Philip Yam is the managing editor of ScientificAmerican.com, responsible for the overall news content online. He began working at the magazine in 1989, first as a copyeditor and then as a features editor specializing in physics. He is the author of The Pathological Protein: Mad Cow, Chronic Wasting and Other Prion Diseases.
Shoot This Deer
Chronic wasting disease, a cousin of mad cow disease, is spreading among wild deer in parts of the U.S. Left unchecked, the fatal sickness could threaten North American deer populations--and maybe livestock and humans
A Face in the Car Crowd
Insulin from Bone Marrow
Not So Happy Together
The Olmec's Write Stuff
Sidling Up to the Rich
Net Size
Keeping the Mad Cows at Bay
Veterinarian Linda A. Detwiler helps to ensure that a fatal brain disease that can afflict humans doesn't appear in U.S. cattle. It can be a thankless task
Nice Threads
In No Uncertain Terms
Bubble Bath of Death
Splitting with Sunshine
Into the Maize
You Forgot to Remember
Moons over Saturn
Fat Kills
Crystallizing Sound
A Crush on Nitrogen
Going Ballistic
The Flipper Effect
Not So Watery
Fat into Cartilage
Mad Cow's Human Toll
The unfolding mystery of prion disease and its ultimate casualties
Unexplained Moments