earthquakes can interact in unexpected ways. This exciting discovery could dramatically improve scientists' ability to pinpoint future shocks

physics The Science of Bubbly

Scientists study the nose-tickling effervescence of champagne - an alluring and unmistakable aspect of its appeal

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Working Knowledge: Scratch Match

Ballistics

Puzzling Adventures: Protein Chime

Timing with proteins

Dec 2002 tech leaders The Scientific American 50

Our first annual celebration of visionaries from the worlds of research, industry and politics whose recent accomplishments point toward a brighter technological future for everyone

astronomy The Brightest Explosions in the Universe

Every time a gamma-ray burst goes off, a black hole is born

biotech The Enigma of Huntington's Disease

Nearly 10 years after scientists isolated the gene responsible for Huntington's, they are still searching for how it wreaks its devastation

climate change On Thin Ice

How soon humanity will have to move inland to escape rising seas depends in great part on how quickly West Antarctica's massive ice sheet shrinks. Scientists are finally beginning to agree on what controls the size of the sheet and its rate of disintegration

evolution Food for Thought

Dietary change was a driving force in human evolution

info tech Order in Pollock's Chaos

Computer analysis is helping to explain the appeal of Jackson Pollock's paintings. The artist's famous drips and swirls create fractal patterns, similar to those formed in nature by trees, clouds and coastlines

Working Knowledge: Superhot Dots

Ink-jet printing

Technicalities: Getting Real

What's next in computer displays? Depth and shadows

Puzzling Adventures: Plumbers

Find the blabbermouth

Nov 2002 astronomy When Stars Collide

When two stars smash into each other, it can be a very pretty sight (as long as you're not too close by). These occurrences were once considered impossible, but they have turned out to be common in certain galactic neighborhoods

biotech The Long Arm of the Immune System

Dendritic cells catch invaders and tell the immune system when and how to respond. Vaccines depend on them, and scientists are even employing the cells to stir up immunity against cancer

zoology Gladiators: A New Order of Insect

A mystery in amber is solved on a desert mountain with a discovery that has stunned entomologists

info tech Rules for a Complex Quantum World

An exciting new fundamental discipline of research combines information science and quantum mechanics

defense Weapons of Mass Disruption

Radiological terror weapons could blow radioactive dust through cities, causing panic, boosting cancer rates and forcing costly cleanups

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environment Burning Questions

Scientists work to understand and control the plague of wildfires in the West

Working Knowledge: See the Wind

Weather radar

Puzzling Adventures: Perfect Billiards

Perfect billiards: working the angles

Oct 2002 robotics Controlling Robots with the Mind

People with nerve or limb injuries may one day be able to command wheelchairs, prosthetics and even paralyzed arms and legs by "thinking them through" the motions

astronomy The Emptiest Places

Space comes in degrees of emptiness, but even in the wasteland between galaxies it is not a complete void

technology Vehicle of Change

Hydrogen fuel-cell cars could be the catalyst for a cleaner tomorrow

biology Skin Deep

Throughout the world, human skin color has evolved to be dark enough to prevent sunlight from destroying the nutrient folate but light enough to foster the production of vitamin D

defense Technology against Terror

Biologists and engineers are devising early-warning systems that can detect a bioterrorist attack in time to blunt its effects

info tech Lightning Rods for Nanoelectronics

Electrostatic discharges threaten to halt further shrinking and acceleration of electronic devices in the future

Working Knowledge: Vying for Eyes

Flat displays

Technicalities: Computers for the Third World

The Simputer is a handheld device designed for rural villagers

Puzzling Adventures: Prime Spies

Prime spies

Sep 2002 physics Real Time

The pace of living quickens continuously, yet a full understanding of things temporal still eludes us

physics That Mysterious Flow

From the fixed past to the tangible present to the undecided future, it feels as though time flows inexorably on. But that is an illusion

physics A Hole at the Heart of Physics

Physicists can't seem to find the time - literally. Can philosophers help?

physics How to Build a Time Machine

It wouldn't be easy, but it might be possible

physics From Instantaneous to Eternal

The units of time range from the infinitesimally brief to the interminably long. The descriptions given here attempt to convey a sense of this vast chronological span

physics Times of Our Lives

Whether they're counting minutes, months or years, biological clocks help keep our brains and bodies running on schedule

neuroscience Remembering When

Several brain structures contribute to "mind time," organizing our experiences into chronologies of remembered events

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anthropology Clocking Cultures

What is time? The answer varies from society to society

technology A Chronicle of Timekeeping

Our conception of time depends on the way we measure it

technology Ultimate Clocks

Atomic clocks are shrinking to microchip size, heading for space - and approaching the limits of useful precision

Puzzling Adventures: Venture Bets

Investments and probabilities

Aug 2002 biotech The Serious Search for an Anti-Aging Pill

In government laboratories and elsewhere, scientists are seeking a drug able to prolong life and youthful vigor. Studies of caloric restriction are showing the way

cosmology Does Dark Matter Really Exist?

Ninety-five percent of the universe has gone missing. Or has it?

environment The Ocean's Invisible Forest

Marine phytoplankton play a critical role in regulating the earth's climate. Could they also be used to combat global warming?

info tech Computers without Clocks

Asynchronous chips improve computer performance by letting each circuit run as fast as it can

psychology Combating the Terror of Terrorism

The psychological damage caused by the attacks of September 11 mirrored the physical destruction and showed that protecting the public's mental health must be a component of the national defense

linguistics Saving Dying Languages

Linguists have known for years that thousands of the world's languages are at grave risk of extinction. Yet only recently has the field summoned the will - and the money - to do much about it

Working Knowledge: Safety at a Cost

Smart cards

Technicalities: Machine Chic

The Poma wearable computer is flashy but not very functional

Puzzling Adventures: Repellanoids

Repellanoid circumference

Jul 2002

biotech Sweet Medicines

Sugars play critical roles in many cellular functions and in disease. Study of those activities lags behind research into genes and proteins but is beginning to heat up. The discoveries promise to yield a new generation of drug therapies

info tech Last Mile by Laser

Short-range infrared lasers could beam advanced broadband multimedia services directly into homes and offices

zoology The Nose Takes a Starring Role

The star-nosed mole has what is very likely the world's fastest and most fantastic nose

medicine The Trials of an Artificial Heart

A year after doctors began implanting the AbioCor in dying patients, the prospects of the device are uncertain

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physics Uncovering Supersymmetry

A strange, elusive phenomenon called supersymmetry was conceived for elementary particle physics - but has come to light in nuclei of platinum and gold

evolution 15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense

Opponents of evolution want to make a place for creationism by tearing down real science, but their arguments don't hold up

Working Knowledge: Turn Turn Turn

Windmills

Puzzling Adventures: Blind Justice

Mathematical justice

Jun 2002 biotech Hope in a Vial

Will there be an AIDS vaccine anytime soon?

cosmology The Life Cycle of Galaxies

Astronomers are on the verge of explaining the enigmatic variety of galaxies

zoology Disturbing Behaviors of the Orangutan

Studies of these great apes show that some males pursue an unexpected and disquieting evolutionary strategy

info tech Spintronics

Microelectronic devices that function by using the spin of the electron are a nascent multibillion-dollar industry - and may lead to quantum microchips

psychology Islands of Genius

Artistic brilliance and a dazzling memory can sometimes accompany autism and other developmental disorders

chemistry The Complexity of Coffee

One of life's simple pleasures is really quite complicated

medicine No Truth to the Fountain of Youth

Fifty-one scientists who study aging have issued a warning to the public: no anti-aging remedy on the market today has been proved effective. Here's why they are speaking up

Working Knowledge: Hidden Guides

Gyroscope guidance

Technicalities: Whatever You Say

With speech-recognition software, your voice is the computer's command

Puzzling Adventures: Privacy Taboos

Privacy among the Paranoimos

May 2002 biotech Atherosclerosis: The New View

It causes chest pain, heart attack and stroke, leading to more deaths every year than cancer. The long-held conception of how the disease develops turns out to be wrong

planetary science Journey to the Farthest Planet

Scientists are finally preparing to send a spacecraft to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, the last unexplored region in our planetary system

info tech Wireless Data Blaster

Radio's oldest technology is providing a new way for portable electronics to transmit large quantities of data rapidly without wires

New fossils and DNA analyses elucidate the remarkable evolution The Mammals That Conquered the Seas evolutionary history of whales

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physics Extreme Light

Focusing light with the power of 1,000 Hoover Dams onto a point the size of a cell nucleus accelerates electrons to the speed of light in a femtosecond

environment Rethinking Green Consumerism

Buying green products won't be enough to save biodiversity in the tropics. A new plan for marketing conservation services may be the answer

Puzzling Adventures: Defense in Depth

Avoiding tackles in a football game

Apr 2002 biotech Proteins Rule

Proteomics is biotech's "new new thing." Its enthusiasts are racing to catalogue the proteins in our bodies and to figure out how they network with one another. These efforts could lead to more and better drugs

info tech Augmented Reality: A New Way of Seeing

Computer scientists are developing systems that can enhance and enrich a user's view of the world

zoology Parasitic Sex Puppeteers

By directing its victims' sex lives, the bacterial parasite Wolbachia may be helping to produce new species

physics Ripples in Spacetime

Physicists have spent eight years and $365 million building a radically new kind of observatory to detect gravitational waves. But will it work? A trial run put it to the test

health The Science of Bad Breath

The age-old condition of bad breath is coming under new scientific scrutiny, leading to insights into diagnostic approaches and possible solutions

psychology The Social Psychology of Modern Slavery

Contrary to conventional wisdom, slavery has not disappeared from the world. Social scientists are trying to explain its persistence

Puzzling Adventures: A Fairy Tale

A tale of fairies and pearls

Working Knowledge: Grow, Then Kill

Lab tests

Technicalities: Bringing the Net to the Bedroom

Even an amateur can create a custom-designed internet appliance

Mar 2002 info tech The Worldwide Computer

An operating system spanning the Internet would bring the power of millions of the world's Internet-connected PCs to everyone's fingertips

biotech Attacking Anthrax

Recent discoveries are suggesting much-needed strategies for improving prevention and treatment. High on the list: ways to neutralize the anthrax bacterium's fiendish toxin

astronomy The Cosmic Reality Check

A celestial audit suggests that astronomers' inventory of luminous bodies may soon be complete

psychology Scars That Won't Heal: The Neurobiology of Child Abuse

Maltreatment at an early age can have enduring negative effects on a child's brain development and function

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earth science Repeated Blows

Did extraterrestrial collisions capable of causing widespread extinctions pound the earth not once, but twice - or even several times?

education How Should Reading be Taught?

Educators have long argued over the best way to teach reading to children. The research, however, indicates that a highly popular method is inadequate on its own

Working Knowledge: Secret of Spin

Combination locks

Puzzling Adventures: Card Counters

Card counting with Bob and Alice

Feb 2002 info tech The Network in Every Room

Thanks to ingenious engineering, computers and appliances can now communicate through the electrical wiring in a house

biotech The Magic of Microarrays

Research tools known as DNA microarrays are already clarifying the molecular roots of health and disease and speeding drug discovery. They could also hasten the day when custom-tailored treatment plans replace a one-sizefits-all approach to health care

paleontology Madagascar's Mesozoic Secrets

The world's fourth-largest island divulges fossils that could revolutionize scientific views on the origins of dinosaurs and mammals

astronomy Bejeweled Worlds

What an impoverished universe it would be if Saturn and the other giant planets lacked rings. Planetary scientists are finally working out how gravity has sculpted these elegant ornaments

psychology Television Addiction

Understanding how closely compulsive TV viewing resembles other forms of addiction may help couch potatoes control their habit

environment The Bottleneck

We have entered the Century of the Environment, in which the immediate future is usefully conceived as a bottleneck: science and technology, combined with foresight and moral courage, must see us through it and out

Working Knowledge: Eye in the Sky

Aerial and satellite imaging

Technicalities: Surrounded by Sound

Ingenious software makes ordinary stereo speakers come alive

Puzzling Adventures: Shifty Witnesses

Skipping the preliminaries, the detective stated his problem: "We have five witnesses whom we don't trust. They have trailed a group of 10 suspected drug dealers. For each suspect, the five witnesses take a vote about whether the suspect has drugs or not.

Jan 2002 astronomy The Gas between the Stars

Filled with colossal fountains of hot gas and vast bubbles blown by exploding stars, the interstellar medium is far more interesting than scientists once thought

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biotech The First Human Cloned Embryo

Cloned early-stage human embryos - and human embryos generated only from eggs, in a process called parthenogenesis - now put therapeutic cloning within reach

info tech A Vertical Leap for Microchips

Engineers have discovered a way to pack more computing power into microcircuits: build them vertically as well as horizontally

environment Misleading Math about the Earth

Science defends itself against The Skeptical Environmentalist

energy Next-Generation Nuclear Power

New, safer and more economical nuclear reactors could not only satisfy many of our future energy needs but could combat global warming as well

psychology The Economics of Fair Play

Why do we value fairness and cooperation over seemingly more rational selfishness? How can Darwinian generosity arise? Biologists and economists explain

Working Knowledge: Breathing Easier?

Gas masks

Puzzling Adventures: Pinpointing a Polar Bear

How many hunters does it take to catch a polar bear?

Dec 2001 medicine Vessels of Death or Life

Angiogenesis - the formation of new blood vessels - might one day be manipulated to treat disorders from cancer to heart disease. First-generation drugs are now in the final phase of human testing

physics Photonic Crystals: Semiconductors of Light

Nanostructured materials containing ordered arrays of holes could lead to an optoelectronics revolution, doing for light what silicon did for electrons

evolution How We Came to Be Human

The acquisition of language and the capacity for symbolic art may lie at the very heart of the extraordinary cognitive abilities that set us apart from the rest of creation

astronomy The First Stars in the Universe

Exceptionally massive and bright, the earliest stars changed the course of cosmic history

weaponry India, Pakistan and the Bomb

The Indian subcontinent is the most likely place in the world for a nuclear war

info tech Origins of Personal Computing

Forget Gates, Jobs and Wozniak. The foundations of modern interactive computers were laid decades earlier

Working Knowledge: In the Fast Lane

Electronic toll collection

Technicalities: Long-Distance Robots

The technology of telepresence makes the world even smaller

Puzzling Adventures: Fashion Gang

Fashionable mathematics

Nov 2001

ecology On the Termination of Species

Ecologists' warnings of an ongoing mass extinction are being challenged by skeptics and largely ignored by politicians. In part that is because it is surprisingly hard to know the dimensions of the die-off, why it matters and how it can best be stopped

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info tech The Electronic Paper Chase

Digital "paper" that displays changing text and graphics would ideally marry the best features of traditional printed materials with those of video screens. Companies are racing to realize that promise using two competing technologies. Already retailers are testing cost-saving changeable e-ink signage. Pliable, updatable e-newspapers, e-books and even an e-Scientific American could be here within a decade

biotech Beyond Chicken Soup

The antiviral era is upon us, with an array of virus-fighting drugs on the market and in development. Research into viral genomes is fueling much of this progress

astronomy Gravity's Kaleidoscope

The most massive telescopes known to humanity sit not on earthly mountaintops but in deep space. They are gravitational lenses, once mere curiosities, now one of the most important tools in astronomy

evolution The Evolution of Human Birth

The difficulties of childbirth have probably challenged humans and their ancestors for millions of years - which means that the modern custom of seeking assistance during delivery may have similarly ancient roots

education Does Class Size Matter?

Legislators are spending billions to reduce class sizes. Will the results by worth the expense?

Working Knowledge: Current Safety

Ground fault circuit interrupters

Puzzling Adventures: Truck Stop

Mathematics of a truckers' stike

Oct 2001 biotech Magic Bullets Fly Again

Molecular guided missiles called monoclonal antibodies were poised to shoot down cancer and a host of other diseases until they crashed and burned. Now a new generation is soaring to market

info tech Code Red for the Web

Could the Internet crash? This summer's Code Red attacks could foreshadow destructive cyberwarfare between hacker groups or between governments

info tech Driving the Info Highway

The Internet has hit the road. Drivers can now access anything from custom traffic reports to spoken e-mail messages to video games. But is it safe?

astrobiology, life science Refuges for Life in a Hostile Universe

Only part of our galaxy is fit for advanced life

Researchers have begun to identify the causes of this dreaded medicine The Challenge of Macular Degeneration eye disease that targets the elderly

engineering Drowning New Orleans

A major hurricane could swamp New Orleans under 20 feet of water, killing thousands. Human activities along the Mississippi River have dramatically increased the risk, and now only massive reengineering of southeastern Louisiana can save the city

Working Knowledge: Mice and Men

Computer mouse

Technicalities: A Wide Web of Worlds

New Internet browsers add an extra dimension - but little depth

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Labyrinthine logic

Sep 2001 nanotech Little Big Science

Nanotechnology is all the rage. But will it meet its ambitious goals? And what the heck is it?

nanotech Nanofabrication: The Art of Building Small

Researchers are discovering cheap, efficient ways to make structures only a few billionths of a meter across

nanotech Nanophysics: Plenty of Room, Indeed

There is plenty of room for practical innovation at the nanoscale. But first, scientists have to understand the unique physics that governs matter there

nanotech Nanoelectronics: The Incredible Shrinking Circuit

Researchers have built nanotransistors and nanowires. Now they just need to find a way to put them all together

nanotech Nanomedicine: Less is More in Medicine

Sophisticated forms of nanotechnology will find some of their first real-world applications in biomedical research, disease diagnosis and, possibly, therapy

nanotech Nanovisions: Machine-Phase Nanotechnology

A molecular nanotechnology pioneer predicts that the tiniest robots will revolutionize manufacturing and transform society

nanotech Nanofallacies: Of Chemistry, Love and Nanobots

How soon will we see the nanometer-scale robots envisaged by K. Eric Drexler and other molecular nanotechnologists? The simple answer is never

nanotech Nanoinspirations: The Once and Future Nanomachine

Biology outmatches futurists' most elaborate fantasies for molecular robots

nanotech Nanorobotics: Nanobot Construction Crews

Nanotechnology visionaries find out how difficult it is to develop minuscule robots that can treat diseases or perform pollution-free manufacturing

nanotech Nanofiction: Shamans of Small

Like interstellar travel, time machines and cyberspace, nanotechnology has become one of the core pilot devices on which science-fiction writers draw

Working Knowledge: Flea Treatments

Killer drops

Puzzling Adventures: Square Dancing

Square dancing without collisions

Aug 2001 info tech Go Forth and Replicate

Birds do it, bees do it, but could machines do it? New computer simulations suggest that the answer is yes

astrochemistry The Ice of Life

Ice in its earthly guise is hostile to living things. But an exotic form of space ice can actually promote the creation of organic molecules -and may have seeded life on Earth

biotech Cybernetic Cells

The simplest living cell is so complex that supercomputer models may never simulate its behavior perfectly. But even imperfect models could shake the foundations of biology

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anthropology Once Were Cannibals

Clear evidence of cannibalism in the human fossil record has been rare, but it is now becoming apparent that the practice is deeply rooted in our history

security Taming the Killing Fields of Laos

Live bombs from the Vietnam War continue to kill people and hamper agricultural development in Laos. The cleanup project required deciphering decades-old computer files

info tech The Do-It-Yourself Supercomputer

Scientists have found a cheaper way to solve tremendously difficult computational problems: connect ordinary PCs so that they can work together

ecology The Trouble with Turtles

Despite heroic efforts to protect the nesting beaches of green turtles, fewer and fewer of these endangered creatures reappear every year. Researchers have been stunned to discover that shielding young turtles is only half the battle

Working Knowledge: Crank It Up!

Human-powered electronics

Technicalities: Touchy-Feely Computing A new mouse picks up good vibrations Puzzling Adventures: The Delphi Flip

Predicting the future accurately is most useful in betting games - the stock market comes to mind

Jul 2001 info tech How to Build a Hypercomputer

The simulation and ultimate solution of humanity's major ills and most perplexing problems require significantly faster supercomputers

psychology The Truth and Hype of Hypnosis

Though often denigrated as fakery or wishful thinking, hypnosis has been shown to be a real phenomenon with a variety of therapeutic uses - especially in controlling pain

nanotech Making Molecules into Motors

Molecular turmoil, quantum craziness: microscopic machines must operate in a world gone mad. But if you can't beat the chaos, why not exploit it?

physics Frozen Light

Slowing a beam of light to a halt may pave the way for new optical communications technology, tabletop black holes and quantum computers

biotech Battling Biofilms

The war is against bacterial colonies that cause some of the most tenacious infections known. The weapon is knowledge of the enemy's communication system

ecology Fishy Business

Cyanide fishing threatens many of the last pristine coral reefs in Southeast Asia. Will an ambitious program to clean up the marine aquarium trade be enough to save them?

Working Knowledge: Tan or Burn

Protecting skin from the summer sun

Puzzling Adventures: Seeing Red, Feeling Blue

Here's a puzzle full of clashing colors

Jun 2001 astrophysics The Paradox of the Sun's Hot Corona

Like a boiling teakettle atop a cold stove, the sun's hot outer layers sit on the relatively cool surface. And now astronomers are figuring out why

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biology Solving the Mystery of Insect Flight

Insects use a combination of aerodynamic effects to remain aloft

neuroscience Sign Language in the Brain

How does the human brain process language? New studies of deaf signers hint at an answer

space science North to Mars!

To pave the way for a mission to Mars, a band of scientists decided to go to the Canadian arctic

biotech Hair - Why It Grows Why It Stops

Scientists are rapidly discovering the molecules that control hair production. In so doing, they could be unearthing the key to combating both baldness and excessive hair growth

anthropology The Himba and the Dam

A questionable act of progress may drown this African tribe's way of life. Similar dramas are playing out around the world

technology A Low-pollution Engine Solution

Clean-burning, sparkless-ignition auto engines may offer the best chance of meeting new exhaust emissions standards

Working Knowledge: Flight Control

Golf balls

Technicalities: Kibbles and Bytes

How much is that robotic doggy in the window?

Puzzling Adventures: Alternating Liars

Liar, liar, liar

May 2001 info tech The Semantic Web

A new form of Web content that is meaningful to computers will unleash a revolution of new possibilities

astronomy Rip Van Twinkle

The oldest stars have been growing younger

biotech Behind Enemy Lines

A close look at the inner workings of microbes in the era of escalating antibiotic resistance is offering new strategies for designing drugs

environment The Arctic Oil and Wildlife Refuge

The last great onshore oil field in America may lie beneath the nation's last great coastal wilderness preserve. Science can clarify the potential economic benefits and the ecological risks of drilling into it

weaponry Warp Drive Underwater

Traveling inside drag-cutting bubbles, secret torpedoes and other subsea naval systems can move hundreds of miles per hour

psychology What's Wrong with This Picture?

Psychologists often use the famous Rorschach inkblot test and related tools to assess personality and mental illness. But research says the instruments are frequently ineffective for those purposes

Working Knowledge: Quick Scan

Bar-code readers

Puzzling Adventures: Something Fishy

Retracing a villain's steps

Apr 2001 biotech Whose Blood Is It, Anyway?

Blood collected from umbilical cords and placentas - which are usually thrown away following birth - contains stem cells that can rebuild the blood and immune systems of people with leukemia and other cancers

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biotech Genetically Modified Foods: Are They Safe? - Introduction

A look at how much science really knows about the risks of growing and eating genetically modified crops.

biotech Genetically Modified Foods: Are They Safe? - Seeds of Concern

Are genetically modified crops an environmental dream come true or a disaster in the making? Scientists are looking for answers

biotech Genetically Modified Foods: Are They Safe? - The Risks on the Table

More than half the foods in U.S. supermarkets contain genetically modified ingredients. Have they been proved safe for human consumption?

biotech Genetically Modified Foods: Are They Safe? - Does the World Need GM Foods? (Q&A)

Two leading figures in the debate over genetic engineering defend their stances

info tech Virtually There

Three-dimensional tele-immersion may eventually bring the world to your desk

chemistry Life's Rocky Start

Air, water and rock were the only raw materials available on the early earth. The first living entitities must been fabricated from these primitive resources. New experiments suggest that minerals - the basic components of the rocks - could have played starring roles in that dramatic feat

astrophysics The Fury of Space Storms

Shock waves from the sun can trigger severe turbulence in the space around the earth, endangering satellites and astronauts in orbit. Now a new spacecraft is showing how space storms develop

psychology Violent Pride

Do people turn violent because of self-hate, or self-love?

Working Knowledge: Touch Screens At Your Fingertips

A truly touchy interface

Technicalities: Look, Ma, No Wires!

The Ricochet wireless modem is like a Ferrari - fast but pricey

Puzzling Adventures: No Tipping

A weighty search for leverage

Mar 2001 biology Making Sense of Taste

How do cells on the tongue register the sensations of sweet, salty, sour and bitter? Scientists are finding out - and discovering how the brain interprets these signals as various tastes

earth science Sculpting the Earth from Inside Out

Powerful motions deep inside the planet do not merely shove fragments of the rocky shell horizontally around the globe they also lift and lower entire continents

biology If Humans Were Built to Last

We would look a lot different - inside and out - if evolution had designed the human body to function smoothly not only in youth but for a century or more

astronomy A Sharper View of the Stars

A new generation of optical interferometers is letting astronomers study stars in 100 times finer detail than is possible with the Hubble Space Telescope

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evolution Evolution: A Lizard's Tale

On some islands in the Caribbean, evolution seems to have taken the same turn - over and over and over again

economics The Geography of Poverty and Wealth

Tropical climate and lack of access to sea trade have hurt the poorest nations. But new aid programs point the way to prosperity

Working Knowledge: Gotcha!

How radar guns catch speeders

The Amateur Scientist: Geotropism, One How plants grow in reduced gravity Last Time Mathematical Recreations: Easter Is a Quasicrystal

The divine mathematics of a holiday

Feb 2001 environment Special Report: Safeguarding Our Water/Introduction

Drip, trickle, splash. Water is one of the most common substances in the universe, and our ocean-wrapped planet is blessed with a generous share of it. Unfortunately, 97 percent of that share is salty, and much of the rest is locked up in ice.

environment Special Report: Safeguarding Our Water/Making Every Drop Count

We drink it, we generate electricity with it, we soak our crops with it. And we're stretching our supplies to the breaking point. Will we have enough clean water to satisfy all the world's needs?

environment Special Report: Safeguarding Our Water/Growing More Food with Less Water

If the world hopes to feed its burgeoning population, irrigation must become less wasteful and more widespread

environment Special Report: Safeguarding Our Water/How We Can Do It

A look at four promising ways to maintain adequate supplies of freshwater: desalination, new technologies for transporting water, reducing demand, and recycling

biotech Why the Y is So Weird

Our X and Y chromosomes make an odd couple. The X resembles any other chromosome, but the Y - the source of maleness - is downright strange. How did the two come to differ so much?

technology In Pursuit of the Ultimate Lamp

Full-spectrum light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, are becoming widespread - and the race is on to develop white-light versions to replace Edison's century-old incandescent bulb

physics 100 Years of Quantum Mysteries

As quantum theory celebrates its 100th birthday, spectacular successes are mixed with persistent puzzles

psychology The Science of Persuasion

Salespeople, politicians, friends and family all have a stake in getting you to agree to their requests. Social psychology has determined the basic principles that govern getting to "yes"

Working Knowledge: Preparing for Battle

How vaccines prevent the flu

The Amateur Scientist: Counting Particles from Space

How to build a cosmic-ray telescope

Mathematical Recreations: Pursuing Polygonal Privacy

Good fences make good neighbors

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Jan 2001 cosmology Brave New Cosmos: Introduction

Observational cosmology is about to become a mature science. Explanations for the universe's unexpectedly odd behaviors may then be around the corner

cosmology Brave New Cosmos: Echoes from the Big Bang

Scientists may soon glimpse the universe's beginnings by studying the subtle ripples made by gravitational waves

cosmology Brave New Cosmos: A Cosmic Cartographer

The Microwave Anisotropy Probe will give cosmologists a much sharper picture of the early universe

cosmology Brave New Cosmos: The Quintessential Universe

The universe has recently been commandeered by an invisible energy field, which is causing its expansion to accelerate outward

cosmology Brave New Cosmos: Making Sense of Modern Cosmology

Confused by all those theories? Good

cosmology Brave New Cosmos: Plan B for the Cosmos

If the new cosmology fails, what's the backup plan?

biology The Cultures of Chimpanzees

Humankind's nearest relative is even closer than we thought: chimpanzees display remarkable behaviors that can only be described as social customs passed on from generation to generation

biotech The Cellular Chamber of Doom

Structures called proteasomes inside cells continously destroy proteins. Several common diseases result when the process works too zealously - or not at all

technology The Mystery of Damascus Blades

Centuries ago craftsmen forged peerless steel blades. But how did they do it? The author and a blacksmith have found the answer

info tech The Triumph of the Light

Extensions to fiber optics will supply network capacity that borders on the infinite

info tech The Rise of Optical Switching

Replacing electronic switches with purely optical ones will become the technological linchpin for networks that transmit trillions of bits each second

info tech Routing Packets with Light

The ultimate all-optical network will require dramatic advances in technologies that use one lightwave to imprint information on another

Working Knowledge: The Well-Rounded Flat Speaker

The rounded tones of flat-panel speakers

Mathematical Recreations: Dots-and-Boxes for Experts

The secret subtleties of a children's game

The Amateur Scientist: A Canteen Cloud Chamber

Viewing the path of charged particles

Dec 2000

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paleontology Rulers of the Jurassic Seas

Fish-shaped reptiles called ichthyosaurs reigned over the oceans for as long as dinosaurs roamed the land, but only recently have paleontologists discovered why these creatures were so successful

nanotech Nanotubes for Electronics

They are stronger than steel, but the most important uses for these threadlike macromolecules may be in faster, more efficient and more durable electronic devices

astronomy The Secrets of Stardust

Tiny grains of dust floating in interstellar space have radically altered the history of our galaxy

medicine Piecing Together Alzheimer?s

The stunningly complex biochemical puzzle that underlies this crippling disease remains incomplete, but parts that seemed unrelated just a decade ago are now fitting into place

urban planning The Science of Smart Growth

Are there any alternatives to urban sprawl? Pundits and pols may endlessly debate that question, but the only way to get an answer is to go out and see what works in the real world

physics The Coolest Gas in the Universe

Bose-Einstein condensates are one of the hottest areas in experimental physics

Working Knowledge: Superabsorbers

Disposable diapers

The Amateur Scientist: Calibrating with Cold

How to fine-tune a laboratory thermometer

Mathematical Recreations: Jumping Champions

Counting the gaps between primes

Nov 2000 consumer electronics Special Report: The Future of Digital Entertainment/Introduction

The barriers separating TV, movies, music, video games and the Internet are crumbling. Audiences are getting new creative options. Here is what entertainment could become if the technological and legal hurdles can be cleared.

consumer electronics Special Report: The Future of Digital Entertainment/Creating Convergence

TV, movies, Internet video, and music could morph into one big stream of d-entertainment that we can enjoy on any device, anywhere, anytime. But the devil is in the details

consumer electronics Special Report: The Future of Digital Entertainment/Music Wars

Internet distribution of quality d-audio is rapidly being perfected, but the precedent-setting legal battles have just begun

consumer electronics Special Report: The Future of Digital Entertainment/Moviemaking in Transition

Digital video cameras and editing equipment are transforming the way movies are made - even which movies get made

consumer electronics Special Report: The Future of Digital Entertainment/Digital Cinema Is for Reel

Digital projection works,but it's not at a theater near you - yet

consumer electronics Special Report: The Future of Digital Entertainment/Digital Humans Wait in the Wings

Characters, scenes and entire movies have been crafted digitally. But can animators create realistic humans to star in computer-generated films? Actors want to know

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consumer electronics Special Report: The Future of Digital Entertainment/Your Own Virtual Storyworld

True interactive entertainment will arise once engineers and artists create virtual realities that can unfold improvisationally

biotech Cloning Noah's Ark

Biotechnology might offer the best way to keep some endangered species from disappearing from the planet

space science The Vasimir Rocket

There used to be two types of rocket: powerful but fuel-guzzling, or efficient but weak. Now there is a third option that combines the advantages of both

medicine AIDS Drugs for Africa

Most of the 35 million people infected with the AIDS virus live on the African continent, where drugs that fight the virus are rare. Will the world let them die?

history The Odd Couple and the Bomb

Like a story by Victor Hugo as told to Neil Simon, the events leading up to the first controlled nuclear chain reaction involved accidental encounters among larger-than-life figures, especially two who did not exactly get along ? but had to

Working Knowledge: Pregnancy Tests

How home pregnancy tests work.

The Amateur Scientist: Boids of a Feather Flock Together

Simulating boids, floys and other artificial life.

Mathematical Recreations: Spiral Slime

How nature draws spirals and shapes.

Oct 2000 info tech The Wireless Web: Special Report/Introduction

The Internet has been the subject of more self-parodying hype than anything since 500-channel cable.

info tech The Wireless Web: Special Report/The Internet in Your Hands

To spur the growth of the wireless Web, companies are developing networks that can handle huge amounts of data and handheld devices that can tap into all the Internet's resources

info tech The Wireless Web: Special Report/The Promise and Perils of WAP

The Wireless Application Protocol allows cell phone users to connect to the Internet, but the technology has serious limitations

info tech The Wireless Web: Special Report/The Future is Here. Or Is It?

How will Web phones ever become popular if it takes 10 minutes and costs $4 to send one e-mail?

info tech The Wireless Web: Special Report/The Third-Generation Gap

A revolution needs a plan. Which technology will provide it?

medicine Operating on a Beating Heart

Coronary bypass surgery can be a lifesaving operation. Two new surgical techniques should make the procedure safer and less expensive

life science The Power of Memes

Behaviors and ideas copied from person to person by imitation - memes - may have forced human genes to make us what we are today

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archaeology Nabada: The Buried City

Excavations in northern Syria reveal the metropolis of Nabada, founded 4,500 years ago. Its elaborate administration and culture rivaled those of the fabled cities of southern Mesopotamia

mathematics Better Decisions through Science

Math-based aids for making decisions in medicine and industry could improve many diagnoses - often saving lives in the process

Working Knowledge: The Hard and the Soft

Contact lenses: something in your eye?

The Amateur Scientist: Down among the High-precision scales bring balance to home labs. Micrograms Mathematical Recreations: MillionDollar Minesweeper

How a computer game can make you rich

Sep 2000 biology Muscle, Genes and Athletic Performance

The cellular biology of muscle helps to explain why a particular athlete wins and suggests what future athletes might do to better their odds

astronomy Searching for Shadows of Other Earths

Astronomers have found dozens of giant planets beyond our solar system, but they haven't been capable of bagging an Earth - until now

biotech Edible Vaccines

One day children may get immunized by munching on foods instead of enduring shots. More important, food vaccines might save millions who now die for lack of access to traditional inoculants

The briefest man-made events, pulses of laser light lasting physics millionths of a nanosecond, can be used for delicate eye Ultrashort-Pulse Lasers: Big Payoffs in a surgery, high-bandwidth communications and stop-motion Flash studies of molecules reacting anthropology Who Were the First Americans?

If your answer was fur-clad mammoth hunters, guess again. The first people to settle the New World may have been fisherfolk and basket weavers

engineering The Plan to Save Fallingwater

This breathtaking house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright was in danger of collapse until an engineering firm found a way to stop it from falling down

Working Knowledge: A Better Black Box

How do black boxes survive plane crashes?

The Amateur Scientist: Using a Kite as an Experimental Platform

Kites carry eyes in the sky

Mathematical Recreations: Hex Marks the Spot

The mind-bending challenge of Hex.

Aug 2000 materials science How Green Are Green Plastics?

It is now technologically possible to make plastics using green plants rather than nonrenewable fossil fuels. But are these new plastics the environmental saviors researchers have

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hoped for? astronomy Fountains of Youth: Early Days in the Life of a Star

To make a star, gas and dust must fall inward. So why do astronomers see stuff streaming outward?

climate change Is Global Warming Harmful to Health?

Computer models indicate that many diseases will surge as the earth's atmosphere heats up. Signs of the predicted troubles have begun to appear

chemistry Form from Fire

Self-propagating heat waves can engender new and improved materials, but only recently have researchers found ways to monitor these ultraquick chemical reactions

physics The Universe's Unseen Dimensions

The visible universe could lie on a membrane floating within a higher-dimensional space. The extra dimensions would help unify the forces of nature and could contain parallel universes

biology Male Sexual Circuitry

The brain is the most important sex organ. One of its roles in male sexuality is to keep the penis under control.

nutrition Birth of the Modern Diet

Ever wonder why dessert is served after dinner? The origins of modern Western cooking can be traced to ideas about diet and nutrition that arose during the 17th century

Working Knowledge: Focusing in a Flash

Cheese! How cameras autofocus

The Amateur Scientist: How to Rear a Plankton Menagerie

Raising a plankton menagerie.

Mathematical Recreations: A Fractal Guide to Tic-Tac-Toe

A familiar shape in unexpected places

Jul 2000 life science Special Industry Report: The Business of the Human Genome (Introduction)

The task of sequencing all human DNA is all but done, but mining the mountains of genetic information for pay dirt is just beginning

life science Special Industry Report: The Human Genome Business Today

It's been a wild ride for the corporate and government parties who have deciphered the human genetic code. The fun has just begun

life science Special Industry Report: The Bioinformatics Gold Rush

A $300-million industry has emerged around turning raw genome data into knowledge for making new drugs

life science Special Industry Report: Beyond the Human Genome

With all of the DNA that codes for a human in hand, the challenge then becomes what to make of it. Some of the first fruits will come from a new field called proteomics

physics The Large Hadron Collider

The Large Hadron Collider will be a particle accelerator of unprecedented energy and complexity, a global collaboration to uncover an exotic new layer of reality

evolution Darwin's Influence on Modern Thought

Great minds shape the thinking of successive historical periods. Luther and Calvin inspired the Reformation; Locke, Leibnitz, Voltaire and Rousseau, the Enlightenment. Modern thought is most dependent on the influence of Charles

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Darwin engineering The Revolutionary Bridges of Robert Maillart

Swiss engineer Robert Maillart built some of the greatest bridges of the 20th century. His designs elegantly solved a basic engineering problem: how to support enormous weights using a slender arch

earth science The Killing Lakes

Two lakes in Cameroon are poised to release lethal gas, as they did in the 1980s. Writer Marguerite Holloway reports on scientists' efforts to prevent another tragedy

Working Knowledge: Escape and Survival

With luck, the unnecessary space suit.

The Amateur Scientist: PCR at Home

Copying DNA in your kitchen.

Mathematical Recreations: Knotting Ventured...

How pieces of string can illustrate the principles of symmetry

Jun 2000 weaponry Special Report: Waging a New Kind of War (Introduction)

What could possibly be new about war? People have always been quite imaginative about finding ways to impose their will by violent force. Rocks and spears, catapults and muskets, mustard gas and nukes: you might think that human civilization has tried it all. Evidently not.

weaponry Special Report: A Scourge of Small Arms

With a few hundred machine guns and mortars, a small army can take over an entire country, killing and wounding hundreds of thousands

weaponry Special Report: Invisible Wounds

Medical researchers have recently begun to address the mental health effects of war on civilians

weaponry Special Report: Children of the Gun

How do you make a child into a killer? Armed groups worldwide have developed a grim routine: abduct children from their families, inure them to abuse and "promote" them into combat

astronomy Dwarf Galaxies and Starbursts

Diminutive galaxies occasionally experience spectacular bursts of star formation. These starbursts are giving astronomers a glimpse of the universe's early history

biology Cell Communication: The Inside Story

The tiny cells in our bodies harbor amazing internal communication networks. Understanding how those circuits are organized could help scientists develop new therapies for many serious disorders

anthropology Reading the Bones of La Florida

New approaches are offering insight into the lives of Native Americans after the Europeans arrived. Their health declined not only because of disease but because of their altered diet and living circumstances

biotech Computing with Molecules

Researchers have produced molecules that act like switches, wires and even memory elements. But connecting many of the devices together presents enormous challenges

biology Looking for Life Below the Bottom

Two scientists have a hunch that the largest repository of life is not the oceans but the fractured rock beneath them. Staff writer Sarah Simpson recounts the voyage to find proof

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May 2000 astronomy The Small Planets

Asteroids have become notorious as celestial menaces but are best appreciated in a positive light, as surreal worlds bearing testimony to the origin of the planets

info tech Special Industry Report: Avoiding A Data Crunch

The technology of computer hard drives is fast approaching a physical barrier imposed by the superparamagnetic effect. Overcoming it will require tricky innovations

biology Coping with Crowding

A persistent and popular view holds that high population density inevitably leads to violence. This myth, which is based on rat research, applies neither to us nor to other primates

physics Making Metallic Hydrogen

By re-creating extreme conditions like those in Jupiter's core, physicists have at long last turned hydrogen into a metal

medicine Care for a Dying Continent

In Zimbabwe - where AIDS is prematurely killing a generation of adults - counselors and researchers struggle against social customs, viral resourcefulness and despair

Apr 2000 physics Quantum Teleportation

The science-fiction dream of "beaming" objects from place to place is now a reality - at least for particles of light

biotech Building a Brainier Mouse

By genetically engineering a smarter than average mouse, scientists have assembled some of the central molecular components of learning and memory

medicine Understanding Clinical Trials

The journey from initial medical research to the bottle in your family's medicine cabinet is complex, time-consuming and expensive. Can the clinical trial process be refined?

astronomy The Discovery of Brown Dwarfs

Less massive than stars but more massive than planets, brown dwarfs were long assumed to be rare. New sky surveys, however, show that the objects may be as common as stars

anthropology The Aleutian Kayak

The Aleuts built the baidarka to suit their life as hunters on the open ocean. The sophisticated design of this kayak is still not entirely understood

environment Monitoring Earth's Vital Signs

A new NASA satellite - one of a fleet called the Earth Observing System - is using five state-of-the-art sensors to diagnose the planet's health like never before

anthropology Who Were the Neandertals?

Controversial evidence indicates that these hominids interbred with anatomically modern humans and sometimes behaved in surprisingly modern ways

Mar 2000 space science Why Go to Mars?

In the first of this group of articles about human missions to Mars, staff writer Glenn Zorpette examines the main goal: looking for life

space science How to Go to Mars?

Staff writers George Musser and Mark Alpert make sense of the myriad ideas for a human mission

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space science The Mars Direct Plan

A leading advocate of manned missions to Mars, Robert Zubrin, outlines his relatively inexpensive plan to send astronauts to the Red Planet within a decade

space science To Mars By Way of its Moons

Phobos and Deimos would make ideal staging areas, argues veteran space scientist S. Fred Singer

space science A Bus Between the Planets

Gravity-assist trajectories between Earth and Mars would reduce the cost of shuttling human crews and their equipment, say James Oberg and Buzz Aldrin

space science Staying Sane in Space

Is the "right stuff" enough? asks staff writer Sarah Simpson

space science Invaders from Hollywood

Thanks to Pathfinder and other missions, science gets some respect in Tinseltown, as staff writer Philip Yam finds after touchdown on a Vancouver set

biotech The Tick-Tock of the Biological clock

Biological clocks count off 24-hour intervals in most forms of life. Genetics has revealed that related molecular timepieces are at work in fruit flies, mice and humans

mathematics Swarm Smarts

Using ants and other social insects as models, computer scientists have created software agents that cooperate to solve complex problems, such as the rerouting of traffic in a busy telecom network

environment Dissecting a Hurricane

Flying into the raging tumult of Dennis, scientists suspected that the storm might transform into a monster - if they were lucky

biology The Bromeliads of the Atlantic Forest

Along the coast of Brazil, 8 percent of a once flourishing forest is left to house a diverse family of bromeliads. A group of biologists scale cliffs and trees to collect these rare beauties

Feb 2000 astronomy The Galileo Mission to Jupiter and Its Moons

Few scientists thought that the Galileo spacecraft, beset by technical troubles, could conduct such a comprehensive study of the Jovian system. And few predicted that the innards of these worlds would prove so varied

materials science Melting Below Zero

New research shows how a layer of water on the surface of ice - even at temperatures well below freezing - can influence everything from the slipperiness of a skating rink to the electrification of thunderclouds

neuroscience The Early Origins of Autism

New research into the causes of this baffling disorder is focusing on genes that control the development of the brain

The next step in creating more realistic computer-generated images is the development of better models of the physical info tech Digital Materials and Virtual Weathering structures of materials and their degradation by the environment climate change Capturing Greenhouse Gases

Sequestering carbon dioxide underground or in the deep ocean could help alleviate concerns about climate change

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biology Transparent Animals

Ingenious physiological accommodations have evolved to enable a stunning variety of undersea creatures to be remarkably transparent

biology Uprooting the Tree of Life

About 10 years ago scientists finally worked out the basic outline of how modern life-forms evolved. Now parts of their tidy scheme are unraveling

Jan 2000 physics Negative Energy, Wormholes and Warp Drive

The construction of wormholes and warp drive would require a very unusual form of energy. Unfortunately, the same laws of physics that allow the existence of this "negative energy" also appear to limit its behavior

anthropology Once We Were Not Alone

Today we take for granted that Homo Sapiens is the only hominid on Earth. Yet for at least four million years many hominid species shared the planet. What makes us different?

chemistry Voyage to SUPERHEAVY Island

The synthesis of element 114 confirmed decades-old theoretical predictions of a little patch of nuclear stability in a sea of short-lived superheavy nuclei

earth science Snowball Earth

Ice entombed our planet hundreds of millions of years ago, and complex animals evolved in the greenhouse heat wave that followed

medicine Narcolepsy

Although people with the disorder do not fall face-first into their soup as in the movies, narcolepsy is still a mysterious disease. But science has new leads

technology Maglev: A New Approach

The Inductrack promises a safer, cheaper system for magnetically levitating trains. The same technology can also be used to launch rockets

public health The Unmet Need for Family Planning

Women and men in many countries still lack adequate access to contraceptives. Unless they are given the option of controlling their fertility, severe environmental and health problems loom in the coming century throughout large parts of the world

The Amateur Scientist

Detecting Extraterrestrial Gravity

Mathematical Recreations

Impossibility Theorems

Dec 1999 The Unexpected Science to Come

The most important discoveries of the next 50 years are likely to be ones of which we cannot now even conceive

A Unified Physics by 2050?

Experiments at CERN and elsewhere should let us complete the Standard Model of particle physics, but a unified theory of all forces will probably require radically new ideas

Exploring Our Universe and Others

In the 21st century cosmologists will unravel the mystery of our universe's birth - and perhaps prove the existence of other universes as well

Deciphering the Code of Life

The study of all the genes of various organisms will yield answers to some of the most intriguing questions about life

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The End of Nature versus Nurture

Is human behavior determined by genetics or by environment? It may be time to abandon the dichotomy

The Human Impact on Climate

How much of a disruption do we cause? The much-awaited answer could be ours by 2050, but only if nations of the world commit to long-term monitoring now

Can Human Aging Be Postponed?

In theory, it certainly can. Yet no single elixir will do the trick. Antiaging therapies of the future will undoubtedly have to counter many destructive biochemical processes at once

How the Brain Creates the Mind

Philosophers, neuroscientists and laypeople have long wondered how the conscious mind comes to be. A more complete understanding of the workings of the brain ought to lead to an eventual solution

Is There Life Elsewhere in the Universe?

The answer is: nobody knows. Scientists' search for life beyond Earth has been less thorough than commonly thought. But that is about to change

Rise of the Robots

By 2050 robot "brains" based on computers that execute 100 trillion instructions per second will start rivaling human intelligence

Mathematical Recreations

Defend the Roman Empire!

Nov 1999 The Fate of Life in the Universe

Billions of years ago the universe was too hot for life to exist. Countless eons hence, it will become so cold and empty that life, no matter how ingenious, will perish

Vision: A Window on Consciousness

In their search for the mind, scientists are focusing on visual perception - how we interpret what we see

Flammable Ice

Methane-laced ice crystals in the seafloor store more energy than all the world's fossil fuel reserves combined. But these methane hydrate deposits are fragile, and the gas that escapes from them may exacerbate global warming

Slave-Making Queens

Life in certain corners of the ant world is fraught with invasion, murder and hostage-taking. The battle royal is a form of social parasitism

Time-Reversed Acoustics

Arrays of transducers can re-create a sound and send it back to its source as if time had been reversed. The process can be used to destroy kidney stones, detect defects in materials and communicate with submarines

Floating in Space

Balloons offer scientists a low-cost, quick-response way to study the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere and those of other planets

A Zeppelin for the 21st Century

By developing new aerodynamic computer models and using modern materials, the company that originated zeppelins has returned them to the skies over Europe

The Balloon That Flew round the World

To build a balloon capable of circumnavigating the globe, engineers ripped a page from aeronautical history

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The Grameen Bank

A small experiment begun in Bangladesh has turned into a major new concept in eradicating poverty

The Amateur Scientist

Falling into Chaos

Mathematical Recreations

Most-Perfect Magic Squares

Oct 1999 The Hidden Ocean of Europa

Doodles and freckles, creamy plains and crypto-icebergs - the amazing surface of Jupiter's brightest icy moon hints at a global sea underneath

Why Things Break

Scientists have known for most of this century that chemistry is responsible for whether a solid shatters or bends. But only now are they finding a way to predict which type of failure will win

Preserving Nefertari's Legacy

The tomb of this ancient Egyptian queen is testament to the great love of Pharaoh Ramses II. Its preservation is testament to advances in conservation

The Unmet Challenges of Hepatitis C

Some 1.8 percent of the U.S. adult population are infected with the hepatitis C virus, most without knowing it

The False Crisis in Science Education

The largely mythical decline of science in the public schools is leading - yet again - to rushed reforms that ignore the best advice on what kids should know

High-Speed Data Races Home

The global network is entering a new phase in its evolution, one that will spawn new applications and make dial-up modems a thing of the past

The Internet via Cable

Only cable networks are well equipped to provide hybrid TV-Internet services, as well as superfast on-line access

DSL: Broadband by Phone

Alexander Graham Bell's ubiquitous copper wires will still be a capacity-rich communications resource in the third millennium

The Broadest Broadband

New technologies promise to reduce the cost of linking homes with optical fiber, the ultimate medium for data communications

Satellites: The Strategic High Ground

Data communications systems that use satellites to transmit signals have many advantages over ground-based systems

LMDS: Broadband Wireless Access

Ground-based wireless networks delivering the full range of broadband services can be deployed quickly and inexpensively

The Light at the End of the Pipe

A much faster and easier-to-use Internet will stimulate the introduction of new services and possibly even significant social metamorphoses

Mathematical Recreations

Cone with a Twist

The Amateur Scientist

Modeling the Atomic Universe

Sep 1999

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By analyzing previously overlooked fossils and by taking a Breathing Life into "Tyrannosaurus rex" second look at some old finds,paleontologists are providing the first glimpses of the actual behavior of the tyrannosaurs The Teeth of the Tyrannosaurs

Their teeth reveal aspects of their hunting and feeding habits

The Dechronization of Sam Magruder

"The brute - it was a tyrannosaur - got me by the leg. He shook me loose, tearing off the leg at the knee, and he didn't see where the rest of me fell. I tied up the stump and crawled away...."

Migrating Planets

Did the solar system always look the way it does now? New evidence indicates that the outer planets may have migrated to their present orbits

Repairing the Damaged Spinal Cord

Once little more than a futile hope, some restoration of the injured spinal cord is beginning to seem feasible

A Case against Virtual Nuclear Testing

The U.S. Department of Energy's high-tech plan to replace nuclear testing with elaborate 3-D computer simulations is seriously flawed

The Throat Singers of Tuva

Testing the limits of vocal ingenuity, throat-singers can create sounds unlike anything in ordinary speech and song - carrying two musical lines simultaneously, say, or harmonizing with a waterfall

Scientists and Religion in America

Science and religion are engaging in more active dialogue and debate, but a survey suggests that scientists' beliefs have changed little since the 1930s, and top scientists are more atheistic than ever before

The Amateur Scientist

Counting Atmospheric Ions

Mathematical Recreations

Dances with Dodecahedra

Aug 1999 Why National Missile Defense Won't Work

The current plan for defending the U.S. against a ballisticmissile attack faces many of the problems that plagued a similar plan three decades ago

The Lurking Perils of "Pfiesteria"

This minute creature has been implicated in dramatic fish kills and has hurt people. But its most publicized actions may not be the most damaging. More subtle effects are raising new concerns

The Future of Computing

M.I.T.'s Laboratory for Computer Science is developing a new infrastructure for information technologies - the Oxygen system - that promises to realize a vision long held by the lab's director: helping people do more by doing less

Talking with Your Computer

Speech-based interfaces may soon allow computer users to retrieve data and issue instructions without lifting a finger

Communications Chameleons

Multipurpose communications systems will be the links of tomorrow's wireless computer networks

Raw Computation

One of the main engines of the Oxygen project is the Raw microchip, which has wiring that can be automatically

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reprogrammed for different tasks Detecting Massive Neutrinos

A giant detector in the heart of Mount Ikenoyama in Japan has demonstrated that the neutrino metamorphoses in flight, strongly suggesting that these ghostly particles have mass

The Moral Development of Children

It is not enough for kids to tell right from wrong. They must develop a commitment to acting on their ideals. Enlightened parenting can help

Trailing a Virus

As a virus never seen before swept through rural Malaysia, killing more than 110 and forcing the destruction of a million swine, it revealed the world's vulnerability to new diseases. Even the best efforts of top scientists are sometimes not enough to thwart them

The Amateur Scientist

Sun of a Gun

Mathematical Recreations

Sierpinski's Ubiquitous Gasket

Jul 1999 Looking back at Apollo

On the 30th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing, digital reproductions of the Apollo photographs show the moon as the astonauts saw it

Life's Far-Flung Raw Materials

Life may owe its start to complex organic molecules manufactured in the icy heart of an interstellar cloud

Genetic Vaccines

Vaccines crafted from genetic material might one day prevent AIDS, malaria and other devastating infections that defy current immunization technologies. They may even help treat cancer

The Mystery of Nucleon Spin

A new generation of experiments promises to pin down more of the still uncertain internal structure of protons and neutrons

The Earliest Zoos and Gardens

More than 4,000 years ago rulers in Egypt and Mesopotamia, builders of pyramids and empires, became the first to embark on another pastime: collecting exotic animals and planting ornamental gardens

The Future Of Fuel Cells

The obstacles to building practical fuel cells are numerous, but continued innovation and skillful engineering could make them competitive

The Electrochemical Engine for Vehicles

Fuel cells can power cleaner buses and cars, but key engineering and economic obstacles will delay widespread adoption of the technology

The Power Plant in Your Basement

In the past, stationary fuel cells were megawatt behemoths, designed for the electric utilities. Now they are being shrunk for homes and other modest applications

Replacing the Battery in Portable Electronics

Batteries are cumbersome and expensive. Miniature fuel cells could supplant them in cellular phones, laptop computers, camcorders and other consumer products

The Amateur Scientist

Detecting the Earth's Electricity

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The Art of Elegant Tiling

Jun 1999 Mapping the Universe

Using techniques drawn from the analysis of music, astronomers have been studying how galaxies form into progressively larger groupings

How The Body tells Left from Right

The precise orientation of our internal organs - and those of all other animals with a backbone - is controlled in part by proteins that are produced on only one side of an embryo

Hypersearching the Web

With the volume of on-line information in cyberspace growing at a breakneck pace, more effective search tools are desperately needed. A new technique analyzes how Web pages are linked together

Image-Guided Surgery

Virtual-reality technology is giving surgeons the equivalent of x-ray vision, helping them to remove tumors more effectively, to minimize surgical wounds and to avoid damaging critical tissues

Biological Warfare against Crops

Intentionally unleashing organisms that kill an enemy's food crops is a potentially devastating weapon of warfare and terrorism

Gödel and the Limits of Logic

Mathematical genius Kurt Gödel was devoted to rationality in his work but struggled with it in his personal life

Chasing the Ghost Bat

On jungle rivers in Belize, two zoologists catch the ultrasonic cries of bats - and fish for a big one

The Amateur Scientist

Expert Secrets for Preserving Plants

Mathematical Recreations

Crossed Lines in the Brick Factory

May 1999 Unmasking Black Holes

Until recently, the evidence for black holes was circumstantial. Now astronomers may have direct proof: energy is vanishing from volumes of space without a trace

New Nerve Cells for the Adult Brain

Contrary to dogma, the human brain does produce new nerve cells in adulthood. Can our newfound capacity lead to better treatments for neurological diseases?

Tsunami!

Its awesome fury cannot be diminished, but lessons learned from a rash of disasters this decade - and a new way to track these killer waves - will help save lives

Killer Kangaroos and Other Murderous Marsupials

Australian mammals were not all as cute as koalas. Some were as ferocious as they were bizarre

Ada and the First Computer

The collaboration between Ada, countess of Lovelace, and computer pioneer Charles Babbage resulted in a landmark publication that described how to program the world's first computer

The Andaman Islanders

The aboriginal inhabitants of a stretch of islands near India offer a fascinating glimpse into the way of life of traditional

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hunter-gatherers. But how long will this window to our past remain open? XML and the Second-Generation Web

The combination of hypertext and a global Internet started a revolution. A new ingredient, XML, is poised to finish the job

The Amateur Scientist

Hot Views of the Microscopic World

Mathematical Recreations

A Puzzle for Pirates

Apr 1999 Growing New Organs

Researchers have taken the first steps toward creating semisynthetic, living organs that can be used as human replacement parts

Embryonic Stem Cells for Medicine

Cells able to generate virtually all other cell types have recently been isolated. One day they could help repair a wide variety of damaged tissues

Encapsulated Cells as Therapy

An emerging approach to treating disease combines living cells with plastic membranes that shield the cells from immune attack

Skin: The First Tissue-Engineered Products

Last year the first living, tissue-engineered skin product became commercially available - and a second is expected to be on the market within a few months. Top researchers from each of the two companies involved tell how their products came to be

Tissue Engineering: The Challenges Ahead

The obstacles to building new organs from cells and synthetic polymers are daunting but surmountable

Is Space Finite?

Conventional wisdom says the universe is infinite. But it could be finite, merely givingthe illusion of infinity. Upcoming measurements may finally answer this ancient question.

Alan Turing's Forgotten Ideas in Computer Science

Well known for the machine, test and thesis that bear his name, the British genius also anticipated neural-network computers and "hypercomputation"

A New Eye Opens on the Cosmos

On the highest mountain in the pacific basin, a 10-year odyssey will culminate in the capture of first light for a telescope that may surpass space-based observatories

The Revival of Colored Cotton

A new arrival on the Western fashion market, naturally pigmented cotton originally flourished some 5,000 years ago. Its revival today draws on stocks first developed and cultivated by Indians in South and Central America.

The Amateur Scientist

Detecting "Hot" Clouds

Mathematical Recreations

Tangling with Topology

Mar 1999 Global Climate Change on Venus

Venus's climate, like Earth's, has varied over time - the result of newly appreciated connections between geologic activity and atmospheric change

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A Little Big Bang

A new collider will soon create matter as dense and hot as in the early universe

The Timing of Birth

A hormone unexpectedly found in the human placenta turns out to influence the timing of delivery. This and related findings could yield much needed ways to prevent premature labor

Visualizing Human Embryos

A technique called magnetic resonance microscopy is revealing the secrets of early human development

The Komodo Dragon

On a few small islands in the Indonesian archipelago, the world's largest lizard reigns supreme

The Crash in the Machine

Increasingly, automakers are relying on computer simulations of accidents to develop safer cars more quickly and efficiently

The inventor of the Soviet hydrogen bomb became an The Metamorphosis of Andrei Sakharov advocate of peace and human rights. What led him to his fateful decision? The Amateur Scientist

A Homemade High-Precision Thermometer

Mathematical Recreations

The Synchronicity of Firefly Flashing

Feb 1999

Supersoft X-ray Stars and Supernovae

Several years ago astronomers came across a new type of star that spews out unusually low energy x-rays. These so-called supersoft sources are now thought to be white dwarf stars that cannibalize their stellar companions and then, in many cases, explode

The Puzzle of Hypertension in AfricanAmericans

Genes are often invoked to account for why high blood pressure is so common among African-Americans. Yet the rates are low in Africans. This discrepancy demonstrates how genes and the environment interact

Cichlids of the Rift Lakes

The extraordinary diversity of cichlid fishes challenges entrenched ideas of how quickly new species can arise

A Multifractal Walk down Wall Street

The geometry that describes the shape of coastlines and the patterns of galaxies also elucidates how stock prices soar and plummet

How Limbs Develop

A protein playfully named Sonic hedgehog is one of the long-sought factors that dictate the pattern of limb development

The Way to Go in Space

To go farther into space, humans will first have to figure out how to get there cheaply and more efficiently. Ideas are not in short supply

Air-Breathing Engines

For years, engineers have dreamed of building an aircraft that could reach hypersonic speeds, greater than Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.

Space Tethers

When humans begin to inhabit the moon and planets other than Earth, they may not use the modern technology of

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rockets. Highways of Light

Today's spacecraft carry their source of power.

Light Sails

Science-fiction dreams of worlds beyond our own solar system have taken on a more realistic aspect since astronomers discovered that the universe contains planets in unexpectedly large numbers

Compact Nuclear Rockets

Someday, in exploring the outer planets of our solar system, humankind will want to do more than send diminutive probes that merely fly rapidly by them.

Reaching for the Stars

The notion of traveling to the stars is a concept compelling enough to recur in countless cultural artifacts, from Roman poetry to 20th-century popular music

The Amateur Scientist

Tackling the Triple Point

Mathematical Recreations

Origami Tessellations

Jan 1999

Surveying Space-time with Supernovae

Exploding stars seen across immense distances show that the cosmic expansion may be accelerating - a sign that the universe may be driven apart by an exotic new form of energy

Cosmological Antigravity

The long-derided cosmological constant-a contrivance of Albert Einstein's that represents a bizarre form of energy inherent in space itself-is one of two contenders for explaining changes in the expansion rate of the universe

Inflation in a Low-Density Universe

Evidence has gradually accumulated that the universe has less matter, and therefore is expanding faster, than the theory of inflation traditionally predicts. But a more sophisticated version of the theory readily explains the observations

Child Care among the Insects

Why do some insect parents risk their lives to care for their young?

Disarming Flu Viruses

Coming soon: new medicines designed to treat the flu by halting viral replication in human tissues. The drugs may also serve as a novel kind of preventive

Y2K: So Many Bugs...So Little Time

Fixing Y2K seems simple: change all two-digit years to four digits. But that tedious - and unexpectedly difficult - process takes more time than is left

DNA Microsatellites: Agents of Evolution?

Repetitive DNA sequences play a surprising role in how bacteria - and perhaps higher organisms - adapt to their environments. On the downside, they have also been linked to human disease

Expeditions: To Save a Salmon

On Vancouver Island, fisheries scientists are trying to find out whether commercial fishing and cohos can coexist

The Amateur Scientist

Taking the Earth's Magnetic Pulse

Mathematical Recreations

Division without Envy

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Dec 1998 The Evolution of Galaxy Clusters

The most massive objects in the universe are huge clusters of galaxies and gas that have slowly congregated over billions of years. The process of agglomeration may now be ending

Cloning for Medicine

Now that genetically modified and copied mammals are a reality, biomedical researchers are starting to develop imaginative ways to use this technology

Making Ultrabright X-rays

Radiation a billion times brighter than the sun's is illuminating a host of scientific and technical phenomena

Combating Prostate Cancer

Recent advances in diagnosis and treatment promise to extend survival time and improve the quality of life for many patients

Leafy Sea Dragons

These masters of camouflage are fierce predators - and one of the few species in which males become pregnant

Building the Better Bug

Inserting new genes into a few specific insect species could stop some infectious diseases, benefit agriculture and produce innovative materials

Physicists in Wartime Japan

During the most trying years of Japan's history, two brilliant schools of theoretical physics flourished

Sizing Up Software

Unlike oil, steel or paper, software is an intangible commodity. This elusive quality makes computer programs difficult to quantify

The Amateur Scientist

Sorting Molecules With Electricity

Mathematical Recreations

Your Half's Bigger Than My Half!

Nov 1998 Natural Oil Spills

In the Gulf of Mexico, a region famous for its many oil and gas fields, most of the petroleum flowing into the ocean leaks naturally from fissures in the seabed

The Meteorite Hunter, Part I: The Day the Sands Caught Fire

A desert impact site demonstrates the wrath of rocks from space

Meteorite Hunters Part II: The Search for Greenland's Mysterious Meteor

Caught on camera, the fireball that streaked across Arctic skies last December appeared to move too fast for anything from this solar system. A monthlong expedition on this island of ice hunted for remains - and answers

Glueballs

Gluons, which hold protons together, can also clump into globs of pure glue

Evolution and the Origins of Disease

The principles of evolution by natural selection are finally beginning to inform medicine

Mating Strategies of Spiders

Spiders have evolved intriguing behaviors to woo their occasionally cannibalistic mates

Simulating Water and the Molecules of Life

Computer modeling reveals how water affects the structures and dynamics of biological molecules such as proteins, yielding clues to their functions

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100 Years of Magnetic Memories

Although the technology is ubiquitous today, magnetic recording had a sluggish start. The underlying science was something of a mystery, applications were slow to emerge, and business and politics stifled development.

The Amateur Scientist

Floating A Challenge

Mathematical Recreations

Resurrection Shuffle

Oct 1998

Galaxies behind the Milky Way

Over a fifth of the universe is hidden from view, blocked by dust and stars in the disk of our galaxy. But over the past few years, astronomers have found ways to peek through the murk

Designer Estrogens

These compounds - also called SERMs - have evolved from mere laboratory curiosities into drugs that hold promise for preventing several major disorders in women

Secrets of the Slime Hag

Loathsome though they may seem, hagfishes may also resemble the earliest animals to have a braincase - making them even older than the first animals to develop a backbone

The Asymmetry between Matter and Antimatter

In 1999 new accelerators will start searching for violations in a fundamental symmetry of nature, throwing open a window to physics beyond the known

The Artistry of Microorganisms

Colonies of bacteria or amoebas form complex patterns that blur the boundary between life and nonlife

Simon Newcomb: Astronomer with an Attitude

The most celebrated American astronomer of the late 19th century advocated broad social and cultural reforms based on the use of scientific method

Computer Security and the Internet

This past February hackers reached through the Internet to break into the computer networks at various U.S. Air Force and Navy sites.

Port scanners, core dumps and buffer overflows are but a few How Hackers Break In... and How They of the many weapons in every sophisticated hacker's arsenal. Are Caught Still, no hacker is invincible How Computer Security Works

Three types of safeguards offer a formidable defense against Internet intruders

Cryptography for the Internet

E-mail and other information sent electronically are like digital postcards - they afford little privacy. Well-designed cryptography systems can ensure the secrecy of such transmissions.

The Case against Regulating Encryption One of the pioneers of computer security says the U.S. Technology government should keep its hands off cryptography The Amateur Scientist

Home Movies of an Invisible World

Mathematical Recreations

Playing with Chocolate

Sep 1998

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Preserving the Laetoli Footprints (Part 1)

The discovery of hominid footprints in East Africa reshaped the study of human origins. Now conservators have protected the fragile tracks from destruction

Preserving the Laetoli Footprints (Part 2)

The discovery of hominid footprints in East Africa reshaped the study of human origins. Now conservators have protected the fragile tracks from destruction

The Footprint Makers: An Early View

I worked on my painting of the Laetoli footprint makers during the early fall of 1978, shortly after the discovery of the hominid trackway.

The Laetoli Diorama

Only very rarely does the fossil record provide evidence of an actual event in human prehistory.

Weightlessness and the Human Body

The effects of space travel on the body resemble some of the conditions of aging. Studying astronauts' health may improve medical care both in orbit and on the ground

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

A new theory suggests the disorder results from a failure in self-control. ADHD may arise when key brain circuits do not develop properly, perhaps because of an altered gene or genes

Making New Elements

Three new elements-110, 111 and 112-have been produced over the past several years. Scientists are now struggling to create 113 and 114. How many elements can they add to the periodic table?

The Evolution of the Periodic System

From its origins some 200 years ago, the periodic table has become a vital tool for modern chemists

The Oort Cloud

On the outskirts of the solar system swarms a vast cloud of comets, influenced almost as much by other stars as by our sun. The dynamics of this cloud may help explain such matters as mass extinctions on Earth

Thermophotovoltaics

Semiconductors that convert radiant heat to electricity may prove suitable for lighting remote villages or powering automobiles

The Amateur Scientist

Spooling the Stuff of Life

Mathematical Recreations

Counting the Pyramid Builders

Aug 1998 Fusion and the Z Pinch

A device called the Z machine has led to a new way of triggering controlled fusion with intense nanosecond bursts of x-rays

Low-Back Pain

Low-back pain is at epidemic levels. Although its causes are still poorly understood, treatment choices have improved, with the body's own healing power often the most reliable remedy

Computing with DNA

The manipulation of DNA to solve mathematical problems is redefining what is meant by "computation"

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Monitoring and Controlling Debris in Space

The path from Sputnik to the International Space Station has been littered with high-tech refuse, creating an environmental problem in outer space

A Quarter-Century of Recreational Mathematics

The author of "Scientific American"'s column "Mathematical Games" from 1956 to 1981 recounts 25 years of amusing puzzles and serious discoveries

Irrigating Crops with Seawater

As the world's population grows and freshwater stores become more precious, researchers are looking to the sea for the water to irrigate selected crops

Microdiamonds

These tiny, enigmatic crystals hold promise both for industry and for the study of how diamond grows

The Philadelphia Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793

One of the first major epidemics of the disease in the U.S., it devastated America's early capital. It also had lasting repercussions for the city and country

The Amateur Scientist

Building a Consciousness of Streams

Mathematical Recreations

Monks, Blobs and Common Knowledge

Jul 1998 The Mars Pathfinder Mission

Last summer the first ever Mars rover found in situ evidence that the Red Planet may once have been hospitable to life

The Split Brain Revisited

Groundbreaking work that began more than a quarter of a century ago has led to ongoing insights about brain organization and consciousness

The Single-Atom Laser

A new type of laser that harnesses the energy of individual atoms reveals how light interacts with matter

Mating Strategies in Butterflies

Butterflies meet, woo and win their mates using seductive signals and clever strategies honed by evolution

Léon Foucault

Celebrated for his pendulum experiment in 1851, Foucault also produced decisive evidence against the particle theory of light, invented the gyroscope, perfected the reflecting telescope and measured the sun's distance

Defeating AIDS: What Will It Take?

Ten years ago, when "Scientific American" published an issue devoted to AIDS (the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), scientists knew that the disease, first identified in 1981, was caused by HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus).

HIV 1998: The Global Picture

Worldwide, the populations most affected by the AIDS virus are often the least empowered to confront it effectively

Improving HIV Therapy

Today's optimal treatments can work magic, but they are costly and onerous and do not work for everyone. What might the future bring?

How Drug Resistance Arises

When anti-HIV therapy fails to keep HIV levels suppressed, the cause is often viral resistance to at least one of the drugs being administered.

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Viral-Load Tests Provide Valuable Answers

In the early 1990s tests that could accurately detect the amount of HIV in a patient's blood finally became available.

When Children Harbor HIV

HIV infection is particularly difficult to combat in the young

Preventing HIV Infection

Altering behavior is still the primary way to control the epidemic

Unlike vaccines for many viruses, those for HIV may have to HIV Vaccines: Prospects and Challenges go beyond generating antibodies. Devising approaches that will fully activate the immune system is far from simple Avoiding Infection After HIV Exposure

Treatment may reduce the chance of contracting HIV infection after a risky encounter

Coping With HIV's Ethical Dilemmas

The issues are many and thorny

The Amateur Scientist

A Year for the Oceans

Mathematical Recreations

The Bellows Conjecture

Jun 1998 The Neurobiology of Depression

The search for biological underpinnings of depression is intensifying. Emerging findings promise to yield better therapies for a disorder that too often proves fatal

A New Look at Quasars

Recent observations from the Hubble Space Telescope may reveal the nature and origin of quasars, the mysterious powerhouses of the cosmos

Shrimp Aquaculture and the Environment

An adviser to shrimp producers and an environmentalist present a prescription for raising shrimp responsibly

Quantum Computing with Molecules

By taking advantage of nuclear magnetic resonance, scientists can coax the molecules in some ordinary liquids to serve as an extraordinary type of computer

Gravity Gradiometry

A formerly classified technique used to navigate ballisticmissile submarines now helps geologists search for resources hidden underground

Alcohol in the Western World

The role of alcohol in Western civilization has changed dramatically during this millennium. Our current medical interpretation of alcohol as primarily an agent of disease comes after a more complex historical relationship

Defibrillation: The Spark of Life

In the 50 years since doctors first used electricity to restart the human heart, we have learned much about defibrillators and little about fibrillation

The Amateur Scientist

Waiter, There's a Hair in My Hygrometer

Mathematical Recreations

What a Coincidence!

May 1998

Six Months on Mir

As the Shuttle-Mir program draws to a close, a veteran NASA astronaut reflects on her mission on board the Russian spacecraft and the implications for the International Space Station

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How Cicadas Make Their Noise

The loudest known insects, male cicadas are designed for sound. Their internal instrument is surprisingly complex

The Genetics of Cognitive Abilities and Disabilities

Investigations of specific cognitive skills can help clarify how genes shape the components of intellect

Television's Bright New Technology

The plasma display panel is finally making good on a decades-old promise: a big, bright screen so thin it can be hung on a wall. But mainstream success requires that engineers find a way to get prices down from the current $11,000

Digital Television: Here at Last

After a long and contentious process, a digital standard in the U.S. has finally emerged. It will soon replace today's antiquated television system

Japanese Temple Geometry

During Japan's period of national seclusion (1639-1854), native mathematics thrived, as evidenced in "sangaku"wooden tablets engraved with geometry problems hung under the roofs of shrines and temples

A Calculus of Risk

Financial engineering can lessen exposure to the perils of running a multibillion-dollar business or a small household. But mathematical models used by this discipline may present a new set of hazards

The Amateur Scientist

Sensing Subtle Tsunamis

Mathematical Recreations

Cementing Relationships

Apr 1998 Cosmic Antimatter

Antiparticles are rare and maddeningly elusive. But they may hold clues to some of the mysteries of astrophysics

Post-Polio Syndrome

Decades after recovering much of their muscular strength, survivors of paralytic polio are reporting unexpected fatigue, pain and weakness. The cause appears to be degeneration of motor neurons

Science in Pictures: The Earliest Views

Re-creating the experiments of pioneering microscopists reveals what they actually saw with their simple, single-lens instruments

How Females Choose Their Mates

Females often prefer to mate with the most flamboyant males. Their choice may be based on a complex interaction between instinct and imitation

Laser Scissors and Tweezers

Researchers are using lasers to grasp single cells and tinier components in vises of light while delicately altering the held structures. These lasers offer new ways to investigate and manipulate cells

Wireless Technologies

Special Report

New Satellites for Personal Communications

Fleets of satellites will soon make it possible to reach someone anywhere on the earth, using nothing more than a small handset

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Telecommunications for the 21st Century

Systems based on satellites and high-altitude platforms will merge with optical-fiber and terrestrial wireless networks to provide global, high data-rate, mobile communications

Terrestrial Wireless Networks

Seamless switching between networks will draw users to wireless data services. A working model is now in operation

Moving beyond Wireless Voice Systems

Cell phones are but one application of wireless communications. The technology also enables accurate position determination and the monitoring of remote sites

Spread-Spectrum Radio

Dicing information into digital bundles and transmitting them at low power over different frequencies can enable millions of people to send and receive simultaneously

The Amateur Scientist

Making Experiments out of Thin Air

Mathematical Recreations

Repealing the Law of Averages

Mar 1998 The Bose-Einstein Condensate

Three years ago in a Colorado laboratory, scientists realized a long-standing dream, bringing the quantum world closer to the one of everyday experience

The Challenge of Antibiotic Resistance

Certain bacterial infections now defy all antibiotics. The resistance problem may be reversible, but only if society begins to consider how the drugs affect "good" bacteria as well as "bad"

Nanolasers

Semiconductor lasers have shrunk to dimensions even smaller than the wavelength of the light they emit. In that realm, quantum behavior takes over, enabling more efficient and faster devices

Animating Human Motion

Computer animation is becoming increasingly lifelike. Using simulation, a technique based on the laws of physics, researchers have created virtual humans who run, dive, bicycle and vault

The Caiman Trade

The contraband trade in caiman skins shows how "sustainable utilization" of endangered species fails to sustain them

Preventing the Next Oil Crunch

Enough oil remains in the earth to fill the reservoir behind Hoover Dam four times over-and that's just counting the fraction of buried crude that is relatively easy to recover and refine.

The End of Cheap Oil

Global production of conventional oil will begin to decline sooner than most people think, probably within 10 years

Mining for Oil

More oil is trapped in Canadian sands than Saudi Arabia holds in its reserves. The technology now exists to exploit this vast resource profitably

Oil Production in the 21st Century

Recent innovations in underground imaging, steerable drilling and deepwater oil production could recover more of what lies below

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Liquid Fuels from Natural Gas

Natural gas is cleaner and more plentiful than oil. New ways to convert it to liquid form may soon make it just as cheap and convenient to use in vehicles

The Amateur Scientist

The Pleasures of Pond Scum

Mathematical Recreations

Glass Klein Bottles

Feb 1998 The Origin of Birds and Their Flight

Anatomical and aerodynamic analyses of fossils and living birds show that birds evolved from small, predatory dinosaurs that lived on the ground

Scientists in Black

In a unique collaboration, scientists and intelligence officials are working together to find out what the U.S. government's vast secret archives can reveal about the earth

The Viking Longship

Long, narrow ships packed with warriors helped to make the Vikings the dominant power in Europe for three centuries, beginning in about A.D. 800

The Theory Formerly Known as Strings

The Theory of Everything is emerging as one in which not only strings but also membranes and black holes play a role

The Search for Blood Substitutes

The threat of global shortages of blood and fears about contamination have hastened attempts to find life-sustaining alternatives.

Greenland Ice Cores: Frozen in Time

Ice, frozen in place for tens of thousands of years, provides scientists with clues to past-and future-climate

Everyday Exposure to Toxic Pollutants

Environmental regulations have improved the quality of outdoor air. But problems that persist indoors have received too little attention

The Amateur Scientist

Bird-Watching by the Numbers

Mathematical Recreations

Tight Tins for Round Sardines

Jan 1998 The Architecture of Life

A universal set of building rules seems to guide the design of organic structures-from simple carbon compounds to complex cells and tissues

Burial of Radioactive Waste under the Seabed

Although the notion troubles some environmentalists, the disposing of nuclear refuse within oceanic sediments merits consideration

Bacterial Gene Swapping in Nature

Genes travel between independent bacteria more often than once was assumed. Study of that process can help limit the risks of releasing genetically engineered microbes into the environment

The Ulysses Mission

The first space probe to be sent on a "polar" trajectory has made some remarkable discoveries on its first orbit around the sun

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Lise Meitner and the Discovery of Nuclear Fission

One of the discoverers of fission in 1938, Meitner was at the time overlooked by the Nobel judges. Racial persecution, fear and opportunism combined to obscure her contributions

Picosecond Ultrasonics

Brief pulses of high-frequency sound allow experimenters to probe connections inside a computer chip

The Placebo Effect

Colds, asthma, high blood pressure and heart disease are among the many conditions that can respond to treatment with a placebo. Should doctors be prescribing sugar pills?

Leonardo and the Invention of the Wheellock

Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks are full of inventions, from intricate gun parts to bicycles to automobiles. But were any of Leonardo's many creations actually made during his lifetime?

The Amateur Scientist

A Kitchen Centrifuge

Mathematical Recreations

Double Bubble, Toil and Trouble

Dec 1997 Metal Clusters and Magic Numbers

Investigations of tiny lumps of metal can help bridge the gap in physicists' understanding of the differences between isolated atoms and bulk solids

The Case for Relic Life on Mars

A meteorite found in Antarctica offers strong evidence that Mars has had - and may still have - microbial life

Williams Syndrome and the Brain

To gain fresh insights into how the brain is organized, investigators are turning to a little known disorder

Tracking a Dinosaur Attack

The efforts of a sculptor and a paleontologist reveal details of a 100-million-year-old skirmish

Exploiting Zero-Point Energy

Energy fills empty space, but is there a lot to be tapped, as some propound? Probably not

Building the Biggest

Our age worships small things: the microchip, recombinant genes, mechanical parts built at the molecular scale.

The Longest Suspension Bridge

The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge has broken many records and weathered an earthquake--even while it is being completed

The World's Tallest Buildings

Malaysia's Petronas Twin Towers serve as both a cultural and an economic symbol

Building a New Gateway to China

The largest public-works upgrade on earth calls for, among other things, a new airport, two world-class bridges and two submerged crossings of Victoria Harbor

Do We Still Need Skyscrapers?

The Industrial Revolution made skyscrapers possible. The Digital Revolution makes them (almost) obsolete

The Amateur Scientist

Taking Back the Final Frontier

Mathematical Recreations

Cat's Cradle Calculus Challenge

Nov 1997 Mercury: The Forgotten Planet

Although one of Earth's nearest neighbors, this strange world remains, for the most part, unknown

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Fermat's Last Stand

His most notorious theorem baffled the greatest minds for more than three centuries. But after 10 years of work, one mathematician cracked it

Taking Nuclear Weapons off Hair-Trigger Alert

It is time to end the practice of keeping nuclear missiles constantly ready to fire. This change would greatly reduce the possibility of a mistaken launch

The Parasitic Wasp's Secret Weapon

Parasitic wasps must develop inside living caterpillars. They survive this hostile environment by smuggling in a virus that suppresses their host's immune system

Fighting Computer Viruses

Biological metaphors offer insight into many aspects of computer viruses and can inspire defenses against them

Great Zimbabwe

For centuries, this ancient Shona city stood at the hub of a vast trade network. The site has also been at the center of a bitter debate about African history and heritage

Making Rice Disease Resistant

For the first time, scientists have used genetic engineering to protect this essential crop from disease

The Amateur Scientist

Caught in a Wind Tunnel

Mathematical Recreations

The Lore and Lure of Dice

Oct 1997 Transportation's Perennial Problems

The congestion, accidents and pollution that plague modern travel are hardly new. History and recent research suggest they may remain intractable for generations to come

The Past and Future of Global Mobility

With growing wealth, people everywhere travel farther and faster. That trend inevitably brings a shift in the dominant transportation technologies

13 Vehicles That Went Nowhere

Perhaps "nowhere" is too harsh. But all these transportation concepts - however brilliant or eccentric - fell far short of their enthusiasts' great hopes.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles

They will reduce pollution and conserve petroleum. But will people buy them, even if the vehicles have astounding fuel efficiency?

Flywheels in Hybrid Vehicles

A rapidly spinning flywheel combines with a gas-turbine engine to power a novel hybrid electric vehicle

Automated Highways

Cars that drive themselves in tight formation might alleviate the congestion now plaguing urban freeways

Unjamming Traffic with Computers

Insights gleaned from realistic simulations are already moving from computer screens to asphalt

Now That Travel Can Be Virtual, Will Congestion Virtually Disappear?

The idea that telecommunications technology could substitute for travel dawned on people soon after the invention of the telephone.

Driving to Mach 1

"Jetmobiles" try to go supersonic

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Speed versus Need

Rugged mountain climbers, bamboo rigs built for two, threespeeds with banana seats-bicycles, in their many forms, exist the world over.

How High-Speed Trains Make Tracks

In Europe and Japan, train manufacturers are gearing up to achieve ultrafast speeds routinely, without relying on levitation

Fast Trains: Why the U.S. Lags

The reasons are more political than technological

Maglev: Racing to Oblivion?

Two years ago the world's only magnetically levitated train in commercial service shut down.

Straight Up into the Blue

Tiltrotors, which take off like a helicopter but fly like an airplane, will soon make their military debut. Can civilian applications be far behind?

The Lure of Icarus

With new designs and materials, human-powered fliers challenge the distance record

A Simpler Ride into Space

Technological advances may allow rockets of the next century to operate much as aircraft do today. That change might cut the cost of reaching orbit by 10-fold

Faster Ships for the Future

New designs for oceangoing freighters may soon double their speeds

Microsubs Go to Sea

Small, maneuverable, self-contained - these tiny submersibles may someday take a human to the bottom of the sea

Elevators on the Move

Elevator technology is taking off in new directions, including sideways

The Amateur Scientist

Recording the Sounds of Life

Mathematical Recreations

Two-Way Jigsaw Puzzles

Sep 1997

In Search of AIDS-Resistance Genes

A genetic trait that protects against AIDS has now been uncovered, and others are emerging. The findings open entirely new avenues for developing preventives and therapies

The Discovery of the Top Quark

Finding the sixth quark involved the world's most energetic collisions and a cast of thousands

Building Doors into Cells

With the help of recombinant DNA technology, researchers have learned how to create artificial pores that might be used to deliver drugs or act as biosensors to detect toxic chemicals.

Running on Water

The secret of the basilisk lizard's strategy lies in its stroke

Creating False Memories

Researchers are showing how suggestion and imagination can create "memories" of events that did not actually occur

Life in the Provinces of the Aztec Empire

The lives of the Aztec common people were far richer and more complex than the official histories would have us believe.

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Booming Sand

Though known for centuries, sound-producing sand remains one of nature's more puzzling phenomena

The Amateur Scientist

Unraveling the Secrets of Monarchs

Mathematical Recreations

Empires and Electronics

Aug 1997 Mitochondrial DNA in Aging and Disease

Defects in DNA outside the chromosomes - in cell structures called mitochondria - can cause an array of disorders, perhaps including many that debilitate the elderly

Lightning Control with Lasers

Scientists seek to deflect damaging lightning strikes using specially engineered lasers

Lightning between Earth and Space

Scientists discover a curious variety of electrical activity going on above thunderstorms

Space Age Archaeology

Remote-sensing techniques are transforming archaeology. Excavations may become less essential as researchers explore hidden sites and examine buried artifacts without unearthing them

Glandular Gifts

The way to a katydid's heart is through her stomach

The Top-Secret Life of Lev Landau

KGB archives reveal that the Soviet genius co-authored an anti-Stalin manifesto

The Machinery of Thought

Studies of the brains of monkeys and, more recently, of humans are revealing the neural underpinnings of working memory, one of the mind's most crucial functions

The Amateur Scientist

Getting a Charge out of Rain

Mathematical Recreations

Empires on the Moon

Jul 1997 Cave temples along the ancient Silk Road document the cultural and religious transformations of a millennium. China's Buddhist Treasures at Dunhuang Researchers are striving to preserve these endangered statues and paintings Gamma-Ray Bursts

New observations illuminate the most powerful explosions in the universe

Xenotransplantation

After struggling for decades with a shortage of donated organs from cadavers, transplant surgeons may soon have another source to tap

Strong Fabrics for Fast Sails

Composite fabrics first developed for the sails of racing yachts may soon find use in parachutes and research balloons

Asbestos Revisited

Once considered safe enough to use in toothpaste, this unique substance has intrigued people for more than 2,000 years

Global Population and the Nitrogen Cycle

Feeding humankind now demands so much nitrogen-based fertilizer that the distribution of nitrogen on the earth has been changed in dramatic, and sometimes dangerous, ways

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Taking Computers to Task

Coming generations of computers will be more fun and engaging to use. But will they earn their keep in the workplace?

The Amateur Scientist

How-To's of Butterfly Rookeries

Mathematical Recreations

Squaring the Square

Jun 1997 Iran's Nuclear Puzzle

Rich in fossil-fuel resources, Iran is pursuing a nuclear power program difficult to understand in the absence of military motives

Configurable Computing

Computers that modify their hardware circuits as they operate are opening a new era in computer design. Because they can filter data rapidly, they excel at pattern recognition, image processing and encryption

Early Hominid Fossils from Africa

A new species of "Australopithecus", the ancestor of "Homo", pushes back the origins of bipedalism to some four million years ago

Panoramas of the Seafloor

Modern sonar techniques map the continental margins of the U.S. and reveal the richly varied scenery usually hidden underwater

Searching for Digital Pictures

Computers that can reason about images may be able to pick out distinct features of a person, place or object from photograph archives

Making Gene Therapy Work: Table of Contents

Special Report

Overcoming the Obstacles to Gene Therapy

Treating disease by providing needed genes remains a compelling idea, but clinical and basic researchers still have much to do before gene therapy can live up to its promise

Nonviral Strategies for Gene Therapy

Many drawbacks of viral gene delivery agents might be overcome by nonviral systems. Studies in patients suggest these systems have potential as therapies and as vaccines

Gene Therapy for Cancer

Inserted genes could in theory arrest tumor growth or even AIDS

Gene Therapy for the Nervous System

Inserting genes into brain cells may one day offer doctors a way to slow, or even reverse, the damage from degenerative neurological disease

What Cloning Means for Gene Therapy

The recently debuted technology for cloning is usually discussed as a means of creating genetic copies of whole adult individuals.

Bringing Schrödinger's Cat to Life

Recent experiments have begun to demonstrate how the weird world of quantum mechanics gives way to the familiarity of everyday experience

The Amateur Scientist

Getting Inside an Ant's Head

Mathematical Recreations

The Sifting Sands of Factorland

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May 1997 Divided We Fall: Cooperation among Lions

Although they are the most social of all cats, lions cooperate only when it is in their own best interest

Managing Human Error in Aviation

Mistakes by flight crews contribute to more than two thirds of aviation accidents. Training to enhance team performance may reduce potentially fatal errors

Integrins and Health

Discovered only recently, these adhesive cell-surface molecules have quickly revealed themselves to be critical to proper functioning of the body and to life itself

The Coming Climate

Meteorological records and computer models permit insights into some of the broad weather patterns of a warmer world

New Chemical Tools to Create Plastics

Small molecular machines called metallocene catalysts have revolutionized the industrial synthesis of valuable plastics

Galaxies in the Young Universe

By comparing distant primeval galaxies with older ones nearby, astronomers hope to determine how galaxies form and evolve

Seeking a Better Way to Die

As the U.S. Supreme Court ponders physician-assisted suicide, health care providers strive to improve care of the dying

The Amateur Scientist

When Hazy Skies Are Rising

Mathematical Recreations

Big Game Hunting in Primeland

Apr 1997 Can Sustainable Management Save Tropical Forests?

Sustainability proves surprisingly problematic in the quest to reconcile conservation with the production of tropical timber

Black Holes and the Information Paradox

What happens to the information in matter destroyed by a black hole? Searching for that answer, physicists are groping toward a quantum theory of gravity

Out of Africa Again... and Again?

Africa is the birthplace of humanity. But how many human species evolved there? And when did they emigrate?

Combinatorial Chemistry and New Drugs

An innovative technique that quickly produces large numbers of structurally related compounds is changing the way drugs are discovered

How Erosion Builds Mountains

An understanding of how tectonic, erosional and climatic forces interact to shape mountains permits clearer insights into the earth's history

Extremophiles

These microbes thrive under conditions that would kill other creatures. The molecules that enable extremophiles to prosper are becoming useful to industry

The Science of Murphy's Law

Life's little annoyances are not as random as they seem: the awful truth is that the universe is against you

Jules Verne, Misunderstood Visionary

Discovery of a long-lost novel reveals that, from the start, the father of science fiction was gravely concerned with the dangers of technology

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The Amateur Scientist

The Joys of Armchair Ornithology

Mathematical Recreations

Knight's Tours

Mar 1997 SOHO Reveals the Secrets of the Sun

A powerful new spacecraft, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO, is now monitoring the sun around the clock, providing new clues about our nearest star

The Internet

Fulfilling the Promise

The Internet: Bringing Order From Chaos

The Internet, as everybody with a modem now knows, has fallen victim to its own success.

Searching the Internet

Combining the skills of the librarian and the computer scientist may help organize the anarchy of the Internet

Going Digital

Electronic libraries will make today's Internet pale by comparison. But building them will not be easy

Filtering Information On The Internet

Look for the labels to decide if unknown software and World Wide Web sites are safe and interesting

Interfaces For Searching the Web

The rapid growth of the World Wide Web is outpacing current attempts to search and organize it. New user interfaces may offer a better approach

Websurfing Without a Monitor

When I hook up to the Internet to check out the news on CNN, to peruse a colleague's latest paper or to see how Adobe's stock price is doing, I leave the display of my laptop turned off.

Multilingualism on the Internet

In recent years, American culture has increased its worldwide influence through international trade and Hollywood productions.

Trusted Systems

Devices that enforce machine-readable rights to use the work of a musician or author may create secure ways to publish over the Internet.

Preserving the Internet

An archive of the Internet may prove to be a vital record for historians, businesses and governments

Psychiatry's Global Challenge

An evolving crisis in the developing world signals the need for a better understanding of the links between culture and mental disorders

Discovering Genes for New Medicines

By identifying human genes involved in disease, researchers can create potentially therapeutic proteins and speed the development of powerful drugs

Heike Kamerlingh Onne's Discovery of Superconductivity

The turn-of-the-century race to reach temperatures approaching absolute zero led to the unexpected discovery of electric currents that flowed with no resistance

Plants That Warm Themselves

Some plants produce extraordinary heat when they bloom. A few even regulate their temperature within narrow limits, much as if they were warm-blooded animals

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The Rising Seas

Although some voice concern that global warming will lead to a meltdown of polar ice, flooding coastlines everywhere, the true threat remais difficult to gauge

Mathematical Recreations

Juniper Green

The Amateur Scientist

Algorithm of the Gods

Feb 1997 Immunotherapy for Cocaine Addiction

Newly developed compounds derived from the immune system may help combat cocaine abuse by destroying the drug soon after it enters the bloodstream

Satellite Radar Interferometry

From hundreds of kilometers away in space, orbiting instruments can detect subtle buckling of the earth's crust

The Ghostliest Galaxies

Astronomers have found more than 1,000 "low-surfacebrightness" galaxies over the past decade, significantly altering our views of how galaxies evolve and how mass is distributed in the universe

The Lesser Known Edison

In addition to his famous inventions, Thomas Edison's fertile imagination gave the world a host of little known technologies, from talking dolls to poured-concrete houses

Why and How Bacteria Communicate

Bacteria converse with one another and with plants and animals by emitting and reacting to chemical signals. The need to "talk" may help explain why the microbes synthesize a vast array of compounds

The Challenge of Large Numbers

As computer capabilities increase, mathematicians can better characterize and manipulate gargantuan figures. Even so, some numbers can only be imagined

The Benefits and Ethics of Animal Research

Experiments on animals are a mainstay of modern medical and scientific research. But what are the costs and what are the returns?

Animal Research Is Wasteful and Misleading

The use of animals for research and testing is only one of many investigative techniques available.

Animal Research Is Vital to Medicine

Experiments using animals have played a crucial role in the development of modern medical treatments, and they will continue to be necessary as researchers seek to alleviate existing ailments and respond to the emergence of new disease.

Trends in Animal Research

Increased concern for animals, among scientists as well as the public, is changing the ways in which animals are used for research and safety testing

The Amateur Scientist

A Picture-Perfect Comet

Mathematical Recreations

Crystallography of a Golf Ball

Jan 1997 Cosmic Rays at the Energy Frontier

These particles carry more energy than any others in the universe. Their origin is unknown but may be relatively

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nearby Understanding Parkinson's Disease

The smoking gun is still missing, but growing evidence suggests highly reactive substances called free radicals are central players in this common neurological disorder

Tackling Turbulence with Supercomputers

Computers only recently became powerful enough to illuminate simple examples of this great classical problem. In some cases, they will let engineers control it

Transgenic Livestock as Drug Factories

By introducing key human genes into mammals, biologists can induce dairy animals to produce therapeutic proteins in their milk

How the Blind Draw

Blind and sighted people use many of the same devices in sketching their surroundings, suggesting that vision and touch are closely linked

Scientists monitor a controlled deluge that was staged in the Experimental Flooding in Grand Canyon early spring of 1996 solely for the benefit of the environment in and around the Colorado River The Einstein-Sziland Refrigerator

Two visionary theoretical physicists joined forces in the 1920s to reinvent the household refrigerator

Science versus Antiscience?

Movements lumped under the term "antiscience" have disparate causes, and not all pose as much of a threat as has been claimed

The Amateur Scientist

Catch a Comet by Its Tail

Mathematical Recreations

Alphamagic Squares

Dec 1996 The Specter of Biological Weapons

States and terrorists alike have shown a growing interest in germ warfare. More stringent arms-control efforts are needed to discourage attacks

Primordial Deuterium and the Big Bang

Nuclei of this hydrogen isotope formed in the first moments of the big bang. Their abundance offers clues to the early evolution of the universe and the nature of cosmic dark matter

Creating Nanophase Materials

The properties of these ultrafine-grained substances, now found in a range of commercial products, can be customengineered

Cell Suicide in Health and Disease

Cells can - and often do - kill themselves, in a process known as apoptosis. This capacity is essential to the proper functioning of the body; flawed regulation may lie behind many diseases

Atmospheric Dust and Acid Rain

Emissions of acidic air pollutants have fallen dramatically. Why is acid rain still a problem? Atmospheric dust may be part of the answer.

A Cricket Robot

Can a simple electromechanical system perform a complex behavior of a living creature? There was one sure way to find out

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Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

Workmen and their families lived some 3,000 years ago in the village now known as Deir el-Medina. Written records from the unusually well educated community offer fascinating descriptions of everyday activities

Why Freud Isn't Dead

Skeptics continue to challenge Sigmund Freud's ideas about the mind. Yet no unquestionably superior theory or therapy has rendered psychoanalysis completely obsolete

The Amateur Scientist

Dissecting the Brain with Sound

Mathematical Recreations

Cows in the Maze

Nov 1996 The Case for Electric Vehicles

New technological developments have put practical electric cars within reach, but politics may slow the shift away from internal-combustion engines

Immunity and the Invertebrates

The fabulously complex immune systems of humans and other mammals evolved over hundreds of millions of years in sometimes surprising ways

Sharks and the Origins of Vertebrate Immunity

Sharks, which have existed for as many as 450 million years, offer glimpses of a distant period in the evolution of the immune system.

Quantum Seeing in the Dark

Quantum optics demonstrates the existence of interaction-free measurements: the detection of objects without light - or anything else - ever hitting them

Global Climatic Change on Mars

Today a frozen world, Mars at one time may have had more temperate conditions, with flowing rivers, thawing seas, melting glaciers and, perhaps, abundant life

Can China Feed Itself?

Some surprisingly reasonable policy changes would enable the world's largest nation to produce more food for its 1.2 billion citizens

Dyslexia

A new model of this reading disorder emphasizes defects in the language-processing rather than the visual system. It explains why some very smart people have trouble learning to read

Rock Art in Southern Africa

Paintings and engravings made by ancestors of the San peoples encode the history and culture of a society thousands of years old

The Amateur Scientist

Much Ado about Nothing

Mathematical Recreations

A Guide to Computer Dating

Oct 1996 Single Mothers and Welfare

For the first time since the Great Depression, large numbers of families are homeless. Recent welfare revisions will put even more women and children on the stress.

Microbes Deep inside the Earth

Recently discovered microorganisms that dwell within the earth's crust could reveal clues to the origin of life

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Friction at the Atomic Scale

Long neglected by physicists, the study of friction's atomic-level origins, or nanotribology, indicates that the force stems from various unexpected sources, including sound energy

Controlling Computers with Neural Signals

Electrical impulses from nerves and muscles can command computers directly, a method that aids people with physical disabilities

Ten Days under the Sea

Living underwater in the world's only habitat devoted to science, six aquanauts studied juvenile corals and fought off "the funk"

How an Underwater Habitat Benefits Marine Science

Scuba divers joke that there are two ways to avoid decompression sickness, the rare but dreaded "bends": don't go down, or don't come up.

Charles Darwin and Associates, Ghostbusters

When the scientific establishment put a spiritualist on trial, the co-discoverers of natural selection took opposing sides

Confronting Science's Logical Limits

The mathematical models now used in many scientific fields may be fundamentally unable to answer certain questions about the real world. Yet there may be ways around these problems

Sounding Out Science

Prince William Sound is recovering, seven years after the "Exxon Valdez" disaster. But the spill's scientific legacy remains a mess

The Amateur Scientist

Working in a Vacuum

Mathematical Recreations

Monopoly Revisited

Sep 1996 How Cancer Arises

An explosion of research is uncovering the long-hidden molecular underpinnings of cancer - and suggesting new therapies

How Cancer Spreads

Tumor cells roam the body by evading the controls that keep normal cells in place. That fact offers clues to fighting cancer

Causes and Prevention

Many of the culprits most publicized as causes of cancer actually account for a relatively small fraction of deaths. The good news: we can do more to protect ourselves. And a growing area of study - chemoprevention - is attempting to make the task easier.

What Causes Cancer?

The top two causes - tobacco and diet - account for almost two thirds of all cancer deaths and are among the most correctable

Strategies For Minimizing Cancer Risk

Simple, realistic preventive measures could save hundreds of thousands of lives every year in developed countries alone

Chemoprevention of Cancer

Someday people should be able to avoid cancer or delay its onset by taking specially formulated pills or foods

Is Hormone Replacement Therapy a Risk?

Thanks to advances in public health and medicine, the average American woman will be postmenopausal for about

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one third of her life.

Toward Earlier Detection

New technology promises not only to detect cancers earlier and more accurately but also to catch tumors in their precancerous state, when the disease still might be prevented outright. The same basic instruments should help physicians to distinguish patients who need minimal treatment from those who need the most aggressive interventions.

Advances in Cancer Detection

Tests to look for the presence of a tumor before any symptoms appear may save more lives than new drug therapies do

Advances in Tumor Imaging

New tools yield a three-dimensional view inside the body and automated advice on interpreting the anatomical landscape

Should Women in Their 40s Have Mammograms?

For at least four years now, breast cancer specialists have been heatedly arguing among themselves about whether women in their forties benefit from having routine mammograms.

Does Screening for Prostate Cancer Make Sense?

Since 1990 the reported number of new cases of prostate cancer has tripled, from fewer than 100,000 annually to an estimated 317,000 this year.

Improving Conventional Therapy

The mainstays of cancer treatment - surgery, radiation and chemotherapy - are being refined and combined in ways that can help patients enjoy longer, more fulfilling lives.

Advancing Current Treatments for Cancer

Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy can now cure many cases of cancer. Future methods will be even more effective

When are Bone Marrow Transplants Considered?

Bone marrow transplants can help to compensate for the damaging effects of intense chemotherapy.

Twelve Major Cancers

The pages that follow provide facts and figures about the 12 cancers that affect the most Americans (excluding basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers, which are very common but rarely fatal).

Therapies of the Future

Fascinating new approaches to treatment would combat cancers without the devastating side effects of many current therapies. Some capitalize on insights into how the immune system might be enlisted to destroy malignancies. Others are based on detailed knowledge of how tumors grow and spread.

Immunotherapy for Cancer

As knowledge about the immune system grows, scientists are devising ways, using the body's own defenses, to attack cancer

New Molecular Targets for Cancer Therapy

Investigators are exploiting the characteristic molecular abnormalities of cancers in new approaches to treatment

Fighting Cancer by Attacking Its Blood Supply

By interfering with the expanding network of blood vessels in tumors, researchers hope to cut off the underlying support system

Living with Cancer (Introduction)

There are ways to cope successfully with the physical, psychological and practical challenges of the disease.

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Resources are available to patients who know where to look. Even pain can usually be controlled - if caregivers award the problem the attention it deserves. Cancer's Psychological Challenges

Cancer patients today have many options for easing distress. These interventions may not prolong life, but they can improve its quality

Alternative Cancer Treatments

Miraculous cures are a myth, but some regimens may well improve the quality of life for patients

Controlling the Pain of Cancer

Despite enormous advances in treating pain, many cancer patients still suffer needlessly. Some simple practices can make a difference

What Are Obstacles to Ideal Care?

Many patients do not know that being in a clinical trial is an option.

Finding More Information

Fortunately, access to incisive knowledge about cancer and its treatment is easier to obtain than ever before.

The Amateur Scientist

The Pleasures of Exploring Ponds

Mathematical Recreations

The Interrogator's Fallacy

Aug 1996 Smart Cards

As potential applications grow, computers in the wallet are making unobtrusive inroads

The Stellar Dynamo

Sunspot cycles - on other stars - are helping astronomers study the sun's variations and the ways they might affect the earth

Gradients that Organize Embryo Development

A few crucial molecular signals give rise to chemical gradients that organize the developing embryo

Sands of the World

One of the most common elements on the earth's surface, sand is also one of the most various

Probing High-Temperature Superconductivity

Recent experiments exploiting subtle quantum effects yield important clues about why some ceramics conduct electricity without resistance

The Mystery of Lambic Beer

An ancient brewing technique produces a beverage so complex that it is still yielding its secrets to organic chemists

Ring Bubbles of Dolphins

A number of bottlenose dolphins in Hawaii can create shimmering, stable rings and helices of air as part of play

Gaining on Fat

As a costly epidemic of obesity spreads through the industrial world, scientists are uncovering the biological roots of this complex disease. The work offers tantalizing hope of new ways to treat, and prevent, the health risks of excess weight

The Amateur Scientist

Detecting Micron-Size Movements

Mathematical Recreations

Shedding a Little Darkness

Jul 1996

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Next-Generation Compact Discs

A novel agreement among competing electronics companies has delivered an innovative plan for compatible "DVD" products - the first are due out this fall

Blue-Laser CD Technology

Coaxing semiconductor crystals into lasing blue light is no easy task, but the rewards - among them, greater storage space on optical disks - are well worth the wait

Sunlight and Skin Cancer

Although most skin cancers appear in older people, the damage often begins decades earlier, when the sun's rays mutate a key gene in a single cell

The Nature of Space and Time

Two relativists present their distinctive views on the universe, its evolution and the impact of quantum theory

The Hidden World of Surgery

In his finely resolved images of surgery, a photographer sees clues to who and what we are

The Mother of Mass Extinctions

Disaster struck 250 million years ago, when the worst decimation in the earth's history occurred. Called the end-Permian mass extinction, it marks a fundamental change in the development of life

Who Owns Digital Works?

Computer networks challenge copyright law, but some proposed cures may be as bad as the disease

Exoskeletal Sensors for Walking

To move their limbs, cockroaches, crabs and spiders rely on organs in their exoskeletons that act as strain gauges. Their method of locomotion could facilitate the design of multilegged robots

The Amateur Scientist

Covert Observations of Nesting Sparrows

Mathematical Recreations

Arithmetic and Old Lace

Jun 1996 Semiconductor Subsidies

Did the U.S. government spend more than $700 million to achieve a goal that might have been attained for much less?

Training the Olympic Athlete

Sports science and technology are today providing elite competitors with the tiny margins needed to win in world-class competition

Science in the Sky

The International Space Station will be the most expensive object ever built. Although many scientists oppose the grandiose scheme, its political momentum now appears unstoppable

Can Nuclear Waste Be Stored Safely at Yucca Mountain?

Studies of the mountain's history and geology can contribute useful insights but not unequivocal conclusions

The Reluctant Father of Black Holes

Albert Einstein's equations of gravity are the foundation of the modern view of black holes; ironically, he used the equations in trying to prove these objects cannot exist

The Art of Charles R. Knight

Long before the film "Jurassic Park", Knight's illustrations brought dinosaurs to life in the public's mind.

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Taxoids: New Weapons against Cancer

The chemists who developed the cancer-fighting agent taxol are creating a family of similar compounds that may one day help combat the disease.

The Amateur Scientist

Homemade Microgram Electrobalances

Mathematical Recreations

Tales of a Neglected Number

May 1996 The Horror of Land Mines

Land mines kill or maim more than 15,000 people each year. Most victims are innocent civilians. Many are children. Still, mines are planted by the thousands every day

The Kuiper Belt

Rather than ending abruptly at the orbit of Pluto, the outer solar system contains an extended belt of small bodies

Uncovering New Clues to Cancer Risk

A growing discipline called molecular epidemiology is attempting to find early biological signposts for heightened risk of cancer. The research should enhance prevention of the disease

Software for Reliable Networks

Techniques that enable distributed computing systems to reorganize themselves can restore operation when one part crashes

The Pursuit of Happiness

New research uncovers some anti-intuitive insights into how many people are happy - and why

The Beluga Whales of the St. Lawrence River

Although they are protected by law from hunters, these whales must struggle to survive the threat of industrial pollution

The Lost Technology of Ancient Greek Rowing

The navies of classical Greece took advantage of the sliding stroke, a technique that 19th-century competitive rowers later reinvented

Hanford's Nuclear Wasteland

The U.S. is spending billions to clean up its nuclear weapons complexes. At one of the most contaminated sites, no one knows how much the project will cost, how long it will take or how much good it will do

The Amateur Scientist

Detecting Natural Electromagnetic Waves

Mathematical Recreations

The Sculptures of Alan St. George

Apr 1996 Ten Years of the Chornobyl Era

The environmental and health effects of nuclear power's greatest calamity will last for generations

The Birth of Complex Cells

Humans, together with all other animals, plants and fungi, owe their existence to the momentous transformation of tiny, primitive bacteria into large, intricately organized cells

Searching for Life on Other Planets

Life remains a phenomenon we know only on Earth. But an innovative telescope in space could change that by detecting signs of life on distant planets

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Smart Rooms

In creating computer systems that can identify people and interpret their actions, researchers have come one step closer to building helpful home and work environments

Alcohol in American History

National binges have alternated with enforced abstinence for 200 years, but there may be hope for moderation

Captured in Amber

The exquisitely preserved tissues of insects in amber reveal some genetic secrets of evolution

Waiting for Breakthroughs

"Nanoists" envision global abundance emerging from the manipulation of single atoms and molecules. But this prophecy has been challenged by researchers who work at a scale of billionths of a meter

The Amateur Scientist

The New Backyard Seismology

Mathematical Recreations

How Fair Is Monopoly?

Mar 1996 Urban Planning in Curitiba

A Brazilian city challenges conventional wisdom and relies on low technology to improve the quality of urban life

Collisions with Comets and Asteroids

The chances of a celestial body colliding with the earth are small, but the consequences would be catastrophic

The African AIDS Epidemic

In parts of sub-Saharan Africa, nearly 25 percent of the population is HIV-positive as a result of heterosexual transmission of the virus. Could lack of circumcision make men in this region particularly susceptible?

Budding Vesicles in Living Cells

A transatlantic collaboration has uncovered the machinery responsible for forming the tiny but essential containers, or vesicles, that store proteins and shuttle them to and fro in cells

The Art and Science of Photoreconnaissance

In the 1950s and 1960s, photointerpreters devised ways of extracting valuable information from recondite images. Oftentimes, their work profoundly affected international relations

Electrons in Flatland

Trapped in a two-dimensional plane, electrons can exhibit the quantum Hall effect, a startling phenomenon now thought to be intimately connected to superconductivity

Caribbean Mangrove Swamps

Despite their ubiquity and prominent position between land and sea, these tropical ecosystems still hold countless surprises for researchers

Vital Data

The Human Genome Project is producing a plethora of information that will illuminate our hidden susceptibilities to disease. The effort could transform medical science. But new dangers are arriving, too

The Amateur Scientist

Exploring Chemical Bonds

Mathematical Recreations

Playing with Quads and Quazars

Feb 1996

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Malnutrition, Poverty and Intellectual Development

Research into childhood nutrition reveals that a poor diet influences mental development in more ways than expected. Other aspects of poverty exacerbate the effects

The Global Positioning System

Two dozen satellites hovering thousands of miles out in space are allowing people to locate themselves on the earth's surface with remarkable precision

Seeing Underwater with Background Noise

With a technique called acoustic-daylight imaging, sounds in the sea can "illuminate" submerged objects, thereby creating moving color pictures without sonar

Telomeres, Telomerase and Cancer

An unusual enzyme called telomerase acts on parts of chromosomes known as telomeres. The enzyme has recently been found in many human tumors and is being eyed as a new target for cancer therapy

Colossal Galactic Explosions

Enormous outpourings of gas from the centers of nearby galaxies may ultimately help explain both star formation and the intergalactic medium

The Bacteria behind Ulcers

One half to one third of the world's population harbors "Helicobacter pylori", "slow" bacteria that infect the stomach and can cause ulcers and cancer there

The Loves of the Plants

Carl Linnaeus classified plants according to their reproductive parts, endowing them as well with sex lives reflecting 18th-century values and controversies

Quarks by Computer

Yearlong computations have helped to confirm the fundamental theory behind quarks - and, using its principles, even to identify a new particle

The Amateur Scientist

Growing Seedlings at Less Than 1 G

Mathematical Recreations

Proof of Purchase on the Internet

Jan 1996 The Real Threat of Nuclear Smuggling

Although many widely publicized incidents have been staged or overblown, the dangers of even a single successful diversion are too great to ignore

Caloric Restriction and Aging

Eat less, but be sure to have enough protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. This prescription does wonders for the health and longevity of rodents. Might it help humans as well?

Technology and Economics in the Semiconductor Industry

Although the days of runaway growth may be numbered, their passing may force chipmakers to offer more variety

Neural Networks for Vertebrate Locomotion

The motions animals use to swim, run and fly are controlled by specialized neural networks. For a jawless fish known as the lamprey, the circuitry has been worked out

Cleaning Up the River Rhine

Intensive international efforts are reclaiming the most important river in Europe

The Evolution of Continental Crust

The high-standing continents owe their existence to the earth's long history of plate-tectonic activity

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Working Elephants

They earn their keep in Asia by providing an ecologically benign way to harvest forests

Explaining Everything

A new symmetry, duality, is changing the way physicists think about fundamental particles - or strings. It is also leading the way to a Theory of Everything

The Amateur Scientist

Recording Nature's Sounds

Mathematical Recreations

Mother Worm's Blanket

Dec 1995 The Galileo Mission

From orbit around Jupiter, the Galileo spacecraft will take the closest look ever at the planet and its natural satellites

Cystic Fibrosis

The genetic defects underlying this lethal disease have now been shown to eliminate or hobble a critical channel through which a constituent of salt enters and leaves cells

Science in Pictures

The Leaning Tower of Pisa The famous tower has been tilting since the 12th century. Now engineers are using 20th-century technology in hopes of saving the ancient landmark

Giant Earthquakes of the Pacific Northwest

The danger of a very large earthquake striking the coast between northern California and British Columbia proves much greater than suspected

How Breast Milk Protects Newborns

Some of the molecules and cells in human milk actively help infants stave off infection

The Puzzle of Conscious Experience

Neuroscientists and others are at last plumbing one of the most profound mysteries of existence. But knowledge of the brain alone may not get them to the bottom of it

Confidential Communication on the Internet

Cryptography gives people the ability to authenticate the identity of their correspondents, the first step in establishing trust

Trends in Defense Technology

U.S. military planners hope to rely on improved versions of the technologies tested in the Gulf War to help fight the next Saddam Hussein. They may be preparing for the wrong conflict

The Amateur Scientist

Measuring the Metabolism of Small Organisms

Mathematical Recreations

The Anthropomurphic Principle

Nov 1995 The World's Imperiled Fish

Wild fish cannot survive the onslaught of modern industrial fishing. The collapse of fisheries in many regions shows the danger plainly

The Brain's Immune System

It consists of cells called microglia that are normally protective but can be surprisingly destructive. The cells may contribute to neurodegenerative diseases and to the dementia of AIDS

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Chaotic Climate

Global temperatures have been known to change substantially in only a decade or two. Could another jump be in the offng?

Holographic Memories

After more than 30 years, researchers are on the verge of using holograms to store data in memories that are both fast and vast

Charles Darwin

This newly rediscovered photograph appears to be the last ever made of the great evolutionist

God's Utility Function

Humans have always wondered about the meaning of life. According to the author, life has no higher purpose than to perpetuate the survival of DNA

The Discovery of X-rays

One hundred years ago this month, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen cast the first x-ray images by chance

The Science of Juggling

Studying the ability to toss and catch balls and rings provides insight into human coordination, robotics and mathematics

The Amateur Scientist

Measuring the Wind with Hot Metal

Mathematical Recreations

Ways to Tile Space with Knots

Oct 1995

Emerging Viruses

Hemorrhagic fever viruses are among the most dangerous biological agents known. New ones are discovered every year, and artificial as well as natural environmental changes are favoring their spread

Companions to Young Stars

The surprising finding that even the youngest stars commonly exist in sets of two or three has revised thinking about the birth of star systems

Quantum-Mechanical Computers

Quantum-mechanical computers, if they can be constructed, will do things no ordinary computer can

Demolition by Implosion

Detonation of small quantities of strategically placed explosives can demolish an unwanted high-rise in a matter of seconds

The Molecular Logic of Smell

Mammals can recognize thousands of odors, some of which prompt powerful responses. Recent experiments illuminate how the nose and brain may perceive scents

Science in Pictures

The raw visual and textual evidence of his imagination, Edison's notebooks were the unrevealed talismans of the inventor's career

Can Environmental Estrogens Cause Breast Cancer?

The authors of a provocative hypothesis spell out their reasons for suspecting that hormone-mimicking chemicals in the environment contribute to many unexplained cases of breast cancer

Trends in Social Science

Psychologists and others try to sidestep old pitfalls - both political and scientific - as they apply evolutionary theory to the clothed ape

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The Never-Ending Chess Game

Sep 1995 The Uncertainties of Technological Innovation

Even the greatest ideas and inventions can flounder, whereas more modest steps forward sometimes change the world

Information Technologies Table of Content

Faster, more sophisticated data networks and computers will dominate the systems people use to work and play. Meanwhile intelligence will become a feature of everyday machines. NOTE: No text.

Microprocessors in 2020

Every 18 months microprocessors double in speed. Within 25 years, one computer will be as powerful as all those in Silicon Valley today

Wireless Networks

In the decade ahead, they will deliver personalized communications to people on the go and basic service to many who still lack telephones

All-Optical Networks

Fiber Optics will become more efficient as light waves replace electrons for processing signals in communications networks

Artificial Intelligence

A crucial storehouse of commonsense knowledge is now taking shape

Intelligent Software

Programs that can act independently will ease the burdens that computers put on people

Virtual Reality

VR will transform computers into extensions of our whole bodies

Satellites For a Developing World

Satellites could provide universal access to the information economy

Transportation Opener

Huge flying-wing aircarft, magnetically levitated trains and driverless cars may carry passengers to their destinations, while tiny spacecraft explore the solar system. NOTE: No text.

High-Speed Rail: Another Golden Age

Neglected in North America but nurtured in Europe and Japan, high-speed rail systems are a critical complement to jets and cars

Built-in intelligence will let automobiles tune themselves to The Automobile: Clean and Customized their drivers and cooperate to get through crowded traffic systems safely Evolution of the Commercial Airliner

Advances in materials, jet engines and cockpit diplays could translate into less expensive and safer air travel

21st-Century Spacecraft

A fleet of cheap, miniaturized spacecraft may revive the stalled Space Age, exploring the myriad tiny bodies of the solar system

Why Go Anywhere?

Millions of people could be liberated from their vehicles

Medicine Opener

Many diseases may be cured with gene therapy, and damaged organs may be repaired or replaced with tissue grown from

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cells in the laboratory. The new century should also see innovative contraceptives, including, finally, some for men. NOTE: No text. Gene Therapy

Several hundred patients have already received treatment. In the next century the procedure will be commonplace.

Artificial Organs

Engineering artificial tissue is the natural successor to treatments for injury and disease. But the engineers will be the body's own cells

Future Contraceptives

Vaccines for men and women will eventually join new implants, better spermicides and stronger, thinnner condoms

An Improved Future?

Medical advances challenge thinking on living, dying and being human

Buildings that repair themselves, machines that fit on the Machines, Materials and Manufacturing head of a pin and local factories that make products to order are just some of the possibilities. NOTE: No text. Self-Assembling Materials

The smaller, more complex machines of the future cannot be built with current methods: they must almost make themselves

Engineering Microscopic Machines

Electronic fabrication processes can produce a data storage device or a chemical factory on a microchip

Intelligent Materials

Inspired by nature, researchers are creating substances that can anticipate failure, repair themselves and adapt to the environment

Advanced Composites

After they first appeared in the 1960s, advanced composite materials promised a brave new - not to mention light and durable - future.

High-Temperature Superconductors

They conduct current without resistance more cheaply than conventional superconductors can and are slowly finding their way to widespread use

Robotics in the 21st Century

Automatons may soon find work as subservient household help

Energy and Environment

The most crucial changes will come from attacking the waste problems of industry, agriculture and energy production at a fundamental level. NOTE: No text.

Solar Energy

Technology will allow radiation from the sun to provide nonpolluting and cheap fuels, as well as electricity

Fusion

Energy derived from fused nuclei may become widely used by the middle of the next century

Disposing of Nuclear Waste

At 3:49 P.M. on December 2, 1942, in a converted squash court under the football stands at the University of Chicago, a physicist slid back some control rods in the first nuclear reactor and ushered in a new age.

The Industrial Ecology of the 21st Century

A clean and efficient industrial economy would mimic the natural world's ability to recycle materials and minimize

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waste Technology for Sustainable Agriculture

The next green revolution needs to be sophisticated enough to increase yields while also protecting the environment

Outline For an Ecological Economy

Countries can indeed prosper while protecting their environment

Living with New Technologies

Technology will not solve all our problems. It may even create some. But, despite its shortcomings, it continues to offer us ever more ways to work, play, and order our lives. NOTE: no text.

Technology Infrastructure

Industrial advances will depend on setting new standards

Designing the Future

Too frequently, product designers disregard the psychology of the user

Digital Literacy

Multimedia will require equal facility in word, image and sound

The Information Economy

How much will two bits be worth in the digital marketplace?

The Emperor's New Workplace

Information technology evolves more quickly than behavior

What Technology Alone Cannot Do

Technology will not provide us all with health, wealth and big TVs

Mathematical Recreations

The Great Drain Robbery

Aug 1995

Recollections of a Nuclear War

Two nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan 50 years ago this month. The author, a member of the Manhattan Project, reflects on how the nuclear age began and what the post-cold war future might hold

Tornadoes

The storms that spawn twisters are now largely understood, but mysteries still remain about how these violent vortices form

How HIV Defeats the Immune System

A plausible hypothesis suggests the immune devastation that underlies AIDS stems from continuous - and dangerous evolution of the human immunodeficiency virus in the body

The Benefits of Background Noise

Stochastic resonance, the phenomenon by which background noise boosts weak signals, is creating a buzz in physics, biology and engineering

The Physiology of Decompression Illness

For more than a century, researchers have known that exposure to high pressure can injure or kill. Gradually, they are beginning to understand the underlying mechanisms

Frog Communication

In striving to be heard by rivals and mates, these amphibians have evolved a plethora of complex strategies

Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Meets Jupiter

Images of a comet that broke apart and plummeted into Jupiter continue to dazzle astronomers a year afterward

Trends: Lost Science in the Third World

Many researchers in the developing world feel trapped in a vicious circle of neglect and - some say - prejudice by

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publishing barriers they claim doom good science to oblivion The Amateur Scientist

Detecting Signals with Noise

Jul 1995 The Problematic Red Wolf

Is the red wolf a species or a long-established hybrid of the gray wolf and the coyote? Such distinctions may affect ongoing efforts to save a variety of endangered species

Protecting the Greenback

Digital color systems can reproduce paper money with disconcerting accuracy. The U.S. government's response is a new series of notes

Treating Diabetes with Transplanted Cells

The implants, islet cells of the pancreas, can potentially cure many cases of diabetes. A prime obstacle to wide use - lack of a safe way to avoid immune attacks on the grafts - now seems to be crumbling

Light in the Ocean's Midwaters

Beneath the surface of the ocean, sunlight is gradually extinguished, but the resulting darkness yields to a host of bioluminescent creatures

Light in the Ocean's Midwaters

Fish such as hake, as well as some squids, arefast-moving, wide-ranging predators, but they often linger near Ventana, attracted to the lights of the ROV.

The Trebuchet

Recent reconstructions and computer simulations reveal the operating principles of the most powerful weapon of its time

Cookstoves for the Developing World

Traditional wood, charcoal and coal stoves are used in hundreds of millions of homes. Their redesign can have a dramatic effect on energy usage, the environment and community health

J. Robert Oppenheimer: Before the War

Although Oppenheimer is now best remembered for his influence during World War II, he made many important contributions to theoretical physics in the 1930s

Plastics Get Wired/Trends in Material Science

By tailoring the electrical properties of conducting polymers, researchers hope to render electronics a bit more organic

Mathematical Recreations

Election Fever in Blockvotia

Jun 1995 Debt and the Environment

Loans cause great human hardship, but their connection to ecological troubles is hard to prove

Building World-Record Magnets

Packing the energy equivalent of a stick of dynamite, powerful electromagnets around the globe compete to advance our knowledge of materials science and physics

Hookworm Infection

It retards growth and intellectual development in millions of children yet is largely ignored by researchers. New findings suggest excellent possibilities for a vaccine

The Arithmetics of Mutual Help

Computer experiments show how cooperation rather than exploitation can dominate in the Darwinian struggle for survival

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Deciphering a Roman Blueprint

Scholarly detective work reveals the secret of a full-size drawing chiseled into an ancient pavement. The "blueprint" describes one of Rome's most famous buildings

Halo Nuclei

Nuclei having excess neutrons or protons teeter on the edges of nuclear stability, known as drip lines. Under this stress, some develop a halo

Kin Recognition

Many organisms, from sea squirts to primates, can identify their relatives. Understanding how and why they do so has prompted new thinking about the evolution of social behavior

Can science achieve a united theory of complex systems? TRENDS IN COMPLEXITY STUDIES: Even at the Santa Fe Institute, some researchers have their From Complexity to Perplexity doubts The Amateur Scientist

Computing Bouts of the Prisoner's Dilemma

May 1995 The Global Tobacco Epidemic

Cigarette smoking has stopped declining in the U.S. and is rising in other parts of the world. Aggressive marketing and permissive regulations are largely to blame

Binary Neutron Stars

These paired stellar remnants supply exquisite confirmations of general relativity. Their inevitable collapse produces what may be the strongest explosions in the universe

Dendrimer Molecules

Chemists can now build fractal supermolecules. This new class of polymers promises to be valuable in biotechnology and environmental protection

The Ocean's Salt Fingers

A small-scale oddity in the way seawater mixes can have large-scale consequences for the structure of the ocean

The Silicon Microstrip Detector

Produced with the same tools used to create integrated circuits, these detectors recently helped to find the top quark and are central to other crucial experiments

The Atomic Intrigues of Niels Bohr

Scandal is not usually linked with the name Niels Bohr; genius and character are.

Did Bohr Share Nuclear Secrets?

Niels Bohr met with a Soviet agent in late 1945. Although some have accused Bohr of divulging nuclear secrets, a recently disclosed memo offers evidence to the contrary

What Did Heisenberg Tell Bohr about the Bomb?

In 1941 Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr met privately in Copenhagen. Almost two years later at Los Alamos, Bohr showed a sketch of what he believed was Heisenberg's design for a nuclear weapon

The Preservation of Past

Conservators are racing to save monuments threatened by development, pollution, looting and neglect. In the process, they are transforming the field of archaeology into a new science

Mathematical Recreations

Fibonacci Forgeries

Apr 1995

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The Puzzle of Declining Amphibian Populations

The number of frogs, toads and salamanders is dropping in many areas of the world. The causes range from destruction of their local habitats to global depletion of the ozone layer

Quest for the Limits of the Heliosphere

Four aging spacecraft are racing to the outer reaches of the solar system. Soon they may break through the last barriers to interstellar space

Machines That Learn from Hints

Machine learning improves significantly by taking advantage of information available from intelligent hints

Studies of courtship and mating in the fruit fly offer a window Understanding the Genetic Construction on the ways genes influence the execution of complex of Behavior behaviors The Art Historian's Computer

Riddles posed by ancient works of art fall to historical analyses and electronic explorations

A Brief History of Infinity

The infinite has always been a slippery concept. Even the commonly accepted mathematical view, developed by Georg Cantor, may not have truly placed infinity on a rigorous foundation

The Tapestry of Power in a Mesopotamian City

Mashkan-shapir was for a brief time one of the most important cities in the civilized world. Its remains challenge traditional notions of power distribution in early urban society

The Price of Prevention

Policymakers frequently suggest that preventive medicine pays for itself. In fact, studies now show that this claim is rarely true. Still, prevention is often a worthy health investment

The Amateur Scientist

Computerized Restoration of Juvenile Art

Mar 1995 Faster Evaluation of Vital Drugs

Traditional clinical trials may delay the availability of lifesaving therapies. Regulators now attempt to balance speed against the risk of errors

The Many Costs of Drug Testing

When researchers test a new drug, pressures from many different constituencies coverage on the clinical trail.

Laser Control of Chemical Reactions

For years, chemists have sought to control reactions with lasers - and have mostly failed. Success may come from exploiting subtle quantum effects resulting from the interaction of light and matter

An Efficient Swimming Machine

Instinctive control of vortices lets fish swim the way they do. A robotic tuna has also managed it; boats and submarines may be next

The Genetic Basis of Cancer

An accumulation of genetic defects can apparently cause normal cells to become cancerous and cancerous cells to become increasingly dangerous

Bonobo Sex and Society

The behavior of a close relative challenges assumptions about male supremacy in human evolution

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Protein-Based Computers

Devices fabricated from biological molecules promise compact size and faster data storage. They lend themselves to use in parallel-processing computers, three-dimensional memories and neural networks

Environmental Degradation in Ancient Greece

Contrary to the view that the ancients lived in harmony with their environment, archaeological and geologic evidence shows that they often abused the land

Seeking the Criminal Element

Scientists are homing in on social and biological risk factors that they believe predispose individuals to criminal behavior. The knowledge could be ripe with promise - or rife with danger

Mathematical Recreations

Turning the Tables Around

Feb 1995 Population, Poverty and the Local Environment

As forests and rivers recede, a child's labor can become more valuable to parents, spurring a vicious cycle that traps families in poverty

Sonoluminescence: Sound into Light

A bubble of air can focus acoustic energy a trillionfold to produce picosecond flashes of light. The mechanism eludes complete explanation

Molecular Machines That Control Genes

The activities of our genes are tightly regulated by elaborate complexes of proteins that assemble on DNA. Perturbations in the normal operation of these assemblies can lead to diseases.

Manic-Depressive Illness and Creativity

Does some fine madness plague great artists? Several studies now show that creativity and mood disorders are linked

Masers in The Sky

Interstellar gas clouds produce intense, coherent microwaves. This radiation offers a glimpse of the size, content and distance of objects that may otherwise be invisible

The History of Synthetic Testosterone

Testosterone has long been banned in sports as a performance-enhancing drug. This use may soon be accepted in medicine alongside other legitimate hormonal therapies

The Mid-Cretaceous Superplume Episode

The earth has an erratic "heartbeat" that can release vast amounts of heat from deep within the planet. The latest "pulse" of the earth occurred 120 million years ago

Toward "Point One"

Gigabit chips are now in the laboratory. But the critical technology needed for manufacturing smaller circuits confronts diminishing returns

The Amateur Scientist

Producing Light from a Bubble of Air

Jan 1995 Ensuring the Longevity of Digital Documents

The digital medium is replacing paper in a dramatic recordkeeping revolution. But such documents may be lost unless we act now

The Prion Diseases

Prions, once dismissed as an impossibility, have now gained wide recognition as extraordinary agents that cause a number

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of infectious, genetic and spontaneous disorders Earth Before Pangea

The North American continent may be more nomadic than any of its inhabitants

Elastic Biomolecular Machines

Synthetic chains of amino acids, patterned after those in connective tissue, can transform heat and chemical energy into motion

The Oldest Old

People in their late nineties or older are often healthier and more robust than those 20 years younger.

The Birth and Disease of Nova V1974 Cygni

The brightest nova in 17 years answered many questions during its life and raised more in death

Egil's Bones

An Icelandic saga tells of a Viking who had unusual, menacing features, including a skull that could resist blows from an ax. He probably suffered from an ailment called Paget's disease

Better Than a Cure

The World Health Organization wants industry to step up its efforts to develop new vaccines. Can big business and a public health bureaucracy see eye to eye?

Mathematical Recreations

Daisy, Daisy, Give Me Your Answer, Do

Dec 1994 Improving Automotive Efficiency

Batteries and fuel cells? Cleaner air and reduced oil imports can be won by redesigning conventional internal-combustionpowered vehicles

Fossils of The Flaming Cliffs

Mongolia's Gobi Desert contains one of the richest assemblages of dinosaur remains ever found. Paleontologists are uncovering much of the region's history.

Earth From Sky

Radar systems carried aloft by the space shuttle Endeavour provide a new perspective of the earth's environment

The New Genetic Medicines

Synthetic strands of DNA are being developed as drugs. Called antisense and triplex agents, they can potentially attack viruses and cancers without harming healthy tissue

The Duality in Matter and Light

In quantum mechanics, objects can behave as particles or as waves. Studies now emphasize that such complementary features are more fundamental than has generally been appreciated

Making Environmental Treaties Work

Many agreements aim to protect the global environment. But actually making them do so requires innovative approaches

Caulerpa

This tropical alga is the world's largest single-celled organism. Yet it differentiates into a complex structure of leaves, stems and roots

Trends: The Speed of Write

Scientists now transmit reports of their research - from first inspiration to final result - over electronic networks. Even live experiments can be witnessed on-line. Publishers and libraries may never be the same

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Measuring the Energy Drain on Your Car

Nov 1994 Cerebrospinal Meningitis Epidemics

A debilitating and often deadly disease, meningitis remains common in many developing countries. New insights may soon enable us to predict and control outbreaks

The Self-Reproducing Inflationary Universe

Recent versions of the inflationary scenario describe the universe as a self-generating fractal that sprouts other inflationary universes

The Genetics of Flower Development

Flower cells learn which organs to become from genes that convey positional information. A model based on just half a dozen such genes can predict how mutations will affect floral structure

Sci Pixs: Escher's Metaphors

The prints and drawings of M.C. Escher give expression to abstract concepts of mathematics and science

Secure Distributed Computing

Networks and computer security often do not go well together, but the developers of the Athena system have yet to see their protocols fail

Why Children Talk to Themselves

Although children are often rebuked for talking to themselves out loud, doing so helps them control their behavior and master new skills

Resolving Zeno's Paradoxes

For millennia, mathematicians and philosophers have tried to refute Zeno's paradoxes, a set of riddles suggesting that motion is inherently impossible. At last, a solution has been found

Big-Time Biology

Molecular biology is - not so quietly - evolving from a science into an industry. Can it survive the transformation?

Mathematical Recreations

Playing Chess on a Go Board

Oct 1994

Life in the Universe

We comprehend the universe and our place in it. But there are limits to what we can explain at present. Will research at the boundaries of science reveal a special role for intelligent life?

The Evolution of the Universe

Some 15 billion years ago the universe emerged from a hot, dense sea of matter and energy. As the cosmos expanded and cooled, it spawned galaxies, stars, planets and life

The Earth's Elements

The elements that make up the earth and its inhabitants were created by an earlier generation of stars

The Evolution of the Earth

The formation of this planet and its atmosphere gave rise to life, which shaped the earth's subsequent development. Our future lies in interpreting this geologic past

The Origin of Life On Earth

Growing evidence supports the idea that the emergence of catalytic RNA was a crucial early step. How that RNA came into being remains unknown

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The Evolution of Life on the Earth

The history of life is not necessarily progressive; it is certainly not predictable. The earths creatures have evolved through a series of contingent and fortuitous events

The Search for Extraterrestrial Life

The earth remains the only inhabited world known so far, but scientists are finding that the universe abounds with the chemistry of life

The Emergence of Intelligence

Language, foresight, musical skills and other hallmarks of intelligence are connected through an underlying facility that enhances rapid movements

Will Robots Inherit The Earth

Yes, as we engineer replacement bodies and brains using nanotechnology. We will then live longer, possess greater wisdom and enjoy capabilities as yet unimagined

Sustaining Life On Earth

Hope for an environmentally sustainable future lies in evolving institutions, technology and global concern

The Amateur Scientist

Building an Electronic Neuron

Sep 1994 Disarming Lyme Disease

Antibiotics are usually curative. A vaccine is in clinical trials. Next on the research agenda: how to help people suffering from chronic symptoms

Low-Energy Ways To Observe High-Energy Phenomena

By observing interactions that are forbidden in the Standard Model, physicists can peek at supersymmetric and other happenings

The Aluminum Beverage Can

Produced by the hundreds of millions every day, the modern can, robust enough to support the weight of an average adult, is a tribute to precision design and engineering

The Machinery of Cell Crawling

When a cell crawls, part of its fluid cytoplasm briefly turns rigid. This transformation depends on the orderly assembly and disassembly of a protein scaffold

Solving The Paradox of Deep Earthquakes

For decades, geophsicists have known that earthquakes should not occur at depth inside the earth. But they do. Finally, we know how and why these events happen

Privatizing Public Research

With the end of the cold war, national defense has given way to international competitiveness as the theme for federal support of research. As it now stands, the idea will probably not work well

Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt brought French scientists and The Scientific Importance of Napoleon's engineers to the Nile. Their work, in turn, brought the Egyptian Campaign splendors of the Nile to Europe Trends in Computing: Software's Chronic Crisis

Despite 50 years of progress, the software industry remains years - perhaps decades - short of the mature engineering discipline needed to meet the demands of an information-age society

Mathematical Recreations

A Subway Named Turing

Aug 1994

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Third World Submarines

The proliferation of submarines may be a threat to established navies and regional stability, but to arms manufacturers it is a market opportunity

Extreme Ultraviolet Astronomy

Observations at these wavelengths, once thought impossible, are extending knowledge of the cosmos

Confocal Microscopy

For producing sharp two- or three-dimensional images with light,this microscopic technique is unsurpassed. It can also be applied for seeing deep inside the tissues of living specimens

Squids

(for superconducting quantum interference devices) are the most sensitive detectors of magnetic fields. Their applications range from diagnosis of brain tumors to tests of relativity

How Cells Produce Antigens

Cells alert the immune system to the presence of infections by displaying molecular complexes made from bits of their own proteins and those of invading organisms

Red Tides

Many experts believe these blooms of toxic algae have recently become more prevalent, posing a greater threat to human and marine health

The Eloquent Bones of Abu Hureya

The daily grind in an early Near Eastern agricultural community left revealing marks on the skeletons of the inhabitants

Trends In Women's Health: A Global View

Improving women's health means overhauling attitudes toward sex and addressing hidden epidemics, such as domestic violence

The Amateur Scientist

Scanning Underwater Surfaces

Jul 1994 Agriculture for Developing Nations

The capital-intensive, highly mechanized Western model may not suit every developing region. Systems of intensive polyculture, exemplified by rice cultivation, may be better

The Scientific Legacy of Apollo

The retrieved lunar rocks have helped settle questions about the moon's origin, its composition and even the early conditions that affected life on the earth

Synthetic Self-Replicating Molecules

Molecules crafted in the laboratory can make copies of themselves, "mutate," compete for resources and assemble, giving a paradigm for life

Barriers to Drug Delivery in Solid Tumors

Many tumors resist full penetration by anticancer agents. Such resistance may help explain why drugs that eradicate tumor cells in laboratory dishes often fail to eliminate malignancies in the body

Manatees

These giant aquatic grazers outchewed their rivals in the New World. Now humans, their sole enemy, hold the key to their survival

Jean Henri Fabre

This reclusive entomologist became one of the most popular educational authors of his day. A look at his greatest work reveals both the underappreciated achievements and the failings of his science

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Late Ice Age Hunting Technology

Cro-Magnon artisans designed many kinds of spearpoints. By re-creating these weapons, we can better appreciate the sophisticated skill ancient hunters possessed

Trends: In Neuroscience

What is consciousness? Can neurobiology explain it, or - as some philosophers argue - does this most elusive and inescapable of all phenomena lie beyond experiment's reach?

Mathematical Recreations

The Ultimate in Anty-Particles

Jun 1994 Was The Race To The Moon Real?

In 1961 President John F. Kennedy made the goal to be first on the moon a matter of national honor. But were the Soviets truly in the running?

The Classical Limit of an Atom

By creating ultralarge atoms, physicists hope to study how the odd physics of the quantum world becomes the classical mechanics of everyday experience

Emotion, Memory and the Brain

The neural routes underlying the formation of memories about primitive emotional experiences, such as fear, have been traced

Adaptive Optics

Technology developed during the cold war is giving new capabilities to ground-based astronomical telescopes

Early Andean Cities

Some 3,800 years ago Pampa de las Llamas-Moxeke and Taukachi-Konkan were carefully laid-out urban centers that housed many hundreds of people

The Sensory Basis of the Honeybee's Dance Language

Novel experiments, such as training bees to respond to sounds and recruiting them using a robot, have ended several debates surrounding the dance language

The Ethnobotanical Approach to Drug Discovery

Medicinal plants discovered by traditional societies are proving to be an important source of potentially therapeutic drugs

Grading the Gene Tests

From just a snippet of DNA, geneticists can sometimes forecast a patient's health. But ethical problems surrounding this testing are as ominous as the diseases themselves.

The Amateur Scientist

Genetically Altering Escherichia coli

May 1994 Evidence for a Biological Influence in Male Homosexuality

Two pieces of evidence, a structure within the human brain and a genetic link, point to a biological component for male homosexuality

The Biological Evidence Challenged

Even if genetic and neuroanatomical traits turn out to be correlated with sexual orientation, causation is far from proved

Bohm's Alternative to Quantum Mechanics

This theory, ignored for most of the past four decades, challenges the probabilistic, subjectivist picture of reality implicit in the standard formulation of quantum mechanics

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How Interferons Fight Disease

They are not the cure-alls researchers once hoped they would be, but they are providing therapy for a variety of infectious illnesses and for some cancers

Chesley Bonestell's Astronomical Visions

This artist's unique combination of technical knowledge and graphic prowess brought astronomy alive and helped to advance the manned spaceflight program

Directional Drilling

New techniques enable crews to drill around natural or man-made obstructions for oil and gas. These same methods are used to sample underground pollutants and bury service lines

East Side Story: The Origin of Humankind

The Rift Valley in Africa holds the secret to the divergence of hominids from the great apes and to the emergence of human beings

Aging Airways

The FAA struggles to replace its winking, blinking air-traffic control equipment. But will the skies be safer? Can the agency survive the effort intact?

Mathematical Recreations

How Many Guards in the Gallery?

Apr 1994 Trade, Jobs and Wages

Blaming foreign competition for U.S. economic ills is ineffective. The real problems lie at home

Charge and Spin Density Waves

Electrons in some metals arrange into crystalline patterns that move in concert, respond peculiarly to applied voltages and show self-organization

Visualizing the Mind

Strategies of cognitive science and techniques of modern brain imaging open a window to the neural systems responsible for thought

Chemistry and Physics in the Kitchen

Bon appétit! Scientists are beginning to understand how chefs accomplish their culinary masterpieces and are making modest recipe suggestions of their own

The Dilemmas of Prostate Cancer

Do the risks of aggressive treatment for early prostate cancer outweigh the benefits? This question is one of several unresolved issues faced by those who treat, and those who have, prostate cancer

Precious Metal Objects of the Middle Sican

A Peruvian culture older than the Incas made unprecedented use of gold and other metals. Studies of Sicán metalworking techniques offer hints about this mysterious society

The Pioneer Mission to Venus

This multipart spacecraft spent 14 years scrutinizing the atmosphere, clouds and environs of the nearest planet. The results clarify the stunningly divergent evolutionary histories of Venus and the earth

Trends In Biological Restoration

Can we rebuild it? The field of ecological restoration is evaluating techniques to restore nature and is grappling with definitions of success

The Amateur Scientist

The Kitchen as a Lab

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Mar 1994 Can the Growing Human Population Feed Itself?

As human numbers surge toward 10 billion, some experts are alarmed, others optimistic. Who is right?

The Earth's Mantle Below The Oceans

Samples collected from the ocean floor reveal how the mantles convective forces shape the earths surface, create its crust and perhaps even affect its rotation

Targeted Gene Replacement

Researchers can now create mice bearing any chosen mutations in any known gene. The technology is revolutionizing the study of mammalian biology

High-Speed Silicon-Germanium Electronics

The author has helped create electronic devices that outperform traditional silicon technology yet remain compatible with standard manufacturing methods

The Quantum Physics of Time Travel

Common sense may rule out such excursions - but the laws of physics do not

The Dynamics of Social Dilemmas

Individuals in groups must often choose between acting selfishly or cooperating for the common good. Social models explain how group cooperation arises - and why that behavior can suddenly change

Frogs and Toads in Deserts

Amphibians seem unlikely desert denizens. But those living in dry climes reveal a diverse and unusual array of adaptations to life at the extremes

Wire Pirates

Consumers and entrepreneurs crowd onto the information highway, where electronic bandits and other hazards await them

Mathematical Recreations

The New Merology of Beastly Numbers

Feb 1994 The Future of American Defense

U.S. forces were shaped for conflict with a superpower. The emerging multilateral world calls for a smaller, more flexible and far less expensive military

Sulfate Aerosol and Climatic Change

Industrial emissions of sulfur form particles that may be reflecting solar radiation back into space, thereby masking the greenhouse effect over some parts of the earth

The Molecular Architects of Body Design

Putting a human gene into a fly may sound like the basis for a science fiction film, but it demonstrates that nearly identical molecular mechanisms define body shapes in all animals

When Is Seeing Believing?

Digital technology for manipulating images has subverted the certainty of photographic evidence

Liquid Mirrors

Light, liquid-mercury mirrors, which can potentially be made much larger than glass mirrors, may enable astronomers to construct enormous telescopes and see farther than ever before

AIDS and the Use of Injected Drugs

The AIDS epidemic continues to grow among drug users who inject. It could be curbed if governments more readily adopted effective prevention programs

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The Terror Birds of South America

These huge, swift creatures were the dominant carnivores of the continent for millions of years, until competitors drove them into extinction

Particle Metaphysics

In the aftermath of the Superconducting Super Collider's death, physicists are divided over how - or even whether they should continue their search for a unified theory of nature

The Amateur Scientist

Making a Mirror by Spinning a Liquid

Jan 1994

Wetlands

These havens of biodiversity are often endangered because they can be hard to identify. Understanding their variable characteristics can lead to more successful conservation efforts

The Search for Strange Matter

Between nucleus and neutron star stretches a desert devoid of nuclear matter. Could strange quark matter fill the gap?

The Toxins of Cyanobacteria

These poisons, which periodically and fatally contaminate the water supplies of wild and domestic animals, can also harm humans. But they are being coaxed into doing good

Breaking Intractability

Problems that would otherwise be impossible to solve can now be computed, as long as one settles for what happens on the average

Animal Sexuality

Animals have evolved a range of mechanisms to determine whether an individual takes on masculine or feminine traits. Cross-species comparisons offer some surprising insights into the nature of sexuality

World Linguistic Diversity

The ancestor of each language was taken to its current territory by pioneers, farmers, traders or a conquering elite. Multidisciplinary studies are clarifying their respective roles

The First Data Networks

The optical telegraph is almost forgotten. Two centuries ago it moved messages over hundreds of kilometers in a few minutes

Trends: A War Not Won

Despite dramatic scientific gains, cancer remains an undaunted killer

Mathematical Recreations

Knots, Links and Videotape

Dec 1993 The Fertility Decline in Developing Countries

Family size is decreasing in many Third World countries. The reasons provide the key to slowing population growth

The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory

A steady stream of data from this orbiting observatory is painting a portrait of a dynamic and often enigmatic cosmos

MHC Polymorphism and Human Origins

The diversity of human tissue types was generated long before Homo sapiens emerged

Africanized Bees in the U.S.

Africanized honeybees have reached the U.S. from points south. As more of them arrive, they will certainly wreak some

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havoc but perhaps not the type their "killer bee" nickname would imply

Drugs by Design

Structure-based design, an innovative approach to developing drugs, has recently spawned many promising therapeutic agents, including several now in human trials for treating AIDS, cancer and other diseases

Coupled Oscillators and Biological Synchronization

A subtle mathematical thread connects clocks, ambling elephants, brain rhythms and the onset of chaos

The Death Cults of Prehistoric Malta

New archaeological excavations reveal that as the ancient island societies suffered from environmental decline, they developed an extreme religious preoccupation with life and death

Current Events

Now that the blizzard of hype has stopped, workers are gradually realizing the promise of high-temperature superconductors

The Amateur Scientist

Electronic Fireflies

Nov 1993 The Case for Free Trade

Environmentalists are wrong to fear the effects of free trade. Both causes can be advanced by imaginative solutions

The Perils of Free Trade

Economists routinely ignore its hidden costs to the environment and the community

Chemical Signaling in the Brain

Studies of acetylcholine receptors in the electric organs of fish have generated critical insights into how neurons in the human brain communicate with one another

X-Ray Binaries

In these systems, ultradense neutron stars feed on their more sedate companions. Such stellar cannibalism produces brilliant outpourings of x-rays and drastically alters the evolution of both stars

The Art of Boris Artzybasheff

A compelling mid-20th century vision of the machines of war and peace

High-Power Electronics

A new generation of silicon switches enables power grids to meet the needs of utility customers with high efficiency and reliability

Ancient DNA

Genetic information that had seemed lost forever turns out to linger in the remains of long-dead plants and animals. Evolutionary change can at last be observed directly

Trends in the Sociology of Science

Despite decades of struggle, women retain a small minority in the scientific commmunity

Mathematical Recreations

Fermat's Last Time-Trip

Oct 1993 Clearing the Air in Los Angeles

Although Los Angeles has the most polluted skies in the nation, it is one of the few cities where air quality has improved in recent decades

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Large Igneous Provinces

These vast fields of lava record powerful but geologically brief pulses of magmatic activity. Their formation may have triggered significant changes in the global environment

Evolutionarily Mobile Modules in Proteins

Many proteins consist of a fairly small set of modular elements. How these units spread and multiplied during evolution is not altogether clear, but a pattern may be emerging

Electrorheological Fluids

Some liquids solidify instantly when exposed to an electric field. Such protean materials may give engineers quicker, more adaptive machines

Water-Pollinated Plants

Once thought to be mere aberrations of nature, these flowering aquatic species provide evidence for the evolutionary convergence toward efficient pollination strategies

Simulating Brain Damage

Adults with brain damage make some bizarre errors when reading words. If a network of simulated neurons is trained to read and then is damaged, it produces strikingly similar behavior

Raising the Vasa

This Swedish man-of-war foundered on her maiden voyage and slept for three centuries at the bottom of Stockholm Harbor. Here is the story of her resurrection

The Death of Proof

Computers are transforming the way mathematicians discover, prove and communicate ideas, but is there a place for absolute certainty in this brave new world?

The Amateur Scientist

Making Fluids into Solids with Magnets

Sep 1993 Life, Death and the Immune System

By defining and defending the self, the immune system makes life possible; malfunction causes illness and death. Study of the system provides a unifying view of biology

How the Immune System Develops

Environmental and genetic signals cue cells as they differentiate into the many lineages that recognize foreign antigens and fight off invaders

How the Immune System Recognizes Invaders

Cells of the immune system recombine gene fragments to create the millions of receptors needed to identify and attack the myriad pathogens encountered throughout life

How the Immune System Recognizes the Body

The human immune system has developed several elegant processes that allow it to repel foreign invaders and yet not attack the body itself

Infectious Diseases and the Immune System

When bacteria, viruses and other pathogens infect the body, they hide in different places. Each component of the immune system is most adept at rousting trespassers from one location

AIDS and the Immune System

The AIDS virus exploits the immune system to replicate itself. New findings are showing how it wreaks havoc on the body's defenses

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Autoimmune Disease

Misguided assaults on the self produce multiple sclerosis, juvenile diabetes and other chronic illnesses. Promising therapies are emerging

Allergy and the Immune System

In allergic individuals, parts of the immune system misdirect their power at innocuous substances, producing sometimes deadly symptoms

The Immune System as a Therapeutic Agent

New technologies and insights into the molecular underpinnings of the immune system provide the basis for novel approaches to vaccines and other therapies

Will We Survive?

As host and pathogen evolve together, will the immune system retain the upper hand?

Mathematical Recreations

A Shepherd Takes a Sheep Shot

Aug 1993 Eliminating Nuclear Warheads

More than 50,000 nuclear weapons may be decommissioned during the next 10 years. Their disposal requires both technical and political innovations

Faster than Light?

Experiments in quantum optics show that two distant events can influence each other faster than any signal could have traveled between them

T Cell Anergy

When cells of the immune system "see" antigens in the absence of the right cosignals, they shut themselves down instead of attacking. Future therapies might capitalize

A Universe of Color

Color photography continues to be an important astronomical tool that reveals details of celestial objects not yet captured by modern electronic detectors

Mastering Chaos

It is now possible to control some systems that behave chaotically. Engineers can use chaos to stabilize lasers, electronic circuits and even the hearts of animals

Diet and Primate Evolution

Many characteristics of modern primates, including our own species, derive from an early ancestor's practice of taking most of its food from the tropical canopy

The Great Radium Scandal

William J. A. Bailey grew rich from his radium-laced patent medicine until it killed a leading socialite. The scandal helped to usher in modern standards of radioisotope regulation

Trends in Communications

A technophile vice president and the information, entertainment and communications industries have discovered the source of next generation electronic products it's the network.

The Amateur Scientist

Circuits That Get Chaos in Sync

Jul 1993 Risk Analysis and Management

Inadequate approaches to handling risks may result in bad policy. Fortunately, rational techniques for assessment now exist

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Viral Quasispecies

The standard definition of a biological species does not apply to viruses. A more expansive and dynamic view of viral populations holds clues to understanding and defeating them

Australia's Polar Dinosaurs

Their excellent night vision and apparent warm blood raise a question: Could they have survived icehouse conditions at the end of the Cretaceous period?

Accurate Measurement of Time

Increasingly accurate clocks - now losing no more than a second over millions of years - are leading to such advances as refined tests of relativity and improved navigation systems.

Surgical Treatment of Cardiac Arrhythmias

To save the life of a doomed patient, the author and his colleagues developed a now standard surgical procedure for correcting lethally fast heartbeats in many people susceptible to them

Fuzzy Logic

The binary logic of modern computers often falls short when describing the vagueness of the real world. Fuzzy logic offers more graceful alternatives

Edwin Hubble and the Expanding Universe

More than any other individual, he shaped astronomers' present understanding of an expanding universe populated by a multitude of galaxies

Sustaining the Amazon

Can scientists reconcile the inevitability of economic development with the preservation of rain forests?

Mathematical Recreations

The Topological Dressmaker

Jun 1993 Underground Records of Changing Climate

Boreholes drilled into continental rock can recover fossil temperatures that reveal the climate of past eras. The results require careful interpretation

The Most Distant Radio Galaxies

Astronomers have identified powerful radio emitting galaxies that existed when the universe was only one tenth its present age. These objects offer a glimpse at the early evolution of giant galaxies

The Centrosome

By directing the assembly of a cell's skeleton, this organelle controls division, motility and shape. The details of its structure and function are just beginning to emerge

The Future of the Transistor

As it has grown smaller and cheaper, engineers have scoffed at theoretical barriers to its progress - so far

Monogamy and the Prairie Vole

Studies of the prairie vole - a secretive, mouselike animal have revealed hormones that may be responsible for monogamous behavior

Autism

Autistic individuals suffer from a biological defect. Although they cannot be cured, much can be done to make life more hospitable for them

The Great Well of China

More than 150 years ago the Chinese drilled one kilometer into the earth to extract brine for making salt. The well was the culmination of an 800-year-old technology

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Eugenics Revisited

Scientists are linking genes to a host of complex human disorders and traits, but just how valid - and useful - are these findings?

Mathematical Recreations

A Bundling Fool Beats the Wrap

May 1993 The Economics of Life and Death

Mortality data can be used to analyze economic performance. Such information can illuminate critical aspects of the economic organization of society

The Core-Mantle Boundary

This interactive zone may be the most dynamic part of the planet, directly affecting the earth's rotation and magnetic field.

How Cells Respond to Stress

During emergencies, cells produce stress proteins that repair damage. Inquiry into how they work offers promise for coping with infection, autoimmune disease and even cancer

Intelligent Gels

Soft aggregations of long-chain molecules can shrink or swell in response to stimuli. They may form the basis of a new kind of machine.

The Power of Maps

The authoritative appearance of modern maps belies their inherent biases. To use maps intelligently, the viewer must understand their subjective limitations

The Neurobiology of Fear

Researchers are beginning to tease apart the neurochemical processes that give rise to different fears in monkeys. The results may lead to new ways to treat anxiety in humans

P. A. M. Dirac and the Beauty of Physics

He preferred the beautiful theory to the fact-buttressed ugly one because, as he noted, facts change. He proved his point by predicting the existence of antimatter.

Inconstant Cosmos

Space-based telescopes endowed with x-ray and gamma-ray vision observe an ever restless, dynamic universe.

The Amateur Scientist

Mapping to Preserve a Watershed

Apr 1993

The Aging of the Human Species

Our species has modified the evolutionary forces that have always limited life expectancy. Policymakers must consequently prepare to meet the needs of a population that will soon be much older

Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics

Atoms and photons in small cavities behave completely unlike those in free space. Their quirks illustrate some of the principles of quantum physics and make possible the development of new sensors

Listening with Two Ears

Studies of barn owls offer insight into just how the brain combines acoustic signals from two sides of the head into a single spatial perception

Catalysis on Surfaces

Scientists can now observe how solids interact with individual molecules to speed reactions. Information about these catalysts is being used to improve everything from materials

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synthesis to pollution control The Reproductive Behavior of the Stickleback

To reproduce, this tiny fish engages in behaviors not commonly associated with such animals, including luring intruders away and cannibalizing another's eggs

The Evolution of Virulence

Human behavior appears to influence whether pathogens evolve into benign or harmful forms. Health policy should therefore include evolutionary considerations

Modern Humans in the Levant

Modern Homo sapiens preceded Neanderthals on Mount Carmel and followed a similar pattern of life for 60,000 years. Biology thus cannot explain the cultural revolution that then ensued

Trends in Materials

Rehabilitating the nation's aging infrastructure may depend on how well industry, government and academia tweak the properties of materials, from lowly concrete to aerospace composites

Mathematical Recreations

The Rise and Fall of the Lunar M-pire

Mar 1993 Why America's Bridges are Crumbling

Inadequate maintenance has piled up a repair bill that will take decades to pay off. Indeed, the scope of the problem is only now becoming clear

Black Holes and the Centrifugal Force Paradox

An object orbiting close to a black hole feels a centrifugal force pushing inward rather than outward. This paradoxical effect has important implications for astrophysics

Teaching the Immune System to Fight Cancer

Certain molecules on tumors can serve as targets for attack by cells of the immune system. These tumor-rejection antigens may provide a basis for precisely targeted anticancer therapy

Flat Panel Displays

Recent advances in microelectronics and liquid crystals make possible video screens that can be hung on a wall or worn on a wrist.

How Parasitic Wasps Find Their Hosts

Besides recognizing odors from their caterpillar hosts, wasps also learn to identify compounds released by the plant on which the caterpillars feed

Ice Age Lamps

The invention of fat-burning lamps toward the end of the Ice Age helped to transform European culture. It coincided with several other major technological advances

Flooded Forests of the Amazon

Parts of the vast rain forest are as much aquatic as terrestrial ecosystems. Unique adaptations allow creatures to thrive in these inundated woods

Trends in Genetics DNA'S New Twists

The known rules of genetics are only the beginning. The newly discovered abilities of a familiar molecule are influencing theories about evolution and the inheritance of disease.

The Amateur Scientist

Flight-Testing Fruit Flies

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Feb 1993 Environmental Change and Violent Conflict

Growing scarcities of renewable resources can contribute to social instability and civil strife

Resistance in High-Temperature Superconductors

Researchers are beginning to see how the motion of magnetic vortices in these materials can interfere with the flow of current

Zinc Fingers

They play a key part in regulating the activity of genes in many species, from yeast to humans. Fewer than 10 years ago no one knew they existed

How Should Chemists Think?

Chemists can create natural molecules by unnatural means. Or they can make beautiful structures never seen before. Which should be their grail?

A Technology of Kinetic Art

Delicate interplay of weights and balances choreographs the author's sculptures so that the gentlest gusts of air set their parts in motion

Breaching the Blood-Brain Barrier

Development of a therapy for meningitis has revealed how bacteria penetrate the blood-brain barrier. This knowledge may help physicians treat other disorders of the brain

Redeeming Charles Babbage's Mechanical Computer

A successful effort to build a working, three-ton Babbage calculating engine suggests that history has misjudged the pioneer of automatic computing

Trends in Russian Science

Researchers in the Russian Federation are in desperate straits. Plummeting budgets and pitiful salaries are driving many to leave the country. Those who stay are being forced to become merchant adventurers.

Mathematical Recreations

A Partly True Story

Jan 1993 Coral Bleaching

Environmental stresses can cause irreparable harm to coral reefs. Unusually high seawater temperatures may be a principal culprit

How the Milky Way Formed

Its halo and disk suggest that the collapse of a gas cloud, stellar explosions and the capture of galactic fragments may have all played a role

Carbohydrates in Cell Recognition

Telltale surface sugars enable cells to identify and interact with one another. New drugs aimed at those carbohydrates could stop infection and inflammation

The Earliest History of the Earth

Radioactive dating techniques have illuminated vast stretches of geologic history, bringing the most ancient eras of the earth's evolution into view

Madagascar's Lemurs

These primates can tell us a great deal about our own evolutionary past. But many species are already extinct, and the habitats of those that remain are shrinking fast

Quantum Dots

Nanotechnologists can now confine electrons to pointlike structures. Such "designer atoms" may lead to new electronic

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and optical devices The Mind and Donald O. Hebb

By rooting behavior in ideas, and ideas in the brain, Hebb laid the groundwork for modern neuroscience. His theory prefigured computer models of neural networks

Adapting To Complexity

From a primeval sea of organic molecules arose plants, animals, global ecosystems, intelligent beings, international organizations. What drives the natural world toward complexity?

The Amateur Scientist

Biodiversity in the Backyard

Compiled by Dave Lo, article summaries © Scientific American

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