| Issue | Title | Summary |
|---|
| Feb 2008 |
| Feb 2008 | 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 |
| Feb 2008 | The Coming Revolutions in Particle Physics
| No matter what the Large Hadron Collider finds, it is going to take physics into new territory |
| Feb 2008 | Building the Next-Generation Collider
| To further investigate the intricacies of high-energy particle physics, researchers must construct a more powerful electron-positron collider |
| Feb 2008 | 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 |
| Feb 2008 | 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 |
| Feb 2008 | 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? |
| Feb 2008 | 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" |
| Feb 2008 | Insights: Maverick against the Mendelians
| Autistic people generally do not have children, so why do autism genes persist? Michael Wigler thinks that he knows |
| Feb 2008 | Working Knowledge: Leap of Faith
| The video magic of blue screen |
| Jan 2008
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| Jan 2008 | 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 |
| Jan 2008 | 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 |
| Jan 2008 | 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 |
| Jan 2008 | Second Thoughts about Fluoride
| New research indicates that a cavity-fighting treatment could be risky if overused |
| Jan 2008 | Self-Powered Nanotech
| Tiny systems that draw waste energy from their surroundings could power nanosize machines |
| Jan 2008 | 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 |
| Jan 2008 | 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? |
| Jan 2008 | 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 |
| Jan 2008 | Working Knowledge: Perpetual Reset Machine
| The striking mechanics of bowling pinsetters |
| Dec 2007
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| Dec 2007 | 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 |
| Dec 2007 | 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 |
| Dec 2007 | Making Carbon Markets Work
| Limiting climate change without damaging the world economy depends on stronger and smarter market signals to regulate carbon dioxide |
| Dec 2007 | Radiant Information
| State-of-the-art light microscopy from the Olympus BioScapes competition illuminates life exquisitely |
| Dec 2007 | Diet Advice from DNA?
| Are personalized diets based on genetic tests cutting-edge science or high-tech horoscopes? |
| Dec 2007 | The Semantic Web in Action
| Networks that handle data more intelligently are already here |
| Dec 2007 | The Many Worlds of Hugh Everett
| Whatever became of the creator of the now celebrated quantum theory of multiple universes? |
| Dec 2007 | Working Knowledge: Progress Accelerates
| Adaptive cruise control |
| Nov 2007
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| Nov 2007 | The Great Cosmic Roller-Coaster Ride
| Could cosmic inflation be a sign that our universe is in a far vaster realm? |
| Nov 2007 | 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 |
| Nov 2007 | Nuclear Weapons in a New World
| Countries are altering their nuclear arsenals, prompting the U.S. to refurbish its own warheads |
| Nov 2007 | The Nuclear Threat
| A look at strike capabilities worldwide, and how a bomb would affect single cities and people |
| Nov 2007 | 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 |
| Nov 2007 | Playing Defense against Lou Gehrig's Disease
| Researchers have proposed potential therapies for a paralyzing disorder once thought to be untreatable |
| Nov 2007 | Brilliant Displays
| A new technology can make cell phone and other displays bright and clear, even in the sun's glare |
| Nov 2007 | 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 |
| Nov 2007 | Working Knowledge: Two Technologies Shine
| Digital projectors shine |
| Oct 2007
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| Oct 2007 | 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 |
| Oct 2007 | The Future of Space Exploration
| The launch of the Soviet Sputnik satellite half a century ago inaugurated the Space Age. What comes next? |
| Oct 2007 | To the Moon and Beyond
| Humans are returning to the moon. This time the plan is to stay a while |
| Oct 2007 | Five Essential Things to Do in Space
| Planetary scientists have a quintet of goals for exploring the solar system |
| Oct 2007 | 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 |
| Oct 2007 | 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 |
| Oct 2007 | 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 |
| Oct 2007 | 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 |
| Oct 2007 | Working Knowledge: Heating Up
| Geothermal energy |
| Sep 2007
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| Sep 2007 | 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 |
| Sep 2007 | 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 |
| Sep 2007 | Can Fat Be Fit?
| Popular books have questioned the ill effects of being overweight. They are probably wrong |
| Sep 2007 | What Fuels Fat
| Understanding obesity as a breakdown in the body's weight regulation could yield new ways to fight fat |
| Sep 2007 | This Is Your Brain on Food
| Neuroimaging reveals what chocoholics have in common with drug addicts. Interview with Nora D. Volkow |
| Sep 2007 | The World Is Fat
| How can the poorest countries fight obesity? |
| Sep 2007 | Still Hungry
| One eighth of the world does not have enough to eat |
| Sep 2007 | 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 |
| Sep 2007 | Is Your Food Contaminated?
| New approaches to protect the food supply |
| Sep 2007 | Working Knowledge: Fresh from the Sea
| Desalination of seawater |
| Aug 2007
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| Aug 2007 | 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 |
| Aug 2007 | Predicting Wildfires
| Fires are burning more acres than ever. Where will the next blazes ignite? Can we prevent them? Should we? |
| Aug 2007 | Windows on the Mind
| Tiny flicks of the eyes underpin much of our ability to see. They may also reveal subliminal thoughts |
| Aug 2007 | The Physical Science behind Climate Change
| Why climatologists are now so confident that human activity is to blame for a warming world |
| Aug 2007 | The Shark's Electric Sense
| An astonishingly sensitive detector of electric fields helps sharks zero in on prey |
| Aug 2007 | Future Farming: A Return to Roots?
| Agriculture would become more sustainable if major crop plants built deep, lasting root systems |
| Aug 2007 | Data Center in a Box
| A shipping container stuffed with servers could usher in the era of cloud computing |
| Aug 2007 | Working Knowledge: Blu-ray vs. HD DVD
| High-definition video |
| Jul 2007
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| Jul 2007 | Warmer Oceans, Stronger Hurricanes
| Evidence is mounting that global warming enhances a cyclone's damaging winds and flooding rains |
| Jul 2007 | 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 |
| Jul 2007 | 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 |
| Jul 2007 | 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 |
| Jul 2007 | 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 |
| Jul 2007 | Broadband Room Service by Light
| Encoded light transmissions can provide the wireless devices in a room with multimedia Web services |
| Jul 2007 | Should Science Speak to Faith?
| Two prominent defenders of science discuss how scientists ought to approach believers |
| Jul 2007 | Working Knowledge: In or Out?
| Hawkeye on the tennis court |
| Jun 2007
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| Jun 2007 | 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 |
| Jun 2007 | 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 |
| Jun 2007 | When Fields Collide
| The history of particle cosmology shows that science can benefit from wrenching changes |
| Jun 2007 | 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 |
| Jun 2007 | Breaking Network Logjams
| Network coding could dramatically enhance the efficiency of communications networks |
| Jun 2007 | Seeing Triple
| Anticipated for decades, machines are finally displaying objects in three true dimensions |
| Jun 2007 | 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 |
| Jun 2007 | Working Knowledge: The Write Type
| Optical character recognition finds the write type |
| May 2007
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| May 2007 | 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? |
| May 2007 | 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 |
| May 2007 | Preventing Blackouts
| A smarter power grid that automatically responds to problems could reduce the rising number of debilitating blackouts |
| May 2007 | South America's Missing Mammals
| An unexpected menagerie of unique mammal fossils is overturning long-held ideas about South America's geologic history |
| May 2007 | 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 |
| May 2007 | Eyes Open, Brain Shut
| Brain-imaging techniques yield a better understanding of patients in the vegetative state |
| May 2007 | A Do-It-Yourself Quantum Eraser
| Carry out a home experiment to illustrate one of the weirdest effects in quantum mechanics |
| May 2007 | Working Knowledge: Psst ... Hey, You
| Beams of sound |
| Apr 2007
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| Apr 2007 | The Ghosts of Galaxies Past
| Strangely moving stars may be the remnants of past galaxies devoured by our Milky Way |
| Apr 2007 | 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 |
| Apr 2007 | 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 |
| Apr 2007 | 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 |
| Apr 2007 | The Movies in Our Eyes
| The retina processes information much more than anyone has ever imagined, sending a dozen different movies to the brain |
| Apr 2007 | Gassing Up with Hydrogen
| Researchers are working on ways for fuel-cell vehicles to hold the hydrogen they need for long-distance travel |
| Apr 2007 | A Cure for Rabies?
| The survival of a Wisconsin teenager who contracted rabies may point the way to a treatment for this horrifying disease |
| Apr 2007 | Working Knowledge: Steer Clear
| Electronic stability control for autos |
| Apr 2007 | Technicalities: The Car Doctor Is In
| A way to diagnose engine problems without ever having to look under the hood |
| Mar 2007
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| Mar 2007 | Black Hole Blowback
| A single black hole, smaller than the solar system, can control the destiny of an entire cluster of galaxies |
| Mar 2007 | Mapping the Cancer Genome
| The Cancer Genome Atlas will help chart a new course across the complex landscape of human malignancies |
| Mar 2007 | 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 |
| Mar 2007 | 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? |
| Mar 2007 | 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 |
| Mar 2007 | Diesels Come Clean
| Improved engines and exhaust scrubbers, combined with a new fuel, will make energy-efficient diesels nearly as green as hybrids |
| Mar 2007 | Illusory Color and the Brain
| The brain may not separate perception of color from perception of form and depth |
| Mar 2007 | Working Knowledge: Restoring Flow
| Left ventricular assist devices |
| Feb 2007
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| Feb 2007 | 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 |
| Feb 2007 | 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 |
| Feb 2007 | Methane, Plants and Climate Change
| The surprising discovery that living plants produce a potent greenhouse gas poses new questions for managing global warming |
| Feb 2007 | 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 |
| Feb 2007 | Spice Healer
| An ingredient in curry shows promise for treating Alzheimer's, cancer and other diseases |
| Feb 2007 | 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 |
| Feb 2007 | Molecular Lego
| Small molecular building blocks that snap together rigidly enable chemists to design and manufacture nanometer-scale structures in virtually any shape |
| Feb 2007 | Working Knowledge: Song Beams
| Satellite radio |
| Feb 2007 | Technicalities: Power Walker
| Nothing could match the Segway's initial hype, but how far has it come since? |
| Jan 2007
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| Jan 2007 | 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 |
| Jan 2007 | 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. |
| Jan 2007 | The Power of Riboswitches
| Recently discovered RNA segments that act like on-off switches for genes may be targets for new classes of drugs |
| Jan 2007 | 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 |
| Jan 2007 | 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 |
| Jan 2007 | 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 |
| Jan 2007 | Better Ways to Target Pain
| Improved understanding of the chemical pathway on which aspirin and Vioxx act may lead to superior analgesics |
| Jan 2007 | Working Knowledge: Grass vs. Plastic
| High-tech turf |
| Dec 2006
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| Dec 2006 | 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 |
| Dec 2006 | The Red Planet's Watery Past
| For a billion years, liquid water may have covered much of Mars |
| Dec 2006 | Seeking the Neural Code
| How does a storm of electrical pulses in the brain translate into information? |
| Dec 2006 | Lucy's Baby
| An amazing skeleton from 3.3 million years ago renews debate over the evolution of upright walking |
| Dec 2006 | The Ultimate White Light
| "Supercontinuum" laser light could drive optical data transmission to record speeds |
| Dec 2006 | Cancer Clues from Pet Dogs
| Studies of canine malignancies could improve medical care for humans and man's best friend alike |
| Dec 2006 | Weighty Matters
| Replacing the century-old standard reference for mass measurement is a heavy challenge |
| Dec 2006 | Working Knowledge: Hot Commodity
| Why lithium batteries can overheat |
| Nov 2006
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| Nov 2006 | 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 |
| Nov 2006 | 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 |
| Nov 2006 | 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 |
| Nov 2006 | Malware Goes Mobile
| Consumers, phone makers and security companies must move quickly to quash the threat of new viruses targeting mobile devices |
| Nov 2006 | 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 |
| Nov 2006 | Seeing with Superconductors
| Sensors made of superconducting material can detect individual photons and have applications ranging from antiterrorism to astronomy |
| Nov 2006 | 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? |
| Nov 2006 | Working Knowledge: Gunk-Free Fiber
| The sticky problem of paper recycling |
| Oct 2006
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| Oct 2006 | 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 |
| Oct 2006 | Viral Nanoelectronics
| Viruses that coat themselves in selected substances can self-assemble into such devices as liquid crystals, nanowires and electrodes |
| Oct 2006 | 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 |
| Oct 2006 | 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? |
| Oct 2006 | Ballbots
| A new mode of locomotion would enable robots to stand tall and move gracefully through busy everyday environments |
| Oct 2006 | 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 |
| Oct 2006 | 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 |
| Oct 2006 | Working Knowledge: Steady Cam
| Image stabilization in digital cameras |
| Sep 2006
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| Sep 2006 | A Climate Repair Manual
| Coping with global warming will take innovations in both energy technology and policy |
| Sep 2006 | A Plan to Keep Carbon in Check
| Multiple technologies, each taking a slice out of carbon dioxide emissions, could slow warming |
| Sep 2006 | Fueling Our Transportation Future
| New technologies, lighter vehicles and alternative fuels can lower greenhouse gas releases from cars and trucks |
| Sep 2006 | An Efficient Solution
| In buildings and in industrial processes, using power more judiciously is the quickest, cheapest solution |
| Sep 2006 | What to Do about Coal
| Coal is plentiful, but we must manage its environmental dark side |
| Sep 2006 | The Nuclear Option
| Nuclear power could stave off more than a billion tons of carbon emissions annually |
| Sep 2006 | The Rise of Renewable Energy
| Solar cells, wind turbines and biofuels are poised to become major energy sources |
| Sep 2006 | High Hopes for Hydrogen
| Hydrogen-fueled cars could slash carbon emissions, but it won't happen soon |
| Sep 2006 | Plan B for Energy
| Eventually, even more radical energy sources will be needed. Here are some possibilities under consideration |
| Sep 2006 | Working Knowledge: Tall Task
| A tall task for water towers |
| Aug 2006
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| Aug 2006 | 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 |
| Aug 2006 | 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 |
| Aug 2006 | 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 |
| Aug 2006 | 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 |
| Aug 2006 | Climate and the Evolution of Mountains
| New studies of the Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau suggest that climate and geology can be partners in a long, slow dance |
| Aug 2006 | 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 |
| Aug 2006 | The Fish and the Forest
| Salmon carcasses left behind by predatory bears are unexpectedly important sources of nutrients for forests |
| Aug 2006 | Working Knowledge: Going Vertical
| How disk-drive makers raise storage capacities by making bits stand on end |
| Aug 2006 | Technicalites: Weather Gets Personal
| Here's the five-day forecast for your backyard |
| Jul 2006
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| Jul 2006 | 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 |
| Jul 2006 | 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 |
| Jul 2006 | 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 |
| Jul 2006 | What Birds See
| Evolution has endowed birds with a system of color vision that surpasses that of all mammals, including humans |
| Jul 2006 | 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 |
| Jul 2006 | CSI: Reality
| Attorneys, investigators and educators have felt the impact of television's popular forensics programs |
| Jul 2006 | A Farewell to Keywords
| The reigning obsession with search technology has elicited new ways of using images to track down information on the Web |
| Jul 2006 | Working Knowledge: Expanding Use
| Vascular stents |
| Jun 2006
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| Jun 2006 | The Secrets of Supervolcanoes
| Microscopic crystals of volcanic ash are revealing surprising clues about the world's most devastating eruptions |
| Jun 2006 | 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 |
| Jun 2006 | Wading in Waste
| Thanks to unchecked development along America's coasts, disease-causing microbes are increasingly fouling beaches and shellfish beds |
| Jun 2006 | 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 |
| Jun 2006 | 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 |
| Jun 2006 | A New Assault on HIV
| The constant search for weak points in the virus yields ideas for a wholly new class of drug |
| Jun 2006 | 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 |
| Jun 2006 | Working Knowledge: Carbon Hooch
| Oil refineries |
| Jun 2006 | Technicalities: The Ultimate Blood Test
| A pricey way to determine health risks: 250 tests at once |
| May 2006
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| May 2006 | The First Few Microseconds
| In recent experiments, physicists have replicated conditions of the infant universe--with startling results |
| May 2006 | Bringing DNA Computer to Life
| Tapping the computing power of biological molecules gives rise to tiny machines that can speak directly to living cells |
| May 2006 | 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 |
| May 2006 | 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 |
| May 2006 | 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 |
| May 2006 | Shutting Down Alzheimer's
| New research reveals strategies for blocking the molecular processes that lead to this memory-destroying disease |
| May 2006 | When Slide Rules Ruled
| Before electronic calculators, the mechanical slide rule dominated scientific and engineering computation |
| May 2006 | Working Knowledge: Cutting Work
| Robot mowers |
| Apr 2006
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| Apr 2006 | The Mysterious Origins of Solar Flares
| New observations are beginning to reveal what triggers these huge explosions of the sun's atmosphere |
| Apr 2006 | 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 |
| Apr 2006 | 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 |
| Apr 2006 | Why Are Some Animals So Smart?
| The unusual behavior of orangutans in a Sumatran swamp suggests a surprising answer |
| Apr 2006 | 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 |
| Apr 2006 | An Antibiotic Resistance Fighter
| A compound that tweaks a pivotal protein may quell development of antibiotic resistance |
| Apr 2006 | 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 |
| Apr 2006 | Working Knowledge: Big Squeeze
| Jet engines |
| Apr 2006 | Technicalities: Sharp Shooter
| Sony's R1 combines near pro-quality images with live preview |
| Mar 2006
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| Mar 2006 | Shielding Space Travelers
| The perils of cosmic rays pose severe, perhaps insurmountable, hurdles to human spaceflight to Mars and beyond |
| Mar 2006 | 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 |
| Mar 2006 | 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 |
| Mar 2006 | Cognitive Radio
| Smart radios and other new wireless devices will avoid transmission bottlenecks by switching instantly to nearby frequencies that they sense are clear |
| Mar 2006 | 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 |
| Mar 2006 | 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 |
| Mar 2006 | The Elusive Goal of Machine Translation
| Statistical methods hold tha promise of moving computerized translation out of the doldrums |
| Mar 2006 | Working Knowledge: Spin and Swing
| Tiny motors |
| Feb 2006
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| Feb 2006 | 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 |
| Feb 2006 | 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 |
| Feb 2006 | Thwarting Nuclear Terrorism
| Many civilian research reactors contain highly enriched uranium that terrorists could use to build nuclear bombs |
| Feb 2006 | 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? |
| Feb 2006 | Miniaturized Power
| With nanobatteries, power sources finally shrink with the rest of electronics |
| Feb 2006 | 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 |
| Feb 2006 | 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 |
| Feb 2006 | Working Knowledge: Into the Breach
| Levees |
| Feb 2006 | Technicalities: My Virtual War
| A disturbing stroll through a simulated battlefield |
| Jan 2006
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| Jan 2006 | The Mystery of Brown Dwarf Origins
| By throwinig a wrench into the theories of planet and star formation, brown dwarfs may help fix them |
| Jan 2006 | 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 |
| Jan 2006 | 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 |
| Jan 2006 | 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 |
| Jan 2006 | 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 |
| Jan 2006 | Recognition Engines
| New computer designs process networked "streams" of data for better spam and virus detection |
| Jan 2006 | Protecting More than Animals
| Reducing animal suffering often has the unexpected benefit of yielding more rigorous safety tests |
| Jan 2006 | Working Knowledge: No More Gears
| Continuously variable transmission |
| Dec 2005
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| Dec 2005 | 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 |
| Dec 2005 | 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? |
| Dec 2005 | Tackling Malaria
| Interventions available today could lead to decisive gains in prevention and treatment--if only the world would apply them |
| Dec 2005 | 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 |
| Dec 2005 | Sick of Poverty
| New studies suggest that the stress of being poor has a staggeringly harmful influence on health |
| Dec 2005 | Getting a Leg Up on Land
| Recent fossil discoveries cast light on the evolution of four-limbed animals from fish |
| Dec 2005 | 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 |
| Dec 2005 | Working Knowledge: Better Exposure
| Digital x-rays |
| Dec 2005 | Technicalities: Easy Rider
| Automatic transmission makes cycling a breeze |
| Nov 2005
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| Nov 2005 | 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? |
| Nov 2005 | 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 |
| Nov 2005 | Did Life Come from Another World?
| New research indicates that microorganisms could have survived a journey from Mars to Earth |
| Nov 2005 | Crossbar Nanocomputers
| Crisscrossing assemblies of defect-prone nanowires could succeed today's silicon-based circuits |
| Nov 2005 | 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 |
| Nov 2005 | The Neurobiology of the Self
| Biologists are beginning to tease out how the brain gives rise to a constant sense of being oneself |
| Nov 2005 | The Land of Milk and Money
| The first drug from a transgenic animal may be nearing approval |
| Nov 2005 | Working Knowledge: Case Cracked
| Nuts |
| Oct 2005
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| Oct 2005 | 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 |
| Oct 2005 | 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 |
| Oct 2005 | 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 |
| Oct 2005 | The Forgotten Era of Brain Chips
| The work of Jose Delgado, a pioneering star in brain-stimulation research four decades ago, goes largely unacknowledged today. What happened? |
| Oct 2005 | Better Than a Dog
| The search is on for a sensor that bests a canine at detecting explosives |
| Oct 2005 | 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 |
| Oct 2005 | 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 |
| Oct 2005 | Working Knowledge: Paving the Way
| Roads |
| Oct 2005 | Technicalities: Heavy-Metal Sweat
| Does an infrared sauna really detoxify the body? |
| Sep 2005
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| Sep 2005 | 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 |
| Sep 2005 | 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 |
| Sep 2005 | 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 |
| Sep 2005 | 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 |
| Sep 2005 | More Profit with Less Carbon
| Focusing on energy efficiency will do more than protect Earth's climate--it will make businesses and consumers richer |
| Sep 2005 | 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 |
| Sep 2005 | 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 |
| Sep 2005 | 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 |
| Sep 2005 | 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 |
| Sep 2005 | Working Knowledge: Private and Cool
| Smart glass |
| Aug 2005
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| Aug 2005 | 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 |
| Aug 2005 | 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 |
| Aug 2005 | 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 |
| Aug 2005 | Morphware
| Magnetic logic may usher in an era in which computing devices can change instantly from one type of hardware to another |
| Aug 2005 | 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 |
| Aug 2005 | 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 |
| Aug 2005 | 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 |
| Aug 2005 | Working Knowledge: Ease the Grind
| Ball bearings |
| Aug 2005 | Technicalities: Heavenly Music in Your Hand
| Portable satellite radio is a palmtop cornucopia of music |
| Jul 2005
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| Jul 2005 | 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 |
| Jul 2005 | 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 |
| Jul 2005 | The Future of Stem Cells
| A special report from Scientific American and Financial Times |
| Jul 2005 | 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 |
| Jul 2005 | How Dinosaurs Grew So Large--and So Small
| Overlooked clues to how fast the creatures grew and how long they lived lurk in their bones |
| Jul 2005 | Shrinking Circuits with Water
| Semiconductor manufacturers are giving their products a dousing in the name of faster, smaller, cheaper |
| Jul 2005 | New Movement in Parkinson's
| Recent genetic and cellular discoveries are among the advances pointing to improved treatments for this increasingly common disorder |
| Jul 2005 | Simulating Ancient Societies
| Computer modeling is helping unravel the archaeological mysteries of the American Southwest |
| Jul 2005 | Working Knowledge: Make It Quick
| Rapid prototyping |
| Jun 2005
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| Jun 2005 | 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? |
| Jun 2005 | Inconstant Constants
| Do the inner workings of nature change with time? |
| Jun 2005 | Conversational Computers
| Efforts to make computers speak naturally will let machines better communicate meaning |
| Jun 2005 | 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 |
| Jun 2005 | Making Cold Antimatter
| Low-energy atoms of antihydrogen will enable researchers to test a fundamental property of the universe |
| Jun 2005 | The Morning of the Modern Mind
| Controversial discoveries suggest that the roots of our vaunted intellect run far deeper than is commonly believed |
| Jun 2005 | Doubt Is Their Product
| Industry groups are fighting government regulation by fomenting scientific uncertainty |
| Jun 2005 | Working Knowledge: Lean and Mean
| Hybrid vehicles |
| Jun 2005 | Technicalities: The Multipath to Clarity
| Receiving HDTV over the air takes luck and lots of patience |
| May 2005
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| May 2005 | 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 |
| May 2005 | Quantum Black Holes
| Physicists could soon be creating black holes in the laboratory |
| May 2005 | 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 |
| May 2005 | A Bolt out of the Blue
| New research shows that lightning is a surprisingly complex and mystifying phenomenon |
| May 2005 | 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 |
| May 2005 | 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 |
| May 2005 | Molecular Treasure Hunt
| A software tool elicits previously undiscovered gene or protein pathways by combing through hundreds of thousands of journal articles |
| May 2005 | Working Knowledge: Thin Is In
| Slim TV |
| Apr 2005
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| Apr 2005 | Stopping Spam
| What can be done to stanch the flood of junk e-mail messages? |
| Apr 2005 | 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 |
| Apr 2005 | 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 |
| Apr 2005 | 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 |
| Apr 2005 | How Animals Do Business
| Humans and other animals share a heritage of economic tendencies--including cooperation, repayment of favors and resentment at being shortchanged |
| Apr 2005 | 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 |
| Apr 2005 | 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 |
| Apr 2005 | Working Knowledge: Uniform Variety
| Tennis balls |
| Apr 2005 | Technicalities: Hot Stuff
| New thermal cameras show the world in infrared |
| Mar 2005
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| Mar 2005 | Misconceptions about the Big Bang
| Baffled by the expansion of the universe? You're not alone. Even astronomers frequently get it wrong |
| Mar 2005 | 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 |
| Mar 2005 | If Smallpox Strikes Portland
| "EpiSims" unleashes virtual plagues in real cities to see how social networks spread disease. That knowledge might help stop epidemics |
| Mar 2005 | 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 |
| Mar 2005 | Taming Lupus
| Teasing out the causes of this autoimmune disorder is a daunting challenge. But the payoff should be better, more specific treatments |
| Mar 2005 | 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 |
| Mar 2005 | 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 |
| Mar 2005 | Working Knowledge: Take My Pixel
| Digital photography |
| Feb 2005
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| Feb 2005 | 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? |
| Feb 2005 | 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 |
| Feb 2005 | 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 |
| Feb 2005 | Seeking Better Web Searches
| Deluged with superfluous responses to online queries, users will soon benefit from improved search engines that deliver customized results |
| Feb 2005 | 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 |
| Feb 2005 | Nanotubes in the Clean Room
| Talismans of a thousand graduate projects may soon make their way into electronic memories |
| Feb 2005 | The New College Try
| Innovation is alive and kicking on campus |
| Feb 2005 | Working Knowledge: Reducing a Roar
| Noise-canceling headphones |
| Feb 2005 | 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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| Jan 2005 | 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 |
| Jan 2005 | 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 |
| Jan 2005 | 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 |
| Jan 2005 | 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? |
| Jan 2005 | Eye of the Beholder
| Wonders under the lens of the optical microscope |
| Jan 2005 | Best-Kept Secrets
| Quantum cryptography has marched from theory to laboratory to real products |
| Jan 2005 | 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 |
| Jan 2005 | Working Knowledge: Open Sesame
| Keyless entry |
| Dec 2004
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| Dec 2004 | 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 |
| Dec 2004 | 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 |
| Dec 2004 | 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 |
| Dec 2004 | 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 |
| Dec 2004 | The Case of the Pilfered Planet
| Did the British steal Neptune? |
| Dec 2004 | Are Viruses Alive?
| Although viruses challenge our concept of what "living" means, they are vital members of the web of life |
| Dec 2004 | Working Knowledge: Crowded Skies
| Air traffic control |
| Dec 2004 | Technicalities: More Than Just Music
| Accessories can enhance the iPod music player |
| Nov 2004
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| Nov 2004 | 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 |
| Nov 2004 | 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 |
| Nov 2004 | 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 |
| Nov 2004 | Holes in the Missile Shield
| The national missile defense now being deployed by the U.S. should be replaced with a more effective system |
| Nov 2004 | 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 |
| Nov 2004 | 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 |
| Nov 2004 | A Split at the Core
| Physics is forcing the microchip industry to redesign its most lucrative products. That is bad news for software companies |
| Nov 2004 | Working Knowledge: Keep the Beat
| Pacemakers |
| Oct 2004
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| Oct 2004 | A Universe of Disks
| New research reveals the dynamics of the spinning disks of gas that surround young stars and gargantuan black holes |
| Oct 2004 | 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 |
| Oct 2004 | Controlling Hurricanes
| Can hurricanes and other severe tropical storms be moderated or deflected? |
| Oct 2004 | 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" |
| Oct 2004 | 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 |
| Oct 2004 | 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 |
| Oct 2004 | 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 |
| Oct 2004 | Working Knowledge: Shock Absorbed
| Earthquake protection |
| Oct 2004 | Technicalities: Gadget Envy
| All-in-one cell phones can do just about anything |
| Sep 2004
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| Sep 2004 | 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 |
| Sep 2004 | Everyday Einstein
| Finding your way out of the woods with GPS? Hanging a picture frame with a laser level? Making photocopies? Better thank Einstein |
| Sep 2004 | 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 |
| Sep 2004 | 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? |
| Sep 2004 | A Cosmic Conundrum
| A new incarnation of Einstein's cosmological constant may point the way beyond general relativity |
| Sep 2004 | 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 |
| Sep 2004 | 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 |
| Sep 2004 | The Search for Relativity Violations
| To uncover evidence for an ultimate theory, scientists are looking for infractions of Einstein's once sacrosanct physical principle |
| Sep 2004 | 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 |
| Sep 2004 | Working Knowledge: String Theory
| Yo-yo |
| Aug 2004
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| Aug 2004 | 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 |
| Aug 2004 | Electrodynamic Tethers in Space
| By exploiting fundamental physical laws, tethers may provide low-cost eletrical power, drag, thrust, and artificial gravity for spaceflight |
| Aug 2004 | Virtual-Reality Therapy
| Patients can get relief from pain or overcome their phobias by immersing themselves in computer-generated worlds |
| Aug 2004 | Nuclear Bunker Buster Bombs
| New burrowing nuclear weapons could destroy subterranean military facilities - but their strategic and tactical utility is questionable |
| Aug 2004 | 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 |
| Aug 2004 | Questions That Plague Physics
| Lawrence M. Krauss speaks about unfinished business |
| Aug 2004 | 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 |
| Aug 2004 | Working Knowledge: Seeing Inside
| Medical imaging |
| Aug 2004 | Technicalities: Crippled but Not Crashed
| Neural networks can help pilots land damaged planes |
| Jul 2004
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| Jul 2004 | 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 |
| Jul 2004 | 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? |
| Jul 2004 | 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 |
| Jul 2004 | 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 |
| Jul 2004 | 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 |
| Jul 2004 | The Shapes of Space
| A Russian mathematician has proved the century-old Poincaré conjecture and completed the catalogue of three-dimensional spaces. He might earn a $1-million prize |
| Jul 2004 | The Mystery of the Voynich Manuscript
| New analysis of a famously cryptic medieval document suggests that it contains nothing but gibberish |
| Jul 2004 | Working Knowledge: Big Air
| Pipe organs |
| Jun 2004
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| Jun 2004 | 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 |
| Jun 2004 | 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 |
| Jun 2004 | Lessons from the Wolf
| Bringing the top predator back to Yellowstone has triggered a cascade of unanticipated changes in the park's ecosystem |
| Jun 2004 | 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 |
| Jun 2004 | The Stem Cell Challenge
| What hurdles stand between the promise of human stem cell therapies and real treatments in the clinic? |
| Jun 2004 | Nuclear Explosions in Orbit
| The spread of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles raises fears of atomic attacks on the global satellite system |
| Jun 2004 | Technicalities: Security at Your Fingertips
| Fingerprint sensors can guard your computer data |
| May 2004
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| May 2004 | 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 |
| May 2004 | Questions about a Hydrogen Economy
| Much excitement surrounds the progress in fuel cells, but the quest for a hydrogen economy is no trivial pursuit |
| May 2004 | Synthetic Life
| Biologists are crafting libraries of interchangeable DNA parts and assembling them inside microbes to create programmable, living machines |
| May 2004 | 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 |
| May 2004 | Retooling the Global Positioning System
| From hikers navigating with handheld locators to pilots landing in zero-visibility conditions, the Global Positioning System now serves more than 30 million users. See what's coming next |
| May 2004 | 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 |
| May 2004 | Working Knowledge: Clear Favorite
| Laser eye surgery |
| May 2004 | Puzzling Adventures: Jump Snatch
| Jumping to a conclusion |
| Apr 2004
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| Apr 2004 | 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 |
| Apr 2004 | 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? |
| Apr 2004 | 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 |
| Apr 2004 | The First Nanochips
| As scientists and engineers continue to push back the limits of chipmaking technology, they have quietly entered into the nanometer realm |
| Apr 2004 | 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 |
| Apr 2004 | Blastoffs on a Budget
| Private ventures seeking to make routine access to space affordable see big potential in going small |
| Apr 2004 | Working Knowledge: Complete Burn
| Fuel injection |
| Apr 2004 | Technicalities: Plug-and-Play Robots
| Personal robots may soon be as cheap and customizable as personal computers |
| Apr 2004 | Puzzling Adventures: Bluffhead
| The game of Bluffhead |
| Mar 2004
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| Mar 2004 | The Spirit of Exploration
| NASA's rover fights the curse of the Angry Red Planet |
| Mar 2004 | 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 |
| Mar 2004 | 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 |
| Mar 2004 | 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 |
| Mar 2004 | 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 |
| Mar 2004 | 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 |
| Mar 2004 | Working Knowledge: Rock Clock
| Quartz watches |
| Mar 2004 | Puzzling Adventures: Grid Speed
| Traffic on the grid |
| Feb 2004
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| Feb 2004 | 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 |
| Feb 2004 | The Cosmic Symphony
| New observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation show that the early universe resounded with harmonious oscillations |
| Feb 2004 | 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 |
| Feb 2004 | From Slowdown to Speedup
| Distant supernovae are revealing the crucial time when the expansion of the universe changed from decelerating to accelerating |
| Feb 2004 | 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 |
| Feb 2004 | 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 |
| Feb 2004 | 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 |
| Feb 2004 | Working Knowledge: Data Driven
| Automobile black box |
| Feb 2004 | Technicalities: A Walk in the Woods
| Satellites show the way in the new sport of geocaching |
| Feb 2004 | Puzzling Adventures: All or Nothing
| Numerical messages |
| Jan 2004
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| Jan 2004 | 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 |
| Jan 2004 | Decoding Schizophrenia
| A fuller understanding of signaling in the brain of people with this disorder offers new hope for improved therapy |
| Jan 2004 | RFID: A Key to Automating Everything
| Already common in security systems and tollbooths, radio-frequency identification tags and readers stand poised to take over many processes now accomplished by human toil |
| Jan 2004 | 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 |
| Jan 2004 | Women and Men at Çatalhöyük
| The largest known Neolithic settlement yields clues about the roles played by the two sexes in early agricultural societies |
| Jan 2004 | Spring Forward
| As temperatures rise sooner in spring, interdependent species in many ecosystems are shifting dangerously out of sync |
| Jan 2004 | 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 |
| Jan 2004 | Working Knowledge: Phantom Gain
| Virtual 1st down marker |
| Jan 2004 | Puzzling Adventures: Verifying Your Circuits
| Verifying circuits |
| Dec 2003
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| Dec 2003 | 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 |
| Dec 2003 | 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 |
| Dec 2003 | The New Moon
| Recent lunar missions have shown that there is still much to learn about Earth's closest neighbor |
| Dec 2003 | 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 |
| Dec 2003 | The Day the World Burned
| The dinosaur-killing impact set off a wave of wildfires that consumed Earth's forests |
| Dec 2003 | 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 |
| Dec 2003 | Working Knowledge: At the Moment
| Electronic skis |
| Dec 2003 | Technicalities: Science for Cops
| A behind-the-scenes look at a high-tech police lab |
| Dec 2003 | Puzzling Adventures: You Don't Say!
| Parallel repetition |
| Nov 2003
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| Nov 2003 | 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 |
| Nov 2003 | The Asteroid Tugboat
| To prevent an asteroid from hitting Earth, a space tug equipped with plasma engines could give it a push |
| Nov 2003 | An Army of Small Robots
| For robot designers these days, small is beautiful |
| Nov 2003 | 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 |
| Nov 2003 | 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 |
| Nov 2003 | Flying on Flexible Wings
| Future aircraft may fly more like birds, adapting geometrics of their wings to best suit changing flight conditions |
| Nov 2003 | Why We Sleep
| The reasons that we sleep are gradually becoming less enigmatic |
| Nov 2003 | Working Knowledge: Staying Power
| Nails and staples |
| Nov 2003 | Puzzling Adventures: Liquid Switchboard
| Liquid switchboard |
| Oct 2003
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| Oct 2003 | 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 |
| Oct 2003 | Artificial Muscles
| Novel motion-producing devices - actuators, motors, generators - based on polymers that change shape when stimulated electrically are nearing commercialization |
| Oct 2003 | 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 |
| Oct 2003 | Tumor-Busting Viruses
| A new technique called virotherapy harnesses viruses, those banes of humankind, to stop another scourge--cancer |
| Oct 2003 | China's Great Leap Upward
| By boosting astronauts into orbit, China hopes to become the newest superpower in space |
| Oct 2003 | 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 |
| Oct 2003 | Working Knowledge: Cool Shirt
| Smart fabrics |
| Oct 2003 | Technicalities: The Infinite Arcade Machine
| Building the world's largest video arcade - in your family room |
| Oct 2003 | Puzzling Adventures: Strategic Bullying
| Strategic bullying |
| Sep 2003
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| Sep 2003 | 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 |
| Sep 2003 | 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 |
| Sep 2003 | Stimulating the Brain
| Activating the brain's circuitry with pulsed magnetic fields may help ease depression, enhance cognition, even fight fatigue |
| Sep 2003 | Mind Readers
| Brain-scanning machines may soon be capable of discerning rudimentary thoughts and separating fact from fiction |
| Sep 2003 | 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 |
| Sep 2003 | Taming Stress
| An emerging understanding of the brain's stress pathways points toward treatments for anxiety and depression beyond Valium and Prozac |
| Sep 2003 | Diagnosing Disorders
| Psychiatric illnesses are often hard to recognize, but genetic testing and neuroimaging could someday be used to improve detection |
| Sep 2003 | Working Knowledge: On the Money
| Bill validators |
| Sep 2003 | Puzzling Adventures: Missing Hiker
| Find the missing hiker |
| Aug 2003
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| Aug 2003 | 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 |
| Aug 2003 | Demystifying the Digital Divide
| The simple binary notion of technology haves and have-nots doesn't quite compute |
| Aug 2003 | 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 |
| Aug 2003 | Information in the Holographic Universe
| Theoretical results about black holes suggest that the universe could be like a gigantic hologram |
| Aug 2003 | 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 |
| Aug 2003 | 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 |
| Aug 2003 | Working Knowledge: Seeing Green
| Night vision |
| Aug 2003 | Technicalities: Converging on the Couch
| New devices connect the stereo and TV to the home data network |
| Aug 2003 | Puzzling Adventures: Short Taps
| Outwitting spies |
| Jul 2003
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| Jul 2003 | The Galactic Odd Couple
| Why do giant black holes and stellar baby booms, two phenomena with little in common, so often go together? |
| Jul 2003 | 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 |
| Jul 2003 | Antennas Get Smart
| Adaptive antenna arrays can vastly improve wireless communications by connecting mobile users with virtual wires |
| Jul 2003 | 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 |
| Jul 2003 | 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 |
| Jul 2003 | 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? |
| Jul 2003 | 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 |
| Jul 2003 | Working Knowledge: Fine Focus
| Scanning electron microscopes |
| Jul 2003 | Puzzling Adventures: High Spies
| Tracking contraband shipments |
| Jun 2003
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| Jun 2003 | 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 |
| Jun 2003 | The Unearthly Landscapes of Mars
| The Red Planet is no dead planet |
| Jun 2003 | Self-Repairing Computers
| By embracing the inevitability of system failures, recovery-oriented computing returns service faster |
| Jun 2003 | Pandora's Baby
| In vitro fertilization was once considered by some to be a threat to our very humanity. Cloning inspires similar fears |
| Jun 2003 | 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 |
| Jun 2003 | 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
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| May 2003 | Parallel Universes
| Not just a staple of science fiction, other universes are a direct implication of cosmological observations |
| May 2003 | 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 |
| May 2003 | 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 |
| May 2003 | 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 |
| May 2003 | 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 |
| May 2003 | Working Knowledge: Catch a Wave
| Antennas |
| May 2003 | Puzzling Adventures: Bounded Regrets
| Competitive analysis and the regret ratio |
| Apr 2003
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| Apr 2003 | 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 |
| Apr 2003 | Where a Pill Won't Reach
| How to get drugs where they need to go |
| Apr 2003 | Mount Etna's Ferocious Future
| Europe's biggest and most active volcano is growing more dangerous. Luckily, the transformation is happening slowly |
| Apr 2003 | 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 |
| Apr 2003 | 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 |
| Apr 2003 | 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 |
| Apr 2003 | 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 |
| Apr 2003 | Working Knowledge: Potent Patches
| Transdermal drug delivery |
| Apr 2003 | Technicalities: Screen Writing
| The tablet PC is a high-tech tool for scribblers |
| Apr 2003 | Puzzling Adventures: The Graph of Life
| Graphing the origins of species |
| Mar 2003
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| Mar 2003 | 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 |
| Mar 2003 | 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 |
| Mar 2003 | 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 |
| Mar 2003 | Digital Entertainment Jumps the Border
| New broadcasting technologies are challenging the restrictions on the viewing of American television shows and films in other countries |
| Mar 2003 | Which Came First, the Feather or the Bird?
| A long-cherished view of how and why feathers evolved has now been overturned |
| Mar 2003 | Bugs in the Brain
| Time for a bit of humility. Some microorganisms can manipulate neural circuitry better than we can |
| Mar 2003 | Working Knowledge: No Two Alike
| Fingerprint readers |
| Mar 2003 | Puzzling Adventures: Safecracking
| The safecracker's strategy |
| Feb 2003
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| Feb 2003 | Magnetars
| Some stars are magnetized so intensely that they emit huge bursts of magnetic energy and alter the very nature of the quantum vacuum |
| Feb 2003 | Why? The Neuroscience of Suicide
| New research addresses the wrenching question left when someone ends his or her own life |
| Feb 2003 | Evolving Inventions
| Computer programs that function via Darwinian evolution are creating inventions that are novel and useful enough to be patented |
| Feb 2003 | 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 |
| Feb 2003 | Satellite-Guided Munitions
| Highly accurate yet affordable strike weapons, proved in Afghanistan, are the latest upgrades to America's arsenal |
| Feb 2003 | 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 |
| Feb 2003 | Working Knowledge: Carbon Copy
| Synthetic diamonds |
| Feb 2003 | Technicalities: Robots That Suck
| Have they finally come out with a robot for the rest of us? |
| Feb 2003 | Puzzling Adventures: Five Trusty Flares
| Choosing trustworthy flares |
| Jan 2003
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| Jan 2003 | 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 |
| Jan 2003 | The Nanodrive Project
| Inventing a nanotechnology device for mass production and consumer use is trickier than it sounds |
| Jan 2003 | An Ancestor to Call Our Own
| Controversial new fossils could bring scientists closer than ever to the origin of humanity |
| Jan 2003 | 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 |
| Jan 2003 | 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 |
| Jan 2003 | The Science of Bubbly
| Scientists study the nose-tickling effervescence of champagne - an alluring and unmistakable aspect of its appeal |
| Jan 2003 | 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 |
| Jan 2003 | The Nanodrive Project
| Inventing a nanotechnology device for mass production and consumer use is trickier than it sounds |
| Jan 2003 | An Ancestor to Call Our Own
| Controversial new fossils could bring scientists closer than ever to the origin of humanity |
| Jan 2003 | 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 |
| Jan 2003 | 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 |
| Jan 2003 | The Science of Bubbly
| Scientists study the nose-tickling effervescence of champagne - an alluring and unmistakable aspect of its appeal |
| Jan 2003 | Working Knowledge: Scratch Match
| Ballistics |
| Jan 2003 | Puzzling Adventures: Protein Chime
| Timing with proteins |
| Dec 2002
|
| Dec 2002 | 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 |
| Dec 2002 | The Brightest Explosions in the Universe
| Every time a gamma-ray burst goes off, a black hole is born |
| Dec 2002 | 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 |
| Dec 2002 | 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 |
| Dec 2002 | Food for Thought
| Dietary change was a driving force in human evolution |
| Dec 2002 | 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 |
| Dec 2002 | Working Knowledge: Superhot Dots
| Ink-jet printing |
| Dec 2002 | Technicalities: Getting Real
| What's next in computer displays? Depth and shadows |
| Dec 2002 | Puzzling Adventures: Plumbers
| Find the blabbermouth |
| Nov 2002
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| Nov 2002 | 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 |
| Nov 2002 | 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 |
| Nov 2002 | Gladiators: A New Order of Insect
| A mystery in amber is solved on a desert mountain with a discovery that has stunned entomologists |
| Nov 2002 | Rules for a Complex Quantum World
| An exciting new fundamental discipline of research combines information science and quantum mechanics |
| Nov 2002 | Weapons of Mass Disruption
| Radiological terror weapons could blow radioactive dust through cities, causing panic, boosting cancer rates and forcing costly cleanups |
| Nov 2002 | Burning Questions
| Scientists work to understand and control the plague of wildfires in the West |
| Nov 2002 | Working Knowledge: See the Wind
| Weather radar |
| Nov 2002 | Puzzling Adventures: Perfect Billiards
| Perfect billiards: working the angles |
| Oct 2002
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| Oct 2002 | 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 |
| Oct 2002 | The Emptiest Places
| Space comes in degrees of emptiness, but even in the wasteland between galaxies it is not a complete void |
| Oct 2002 | Vehicle of Change
| Hydrogen fuel-cell cars could be the catalyst for a cleaner tomorrow |
| Oct 2002 | 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 |
| Oct 2002 | Technology against Terror
| Biologists and engineers are devising early-warning systems that can detect a bioterrorist attack in time to blunt its effects |
| Oct 2002 | Lightning Rods for Nanoelectronics
| Electrostatic discharges threaten to halt further shrinking and acceleration of electronic devices in the future |
| Oct 2002 | Working Knowledge: Vying for Eyes
| Flat displays |
| Oct 2002 | Technicalities: Computers for the Third World
| The Simputer is a handheld device designed for rural villagers |
| Oct 2002 | Puzzling Adventures: Prime Spies
| Prime spies |
| Sep 2002
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| Sep 2002 | Real Time
| The pace of living quickens continuously, yet a full understanding of things temporal still eludes us |
| Sep 2002 | 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 |
| Sep 2002 | A Hole at the Heart of Physics
| Physicists can't seem to find the time - literally. Can philosophers help? |
| Sep 2002 | How to Build a Time Machine
| It wouldn't be easy, but it might be possible |
| Sep 2002 | 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 |
| Sep 2002 | Times of Our Lives
| Whether they're counting minutes, months or years, biological clocks help keep our brains and bodies running on schedule |
| Sep 2002 | Remembering When
| Several brain structures contribute to "mind time," organizing our experiences into chronologies of remembered events |
| Sep 2002 | Clocking Cultures
| What is time? The answer varies from society to society |
| Sep 2002 | A Chronicle of Timekeeping
| Our conception of time depends on the way we measure it |
| Sep 2002 | Ultimate Clocks
| Atomic clocks are shrinking to microchip size, heading for space - and approaching the limits of useful precision |
| Sep 2002 | Puzzling Adventures: Venture Bets
| Investments and probabilities |
| Aug 2002
|
| Aug 2002 | 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 |
| Aug 2002 | Does Dark Matter Really Exist?
| Ninety-five percent of the universe has gone missing. Or has it? |
| Aug 2002 | 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? |
| Aug 2002 | Computers without Clocks
| Asynchronous chips improve computer performance by letting each circuit run as fast as it can |
| Aug 2002 | 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 |
| Aug 2002 | 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 |
| Aug 2002 | Working Knowledge: Safety at a Cost
| Smart cards |
| Aug 2002 | Technicalities: Machine Chic
| The Poma wearable computer is flashy but not very functional |
| Aug 2002 | Puzzling Adventures: Repellanoids
| Repellanoid circumference |
| Jul 2002
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| Jul 2002 | 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 |
| Jul 2002 | Last Mile by Laser
| Short-range infrared lasers could beam advanced broadband multimedia services directly into homes and offices |
| Jul 2002 | The Nose Takes a Starring Role
| The star-nosed mole has what is very likely the world's fastest and most fantastic nose |
| Jul 2002 | The Trials of an Artificial Heart
| A year after doctors began implanting the AbioCor in dying patients, the prospects of the device are uncertain |
| Jul 2002 | 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 |
| Jul 2002 | 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 |
| Jul 2002 | Working Knowledge: Turn Turn Turn
| Windmills |
| Jul 2002 | Puzzling Adventures: Blind Justice
| Mathematical justice |
| Jun 2002
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| Jun 2002 | Hope in a Vial
| Will there be an AIDS vaccine anytime soon? |
| Jun 2002 | The Life Cycle of Galaxies
| Astronomers are on the verge of explaining the enigmatic variety of galaxies |
| Jun 2002 | Disturbing Behaviors of the Orangutan
| Studies of these great apes show that some males pursue an unexpected and disquieting evolutionary strategy |
| Jun 2002 | Spintronics
| Microelectronic devices that function by using the spin of the electron are a nascent multibillion-dollar industry - and may lead to quantum microchips |
| Jun 2002 | Islands of Genius
| Artistic brilliance and a dazzling memory can sometimes accompany autism and other developmental disorders |
| Jun 2002 | The Complexity of Coffee
| One of life's simple pleasures is really quite complicated |
| Jun 2002 | 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 |
| Jun 2002 | Working Knowledge: Hidden Guides
| Gyroscope guidance |
| Jun 2002 | Technicalities: Whatever You Say
| With speech-recognition software, your voice is the computer's command |
| Jun 2002 | Puzzling Adventures: Privacy Taboos
| Privacy among the Paranoimos |
| May 2002
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| May 2002 | 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 |
| May 2002 | 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 |
| May 2002 | Wireless Data Blaster
| Radio's oldest technology is providing a new way for portable electronics to transmit large quantities of data rapidly without wires |
| May 2002 | The Mammals That Conquered the Seas
| New fossils and DNA analyses elucidate the remarkable evolutionary history of whales |
| May 2002 | 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 |
| May 2002 | 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 |
| May 2002 | Puzzling Adventures: Defense in Depth
| Avoiding tackles in a football game |
| Apr 2002
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| Apr 2002 | 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 |
| Apr 2002 | Augmented Reality: A New Way of Seeing
| Computer scientists are developing systems that can enhance and enrich a user's view of the world |
| Apr 2002 | Parasitic Sex Puppeteers
| By directing its victims' sex lives, the bacterial parasite Wolbachia may be helping to produce new species |
| Apr 2002 | 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 |
| Apr 2002 | 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 |
| Apr 2002 | 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 |
| Apr 2002 | Puzzling Adventures: A Fairy Tale
| A tale of fairies and pearls |
| Apr 2002 | Working Knowledge: Grow, Then Kill
| Lab tests |
| Apr 2002 | Technicalities: Bringing the Net to the Bedroom
| Even an amateur can create a custom-designed internet appliance |
| Mar 2002
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| Mar 2002 | 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 |
| Mar 2002 | 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 |
| Mar 2002 | The Cosmic Reality Check
| A celestial audit suggests that astronomers' inventory of luminous bodies may soon be complete |
| Mar 2002 | 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 |
| Mar 2002 | Repeated Blows
| Did extraterrestrial collisions capable of causing widespread extinctions pound the earth not once, but twice - or even several times? |
| Mar 2002 | 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 |
| Mar 2002 | Working Knowledge: Secret of Spin
| Combination locks |
| Mar 2002 | Puzzling Adventures: Card Counters
| Card counting with Bob and Alice |
| Feb 2002
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| Feb 2002 | The Network in Every Room
| Thanks to ingenious engineering, computers and appliances can now communicate through the electrical wiring in a house |
| Feb 2002 | 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-size-fits-all approach to health care |
| Feb 2002 | Madagascar's Mesozoic Secrets
| The world's fourth-largest island divulges fossils that could revolutionize scientific views on the origins of dinosaurs and mammals |
| Feb 2002 | 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 |
| Feb 2002 | Television Addiction
| Understanding how closely compulsive TV viewing resembles other forms of addiction may help couch potatoes control their habit |
| Feb 2002 | 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 |
| Feb 2002 | Working Knowledge: Eye in the Sky
| Aerial and satellite imaging |
| Feb 2002 | Technicalities: Surrounded by Sound
| Ingenious software makes ordinary stereo speakers come alive |
| Feb 2002 | 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
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| Jan 2002 | 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 |
| Jan 2002 | 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 |
| Jan 2002 | A Vertical Leap for Microchips
| Engineers have discovered a way to pack more computing power into microcircuits: build them vertically as well as horizontally |
| Jan 2002 | Misleading Math about the Earth
| Science defends itself against The Skeptical Environmentalist |
| Jan 2002 | 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 |
| Jan 2002 | 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 |
| Jan 2002 | Working Knowledge: Breathing Easier?
| Gas masks |
| Jan 2002 | Puzzling Adventures: Pinpointing a Polar Bear
| How many hunters does it take to catch a polar bear? |
| Dec 2001
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| Dec 2001 | 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 |
| Dec 2001 | 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 |
| Dec 2001 | 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 |
| Dec 2001 | The First Stars in the Universe
| Exceptionally massive and bright, the earliest stars changed the course of cosmic history |
| Dec 2001 | India, Pakistan and the Bomb
| The Indian subcontinent is the most likely place in the world for a nuclear war |
| Dec 2001 | Origins of Personal Computing
| Forget Gates, Jobs and Wozniak. The foundations of modern interactive computers were laid decades earlier |
| Dec 2001 | Working Knowledge: In the Fast Lane
| Electronic toll collection |
| Dec 2001 | Technicalities: Long-Distance Robots
| The technology of telepresence makes the world even smaller |
| Dec 2001 | Puzzling Adventures: Fashion Gang
| Fashionable mathematics |
| Nov 2001
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| Nov 2001 | 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 |
| Nov 2001 | 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 |
| Nov 2001 | 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 |
| Nov 2001 | 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 |
| Nov 2001 | 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 |
| Nov 2001 | Does Class Size Matter?
| Legislators are spending billions to reduce class sizes. Will the results by worth the expense? |
| Nov 2001 | Working Knowledge: Current Safety
| Ground fault circuit interrupters |
| Nov 2001 | Puzzling Adventures: Truck Stop
| Mathematics of a truckers' stike |
| Oct 2001
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| Oct 2001 | 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 |
| Oct 2001 | 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 |
| Oct 2001 | 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? |
| Oct 2001 | Refuges for Life in a Hostile Universe
| Only part of our galaxy is fit for advanced life |
| Oct 2001 | The Challenge of Macular Degeneration
| Researchers have begun to identify the causes of this dreaded eye disease that targets the elderly |
| Oct 2001 | 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 |
| Oct 2001 | Working Knowledge: Mice and Men
| Computer mouse |
| Oct 2001 | Technicalities: A Wide Web of Worlds
| New Internet browsers add an extra dimension - but little depth |
| Oct 2001 | Puzzling Adventures: Crowns of the Minotaur
| Labyrinthine logic |
| Sep 2001
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| Sep 2001 | Little Big Science
| Nanotechnology is all the rage. But will it meet its ambitious goals? And what the heck is it? |
| Sep 2001 | Nanofabrication: The Art of Building Small
| Researchers are discovering cheap, efficient ways to make structures only a few billionths of a meter across |
| Sep 2001 | 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 |
| Sep 2001 | Nanoelectronics: The Incredible Shrinking Circuit
| Researchers have built nanotransistors and nanowires. Now they just need to find a way to put them all together |
| Sep 2001 | 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 |
| Sep 2001 | Nanovisions: Machine-Phase Nanotechnology
| A molecular nanotechnology pioneer predicts that the tiniest robots will revolutionize manufacturing and transform society |
| Sep 2001 | 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 |
| Sep 2001 | Nanoinspirations: The Once and Future Nanomachine
| Biology outmatches futurists' most elaborate fantasies for molecular robots |
| Sep 2001 | 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 |
| Sep 2001 | 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 |
| Sep 2001 | Working Knowledge: Flea Treatments
| Killer drops |
| Sep 2001 | Puzzling Adventures: Square Dancing
| Square dancing without collisions |
| Aug 2001
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| Aug 2001 | Go Forth and Replicate
| Birds do it, bees do it, but could machines do it? New computer simulations suggest that the answer is yes |
| Aug 2001 | 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 |
| Aug 2001 | 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 |
| Aug 2001 | 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 |
| Aug 2001 | 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 |
| Aug 2001 | 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 |
| Aug 2001 | 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 |
| Aug 2001 | Working Knowledge: Crank It Up!
| Human-powered electronics |
| Aug 2001 | Technicalities: Touchy-Feely Computing
| A new mouse picks up good vibrations |
| Aug 2001 | Puzzling Adventures: The Delphi Flip
| Predicting the future accurately is most useful in betting games - the stock market comes to mind |
| Jul 2001
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| Jul 2001 | How to Build a Hypercomputer
| The simulation and ultimate solution of humanity's major ills and most perplexing problems require significantly faster supercomputers |
| Jul 2001 | 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 |
| Jul 2001 | 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? |
| Jul 2001 | 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 |
| Jul 2001 | 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 |
| Jul 2001 | 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? |
| Jul 2001 | Working Knowledge: Tan or Burn
| Protecting skin from t |