Scientific American Magazine

Everyone harbors disease germs, yet not everyone is sick. This is ascribed to "resistance," suggesting that germs are less important in disease than other factors affecting the condition of the host

Last year, after a full decade of intensive work at Cambridge University, Frederick Sanger and his colleagues for the first time totally described the chemical structure of a protein

Like most other galaxies, the Milky Way is a vast flattened whirlpool of gas, dust and stars. In recent years radio and stellar astronomy have begun to map the location of its arms

Although it is acute in some large cities, it is also found far from human habitations. An interesting example is the blue haze that sometimes hangs over forests and fields during the summer

Man exhibits two kinds of anger: anger directed outward and anger directed inward. Recent work suggests that each kind is associated with a different secretion of the adrenal glands

Toward the end of their history the Maya built Mayapan, a pale reflection of earlier glories. In its ruins archaeologists now reconstruct the forces that destroyed this remarkable culture

It is used to predict the outcome of a series of events, each of which has its own probability. Here it is outlined in terms of neutrons, needles, roulette wheels and furniture factories

In the dark, damp recesses immediately below the earth's surface live a multitude of interesting creatures. Their unique features provide a vivid lesson in the processes of biological adaptation