Stories by Peter Brown

The Paper Clip

Despite its shortcomings, the iconic design will likely stick around

The Color Blue

The natural pigment was once a "precious" color

Ball Bearings

Cheap steel was key to allowing the routine design of parts that rolled against one another

Night Stalker: White-Nose Fungus in Bats--Why It's Our Problem, Too

No end in sight for the bat-killing white-nose syndrome

Groups outline nuclear weapon reduction plans as Obama highlights issue

Digging Ancient Iraq: How Mesopotamia Has Weathered the War

How badly damaged are the archaeological remains of ancient Mesopotamia?

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"

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"...

Climate Change—Polar Express

Ice is melting at the poles much faster than climate models predict

This Is Your Mom on Drugs: Aging Doesn't Stop Drug Use

For many baby boomers, recreational drugs continue as a way of life