
The No-Name Virus
Questions linger after the Four Corners outbreak
John Horgan is a freelance journalist and a former Scientific American staff writer. He comments on science in his free online journal, Cross-Check, and he has also posted his self-published books Mind-Body Problems (2018) and My Quantum Experiment (2023) online. Horgan teaches science writing at the Stevens Institute of Technology.

The No-Name Virus
Questions linger after the Four Corners outbreak

Global Politics
Mathematicians collide over a claim about packing spheres

Gruff Guru of Condensed-Matter Physics

Brain Storm
Controlling chaos could help treat epilepsy

Sex, Death and Sugar
Researchers try to "grow" societies on a computer

Microquasars
Giantblobs fly faster than light (sort of) in our own Milky Way

High Profile
The Simpson case raises the issue of DNA reliability

By Jove!
A comet's bombardment of Jupiter ignites debate

Standing Tall
Inner-ear bones provide clues to the emergence ofbipedalism

Daydreaming
Experiments reveal links between memory and sleep

Anti-omniscience
An eclectic gang of thinkers pushes at knowledge's limits

More Bits from Pits
Will optical disks be the dominant storage medium?

Radon's Risks
Is the EPA exaggerating the dangers of this ubiquitous gas?

Can Science Explain Consciousness?

The Last Universal Mathematician

Cold Calculation

Neural Eavesdropping

When Treaties Fail
If a rogue state attacks, what are the technological options?

Bang! You're Alive
An unusual trio wins support for "nonlethal" weapons

Revisiting Old Battlefields

Quantum Computing Creeps Closer to Reality

Confronting the Final Limit

Fermat's Theorem Fights Back

Particle Metaphysics
In the aftermath of the Superconducting Super Collider's death, physicists are divided over how--or even whether--they should continue their search for a unified theory of nature