Scientific American Magazine

As aircraft fly faster, they need larger "cocoons" of airspace for safety. To make the cocoons smaller and enlarge the over-all capacity of the airspace requires new automatic control systems

Events in the life of a plant such as flowering are responses to a change in the length of the night. The light-sensitive enzyme that mediates these responses has now been discovered

The depths of the ocean are strewn with curious nodules that are rich in manganese, copper, cobalt and nickel. Special devices may make it possible to mine the bottom for these valuable substances

For years the cold Virus stubbornly refused to multiply in tissue culture. Now, with new techniques, researchers have been able to culture some 20 strains of the virus

They act not only on charged particles but also on uncharged ones. Their long-neglected effects are now being investigated in the laboratory and may soon find applications in technology

Gulls communicate with one another by means of calls, postures and movements. Differences in the signaling behavior of various species reflect the influence of environment on gull evolution

Despite meager resources, primitive people have designed dwellings that successfully meet the severest climate problems. These simple shelters often outperform the structures of present-day architects

Molecules and ions pass in and out of the cell through tiny openings in the cell wall. Although the holes are too small to be seen with an electron microscope, their size has been measured experimentally