Scientific American Magazine

The loud noises caused at the ground by an airplane flying faster than the speed of sound will have to be brought under control before supersonic transports can come into service

Certain optical illusions involve the reversal of a geometrical figure on prolonged viewing. These aftereffects and similar ones appear to be due to a special electrical phenomenon in the brain

When the fundamental particle called the lambda hyperon sticks to a nucleus, a short-lived artificial nucleus results. The behavior of these hypernuclei sheds light on the forces between particles

The question “What is a gene?” has bothered geneticists for fifty years. Recent work with a small bacterial virus has shown how to split the gene and make detailed maps of its internal structure

The nine members of the genus Agapornis have different rituals for such activities as nest building. These differences shed light on the evolution of lovebirds and on the role of heredity in behavior

The processes of aging operate during all of adult life. The decline in function that accompanies these processes is apparently due to the progressive loss of body cells

It is widely thought to have been a narrow neck of land over which man first came to America. Actually it was 1,300 miles wide and was traveled by large numbers of plants and animals

The remarkable strength of glass fibers embedded in plastic focuses attention on the whole conception of materials in which a substance of high tensile strength is combined with one of greater elasticity