Departments

100 Years Ago: The Flooding of Paris
Innovation and discovery as chronicled in past issues of Scientific American

Continuum of Change: The Hairless Human
Editor in Chief Mariette DiChristina introduces the February 2010 issue of Scientific American

Readers Respond on "Squeezing More Oil from the Ground"
Letters to the editor from the October 2009 issue of Scientific American

Recommended: Gems and Gemstones
Books and recommendations from Scientific American

• Lost Giants: Disparate Clues in the Mammoth Extinction Debate
• Engineered Mice Mimic Human Populations
• Python Predation: Big snakes poised to change U.S. ecosystems
• Better Broadband: New Regulatory Rules Could Change the Way Americans Get Online
• Microsoft's Hands-Free Answer to the Nintendo Wii
• Poisoned Shipments: Are Strange, Illicit Sinkings Making the Mediterranean Toxic?
• Negating "Climategate": Copenhagen Talks and Climate Science Survive Stolen E-Mail Controversy

• Life from a Test Tube? The Real Promise of Synthetic Biology

• Fixing the Broken Government Policy Process

• How a Lack of Control Leads to Superstition

• Greenhouse Bananas: Non-Science Smear Campaigns

• Comparatively Easy: Why Research Is Needed for Health Care Reform

 

Features

The Naked Truth: Why Humans Have No Fur
Recent findings lay bare the origins of human hairlessness—and hint that naked skin was a key factor in the emergence of other human traits
By Nina G. Jablonski

Better Mileage Now--Improving the Combustion Engine
Emerging technologies could make the internal combustion engine substantially more fuel-efficient, even as green vehicles make inroads
By Ben Knight

Fixing the Global Nitrogen Problem
Humanity depends on nitrogen to fertilize croplands, but growing global use is damaging the environment and threatening human health. How can we chart a more sustainable path?
By Alan R. Townsend and Robert W. Howarth

Mysteries of How a Star Is Born
Making a star is no easy thing
By Erick T. Young

Life at the Bottom: The Prolific Afterlife of Whales
On the deep seafloor, the carcasses of the largest mammals give life to unique ecosystems
By Crispin T. S. Little

"Impossible" Colors: See Hues That Can't Exist
People can be made to see reddish green and yellowish blue—colors forbidden by theories of color perception. These and other hallucinations provide a window into the phenomenon of visual opponency
By Vincent A. Billock and Brian H. Tsou

Stopping Infections: The Art of Bacterial Warfare
New research reveals how bacteria hijack our bodies' cells and outwit our immune systems--and how we can use their own weapons against them
By B. Brett Finlay