Scientific American Magazine

Certain stars periodically erupt in a brilliant flare. The radio waves that are emitted by these flares are the first to have been definitely shown to come from individual stars other than the sun

Having analyzed several natural attractants, chemists can now make synthetic ones in quantity. Their use as lures has already reduced the need for massive applications of pesticides in insect control

There is considerable geological evidence for an extensive glaciation some 600 million years ago. Its end caused an alteration of climate that made possible the proliferation of animal life in Cambrian times

This happy invention of man is a solution of hundreds of subtly interacting substances. Modern understanding of the wine-making process cannot explain a great wine but guarantees a good one

How does the fertilized egg differentiate into specialized tissues? This traditional question of biology is now being investigated by growing differentiated muscle colonies from single embryonic cells

Unlike man, most animals maintain fairly constant population levels. A new hypothesis suggests that they do so by forms of social behavior that limit reproduction to avoid overexploitation of food resources

Substances that behave mechanically as liquids yet exhibit many of the optical properties of crystals have been known for more than 70 years. Their technological possibilities are just beginning to be explored

A vigorous hunting culture with a unique tool kit appeared in western Europe 21,000 years ago. Once deemed invaders, the practitioners of Solutrean techniques instead seem to have had their roots in France