Scientific American Magazine

One worker in three is employed in the not-for-profit sector. This fact calls into question some traditional conceptions of the economy and suggests new approaches to gaining a fuller understanding of it

The economics of fission power would be much improved if spent fuel were processed to remove fission products and plutonium and reclaim uranium. The industry needed for the task does not yet exist in the U. S.

You will see one if you stare at a waterfall for a short time and then look away; the surrounding scene will seem to move slowly upward. The study of such illusions yields information on perceptual systems

At a temperature a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero this isotope of helium becomes able to flow through tiny pores without friction and exhibits bizarre magnetic effects

Recent experiments indicate that the mechanism by which the nervous system generates the rhythmic movements of the leg during walking is basically the same in animals as diverse as the cat and the cockroach

These stellar cataclysms occur about once every 50 years in a galaxy. Therefore the nature of supernovas can best be investigated in galaxies outside our own

Some Viruses are able to coexist peaceably with their host cell for long periods, incorporating their genes into the host chromosome. The details of the insertion process are now fairly well understood

The tracks left by the spontaneous fission of traces of uranium in many minerals are clues to the minerals' age. One of the main advantages of the technique is the broad span of time it covers