Scientific American Magazine

The court decisions that reinforce the concept of "one man, one vote" are now operating to change two aspects of U.S. political structure: apportionment of elective offices and the form of election districts

When a major earthquake occurs, the entire earth vibrates like a ringing bell. These extremely slow "free oscillations" yield information on the structure of the earth's crust and mantle

An intensive effort is now being made to develop mechanical hearts that can be implanted in the chest. Such hearts have already been placed in animals, and the prospect of further progress is good

A new technology reduces entire electronic circuits to tiny modular "chips." Its importance lies less in making circuits smaller than in making them faster, cheaper and more reliable

The fact that cancers are usually irreversible is sometimes taken as showing that they are caused by mutation. Some "multipotential" cells in plants and animals, however, can change from malignant to normal

An animal's own movements change what it sees and hears. Laboratory experiments that tamper with this feedback loop show that it is a key to developing and maintaining spatial orientation in advanced mammals

A close kinship among them is demonstrated by a game of solitaire played with colored "dominoes." Whether or not the game can be won is analogous to whether or not a problem can be solved by computer

This oddly shaped and nearly transparent denizen of antarctic waters lacks two characteristics once thought to be present in all vertebrates: it has no red blood cells and no hemoglobin