Feature Articles - 2009

Scientific American Magazine 11/16/09
Growing Skyscrapers: The Rise of Vertical Farms
Growing crops in city skyscrapers would use less water and fossil fuel than outdoor farming, eliminate agricultural runoff, and provide fresh food
Scientific American Magazine 8/19/09
The Origin of Life on Earth
Fresh clues hint at how the first living organisms arose from inanimate matter
Scientific American Magazine 8/17/09
Origins: The Start of Everything
Where do rainbows come from? What about flying cars, love and LSD?
Scientific American Magazine 8/17/09
In the Beginning... Introducing the Origins Issue
A powerful urge to understand the emergence of the cosmos or even life itself fuels the scientific enterprise

Scientific American Mind 11/12/09
Why We Worry
Chronic worrying stems from a craving for control. But the more we fret, the less our bodies are able to cope with stress

Scientific American Magazine 11/11/09
New Culprits in Chronic Pain
Glia are nervous system caretakers whose nurturing can go too far. Taming them holds promise for alleviating pain that current medications cannot ease

Scientific American Magazine 11/9/09
Rethinking "Hobbits": What They Mean for Human Evolution
New analyses reveal the mini human species to be even stranger than previously thought and hint that major tenets of human evolution need revision

Scientific American Mind 11/5/09
True Love: How to Find It
Combing through your social network is the most fruitful—and most common—way of finding the love of your life

Scientific American Magazine 11/4/09
The Future of Cars
Industry leaders look way down the road

Scientific American Magazine 11/2/09
The Long-Lost Siblings of the Sun
The sun was born in a family of stars. What became of them?

Scientific American Mind 10/30/09
Rational and Irrational Thought: The Thinking That IQ Tests Miss
We assume intelligence and rationality go together. But we shouldn't be surprised when smart people do foolish things.

Scientific American Mind 10/29/09
What Does a Smart Brain Look Like?: Inner Views Show How We Think
A new neuroscience of intelligence is revealing that not all brains work in the same way

Scientific American Magazine 10/26/09
A Plan to Power 100 Percent of the Planet with Renewables
Wind, water and solar technologies can provide 100 percent of the world's energy, eliminating all fossil fuels. Here's how

Scientific American Mind 10/23/09
Why Don't Babies Talk Like Adults?
Kids go from goo-goo to garrulous one step at a time

Scientific American Magazine 10/22/09
How the Internet is Changing the Way We Will Watch TV
The Internet stands ready to upend the television viewing experience, but exactly how is a matter of considerable dispute

Scientific American Magazine 10/14/09
Another Century of Oil? Getting More from Current Reserves
Amid warnings of a possible "peak oil," advanced technologies offer ways to extract every last possible drop

Scientific American Magazine 10/5/09
Biotech's Plans to Sustain Agriculture
Popular movements may call for more organic methods, but the agricultural industry sees biotechnology as a crucial part of farming's future

Scientific American Magazine 9/30/09
How Quantum Effects Could Create Black Stars, Not Holes
Quantum effects may prevent true black holes from forming and give rise instead to dense entities called black stars

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