
The Game of Life
Bringing joysticks and scoreboards into our daily routine may be the key to making us better people

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The Game of Life
Bringing joysticks and scoreboards into our daily routine may be the key to making us better people

Human Number Crunchers
When research is like a video game, computers finish second

Know-It-All Toll Roads
Building more roads won't eliminate traffic. Smart pricing will

The DNA Transistor
A new approach to DNA sequencing could revolutionize our understanding of genetics

A Wandering, Plant-Eating Robot
It gobbles up wood chips, leaves and other “biomass” and generates electricity

A Killer Water Filter
Novel materials promise better access to clean water around the world

Borrowing Nature's Code
Algorithms inspired by Mother Nature help us run our vast digital biosphere

One Hundred Tests
A cheap diagnostic warns couples against passing rare genetic diseases to their offspring

Gas from Trash
Modified microbes eat waste and secrete fuel

The Importance of Junk DNA
Biologists continue to be surprised by what was once dismissed as wasted space

World Changing Videos

Long Live the Web: A Call for Continued Open Standards and Neutrality
The Web is critical not merely to the digital revolution but to our continued prosperity—and even our liberty. Like democracy itself, it needs defending

Blood from Stone: How Fossils Can Preserve Soft Tissue
Mounting evidence from dinosaur bones shows that, contrary to common belief, organic materials can sometimes survive in fossils for millions of years

Cyborg Beetles: Merging of Machine and Insect to Create Flying Robots
Tiny flying robots that are part machine and part insect may one day save lives in wars and disasters

Hallucinogens as Medicine
In a matter of hours, mind-altering substances may induce profound psychological realignments that can take decades to achieve on a therapist's couch

Jane of the Jungle: Goodall Reflects on the Chimp Mind
Primatologist Jane Goodall shares insights from her 50 years among chimpanzees

Jump-Starting the Orbital Economy
Why NASA's plan to get out of the manned spaceflight business may (finally) make space travel routine

Life Unseen: Images of Magnificent Microscopic Landscapes [Slide Show]
Scientific American presents this year's winning micro-imaging entries from the Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Contest

World Changing Ideas 2010
Ten thoughts, trends and technologies that have the power to transform our lives

A Geometric Theory of Everything
Deep down, the particles and forces of the universe are a manifestation of exquisite geometry