
Material Advantage
IBM pushes silicon-germanium chips into the marketplace
Gary Stix, formerly senior editor of mind and brain topics at Scientific American, edited and reported on emerging advances that have propelled brain science to the forefront of the biological sciences. Stix has edited or written cover stories, feature articles and news on diverse topics, ranging from what happens in the brain when a person is immersed in thought to the impact of brain implant technology that alleviates mood disorders such as depression. Before taking over the neuroscience beat, Stix, as Scientific American's special projects editor, was responsible for the magazine's annual single-topic special issues, conceiving of and producing issues on Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, climate change and nanotechnology. One special issue he oversaw on the topic of time in all of its manifestations won a National Magazine Award. With his wife Miriam Lacob, Stix is co-author of a technology primer called Who Gives a Gigabyte? A Survival Guide for the Technologically Perplexed.

Material Advantage
IBM pushes silicon-germanium chips into the marketplace

Gene Readers
Microelectronics has begun to merge with biotechnology

Shrinking Sandbox
IBM's woes visit its esteemed research division

Clean Definitions
The nation contemplates what to do with Superfund

ECM for 747s
Should commercial airliners carry high-tech protection?

Turning Green
Can industrial chemistry trade benzene for sugar?

Run Silent, Run (Not So) Cheap

A Digital Fix for the Third World?

Power Pack
Batteries are the bottleneck for portable electronics

Très Grande Alliance
Europe follows the U.S. into digital broadcasting

Contented Cows?

Blackballing the Inner City

"I'll Trade you a Wallaroo for an Aardvark..."

Domesticating Cyberspace

Earcons
"Audification" may add a new dimension to computers

Red-Banner Burger
Toward food inspection that assures safety

Micromachine Line

Gigabit Gestalt
Clinton and Gore embrace an activist technology policy

High Technology
Will a new venture finally launch industry into space?

Concrete Solutions

Headsets
Television goggles are the vision of the future

Zip Code Breakers
The Postal Service automates the reading of chicken scratch

Shell Shocked
Nuts may inspire materials designers

Anything Goes
Why two sexes are better than 13