
New Chip off the Old Block
Can DNA microprobes do for genetics what microprocessors did for computing?
W. Wayt Gibbs is a contributing editor for Scientific American based in Seattle. He also works as a scientific editor at Intellectual Ventures.

New Chip off the Old Block
Can DNA microprobes do for genetics what microprocessors did for computing?

Artificial Blood Quickens
Several short-term substitutes approach final clinical trials

Interview with Rudolph L. Leibel
Associate Professor and co-director, Rockefeller University Laboratory of Human Behavior and Metabolism

One Small Step
The next big advance in chip design arrives one year early

Gaining on Fat

Ultrasound's New Phase
A major advance yields deeper, clearer views of the body

Star-Hopping by the Outhouse

Mind Readings
Researchers can now predict what a monkey will draw—

Smart Materials
They will soon be in everything from computers to concrete bridges

Systematic Errors
A new law aims to prevent software meltdown in federal agencies

On Permanent Displays
Low-power, low-cost liquid crystals move to market

Make a Muscle

Battling the Enemy Within
A billion-dollar fiasco is just the tip of the military's software problems

Tough Stuff
Ceramic composites may get stronger--and cheaper

A New Way to Spell Relief: V-e-n-o-m
A toxin from killer sea snails promises a better painkiller

Light Over Matter

Playing Slartibartfast with Fractals

Artificial Art

Free-for-All Flights
The FAA plans a revolution in air-traffic control

Great Expectations

Some like It Hot
Thriving tunicates may help clear the air of excess CO2

Sewage Treatment Plants
Algae offer a cheaper way to clean up wastewater

Soft Wear

Thinking Globally, Acting Universally