Extending the Nuclear-Test Ban
Recent advances in seismological techniques for distinguishing underground nuclear explosions from earthquakes have spurred a renewal of interest in negotiating a comprehensive test ban
Features
RNA-Directed DNA Synthesis
The discovery that in certain cancer-causing animal viruses genetic information flows “in reverse”—from RNA to DNA—has important implications for studies of cancer in humans
How Ideology Shapes Women's Lives
Data from a survey of college Women reveal that a woman's life goals, particularly her educational and occupational aspirations, are guided by the type of sex-role ideology acquired in childhood...
The Scanning Electron Microscope
The remarkably three-dimensional pictures from the instrument are made by scanning the microscope specimen with a fine electron beam synchronized with the electron beam of a cathode ray picture tube...
Geothermal Power
The pressure on energy resources has generated new interest in the earth's heat. The emphasis is on exploring for new geothermal areas and developing new ways to extract work from steam and hot water...
The Spectrum of the Airglow
The airglow is the faint light emitted when atoms and molecules are dissociated high in the atmosphere. Its spectra yield clues to the physical conditions and chemical processes in the region...
Why the Stomach does not Digest itself
The organ secretes a strong acid that can dissolve metals and kill living cells. How it avoids digesting itself and what happens when the safety mechanisms fail are explained
Population Genetics and Human Origins
Amid the bewildering array of early fossil hominoids, is there one whose morphology marks it as man's hominid ancestor? If the factor of genetic variability is considered, the answer appears to be no...
Departments
50 and 100 Years Ago, January 1972
Science and the Citizen, January 1972
- Letters
Letters to the Editors, January 1972
- Recommended
Books, January 1972
- Mathematical Recreation
Mathematical Games, January 1972
- Amateur Scientist
The Amateur Scientist, January 1972
- Departments
The Authors, January 1972
Bibliography, January 1972
