Scientific American Magazine

Exploding stars seen across immense distances show that the cosmic expansion may be accelerating--a sign that the universe may be driven apart by an exotic new form of energy

The long-derided cosmological constant--a contrivance of Albert Einstein's that represents a bizarre form of energy inherent in space itself--is one of two contenders for explaining changes in the expansion rate of the universe

Evidence has gradually accumulated that the universe has less matter, and therefore is expanding faster, than the theory of inflation traditionally predicts. But a more sophisticated version of the theory readily explains the observations

Why do some insect parents risk their lives to care for their young?

Fixing Y2K seems simple: change all two-digit years to four digits. But that tedious-- and unexpectedly difficult -- process takes more time than is left

Repetitive DNA sequences play a surprising role in how bacteria-- and perhaps higher organisms-- adapt to their environments. On the downside, they have also been linked to human disease

Coming soon: new medicines designed to treat the flu by halting viral replication in human tissues The drugs may also serve as a novel kind of preventive

Here follow explanations of the mechanisms and processes that underlie the world's top awards for physics, chemistry and physiology -- and an excerpt from a Scientific American article by the economics laureate