Features

• If Smallpox Strikes Portland ...

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

  Chris L. Barrett, Stephen G. Eubank and James P. Smith   | March 1, 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

  W. Bernard Carlson   | March 1, 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

  Steven Ashley   | March 1, 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

  William F. Ruddiman   | March 1, 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

  Patricia D. Moehlman   | March 1, 2005  |

• Misconceptions about the Big Bang

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

  Charles H. Lineweaver and Tamara M. Davis   | March 1, 2005  | 27

• Taming Lupus

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

  Moncef Zouali   | March 1, 2005  |