Scientific American Magazine

Market economics and globalization are lifting the bulk of humanity out of extreme poverty, but special measures are needed to help the poorest of the poor

Chronic disorders such as heart disease and diabetes, once common only in the industrial nations, are now sweeping the rest of the globe. Meanwhile the threat of infectious diseases still looms large. New public health priorities are urgently needed

The world faces no shortage of problems--or of good ideas to solve them. Which should we tackle next? Even as leaders converge on some answers, new markets are being set up to preempt politics

With the help of affordable irrigation and access to markets, farmers in the developing world can grow more food and climb out of poverty

A new understanding of how species become extinct suggests how to preserve them--and at a cost that doesn't break the bank

Focusing on energy efficiency will do more than protect Earth's climate--it will make businesses and consumers richer

Demographically and economically, our era is unique in human history. Depending on how we manage the next few decades, we could usher in environmental sustainability--or collapse

The global economy is now so large that society can no longer safely pretend it operates within a limitless ecosystem. Developing an economy that can be sustained within the finite biosphere requires new ways of thinking

As we swell toward nine billion in the next half a century, humanity will undergo historic changes in the balance between young and old, rich and poor, urban and rural. Our choices now and in the years ahead will determine how well we cope with our coming of age