Engineering
The Paper Clip
Despite its shortcomings, the iconic design will likely stick around
Stories by Peter Brown
The Sciences
The Color Blue
The natural pigment was once a "precious" color
Tech
Ball Bearings
Cheap steel was key to allowing the routine design of parts that rolled against one another
The Sciences
Night Stalker: White-Nose Fungus in Bats--Why It's Our Problem, Too
No end in sight for the bat-killing white-nose syndrome
The Sciences
Groups outline nuclear weapon reduction plans as Obama highlights issue
It's a busy time for nuclear-policy analysts: Just days after President Obama told a crowd of 20,000 in Prague that the U.S. had a “moral responsibility" to take the lead in ridding the world of nuclear weapons, two groups have come forward with their own blueprints for doing so...
Evolution
Digging Ancient Iraq: How Mesopotamia Has Weathered the War
How badly damaged are the archaeological remains of ancient Mesopotamia?
The Sciences
How We All Learned to Make The Bomb
Doctor Atomic, a new opera about to open at the Met, brings nuclear proliferation, "rogue states" and the terrorists' dream of a dirty bomb back to the first "ground zero"
The Sciences
Privacy in an Age of Terabytes and Terror
Introduction to SciAm 's issue on Privacy. Our jittery state since 9/11, coupled with the Internet revolution, is shifting the boundaries between public interest and "the right to be let alone"...
Sustainability
Climate Change—Polar Express
Ice is melting at the poles much faster than climate models predict
Health
This Is Your Mom on Drugs: Aging Doesn't Stop Drug Use
For many baby boomers, recreational drugs continue as a way of life
