The Lesson of the Pygmies
It has long been assumed that these inhabitants of the African rain forest had adapted to a kind of serfdom in villages. The discovery that they have not has implications for the problems of Africa today...
Features
Resonance Particles
Most of the 32 fundamental particles of matter decay rather quickly. There are still other particles that decay even more quickly. It now seems that the latter are “resonant” associations of other particles...
The Structure of Viruses
The electron microscope reveals that these infectious particles possess three principal types of symmetry. Each species of virus is ingeniously assembled from just a few kinds of building block...
The Evolution of Galaxies
It was once argued that galaxies begin as huge spheroids and become flattened by rotation into spirals. A new inquiry suggests that galaxies look different because they were born different...
Lithium
The unusual nuclear and electronic properties of this light element give it a variety of new uses. One of the most interesting stems from the fact that its compounds promote the synthesis of large molecules...
The Perception of Neutral Colors
What makes a surface gray and why does it stay gray even when the illumination changes? Apparently the ratio between adjacent light intensities governs the perceived lightness of an achromatic color...
Skin Transplants and the Hamster
This familiar laboratory rodent is an anomaly of the animal kingdom in several respects, not least of which is the unique hospitality it shows to many kinds of foreign-tissue grafts
Why do Roads Corrugate?
Many explanations have been advanced for the “washboard” surfaces so often encountered on unpaved roads. Experiments show that these jarring ridges come from the rhythmical bouncing of vehicle wheels...
Departments
50 and 100 Years Ago: January 1963
Science and the Citizen: January 1963
- Letters
Letters to the Editors, January 1963
- Recommended
Books
- Mathematical Recreation
Mathematical Games
- Amateur Scientist
The Amateur Scientist
- Departments
The Authors
Bibliography
