Scientific American Magazine

It is said that the U.S. needs new land-based missiles because its present ones are vulnerable to attack. Analysis of uncertainties in such an attack suggests that the vulnerability is exaggerated

They currently serve to transport metal ores and coal suspended in water. Their greatest potential is for transporting coal from Western states to power stations in other parts of the country

Active galaxies are galaxies that radiate as much as a million times more energy than typical galaxies. The question of what powers the radiation is studied by observations of Centaurus A

Human cancers are initiated by oncogenes, altered versions of normal genes. In one case the critical alteration is a single point mutation that changes just one amino acid in the protein encoded by the gene

They are crystals grown by depositing semiconductors in layers whose thickness is measured in atoms. Their properties promise to make them important in solid-state physics and in technology

The change from simple tombs to elaborate henges in the Neolithic period of western Europe appears to have coincided with the rise of centralized political control

The beetle larvae feed on a seed containing an amino acid that is severely toxic to other insects. The larvae circumvent the toxic effect of the amino acid and also utilize its nitrogen

The explosions that obliterated most of the Indonesian island 100 years ago are only now beginning to be understood. The evidence is largely the volcanic deposits and the timing of air and sea waves