Scientific American Magazine

The winner of the 1987 America's Cup competition embodied the results of a concentrated technological effort in sailboat design. Computers played a significant role in the victory

The outcome of a collision between two protons shows a surprising dependence on their directions of spin. The results challenge the prevailing theory that describes the proton's structure and forces

The genes thought to be responsible for many of the pathologies associated with the disorder are being identified and mapped to sites on chromosome 21

The antibodies that defend the body from foreign invasion are remarkably diverse. It took nearly 100 years to define and substantiate a theory that could account for their formation

When salt is buried under heavier rocks, it rises buoyantly in vast sheets and fingers; it may even fountain aboveground and flow like a glacier. Laboratory models reveal the patterns of salt upwelling

Their speed holds promise for advanced computers and communication systems. It can be understood by plotting the energy and momentum of an electron propagating through a crystal of the semiconductor

At Tell Abu Hureyra a band of hunter-gatherers started slaughtering entire gazelle herds 11,000 years ago. Hunting continued long after the emergence of agriculture, which sheds new light on that process

Acidic particles in the atmosphere are known to reduce visibility and damage materials. Ingenious methods have now demonstrated that the main source of the particles is the combustion of fossil fuels