The Job Problem
The composition of the U.S. labor force has been sharply changed by the influx of women. The failure of the economy to create enough jobs is aggravated by the poor quality of most of the jobs added since 1950...
Features
The Search for Life on Mars
The Viking landers have completed their biological experiments. The experiments did not detect life processes, but they did reveal much of interest about the chemistry of the surface of the planet...
Drip Irrigation
In this system plastic pipes laid on the surface of the ground deliver water to plants drop by drop. The system reduces stress on the plant, conserves water and works well with saline water...
The Clustering of Galaxies
Galaxies tend to form small groups, which in turn form larger clusters, and so on. Such a hierarchical organization has long been suspected, but only recently has it been clearly perceived...
Cats and Commerce
Cats have had a long association with people but have rarely been intentionally bred for specific characteristics. The distribution of their mutants thus reflects certain human tastes and movements...
The Functions of Paleolithic Flint Tools
The microscopic examination of the working edges of certain stone implements used by ancient hunters makes it possible to distinguish among such uses as scraping hide, cutting meat and sawing wood...
The Program of Fertilization
The fusion of a sperm and an egg triggers a series of transient changes in the concentration of ions that prevents the fusion of additional sperm and initiates development of the embryo
An Early Energy Crisis and its Consequences
In the 16th century Britain ran out of wood and resorted to coal. The adoption of the new fuel set in motion a chain of events that culminated some two centuries later in the Industrial Revolution...
Departments
50 and 100 Years Ago, November 1977
Science and the Citizen, November 1977
- Letters
Letters to the Editors, November 1977
- Recommended
Books, November 1977
- Mathematical Recreation
Mathematical Games, November 1977
- Amateur Scientist
The Amateur Scientist, November 1977
- Departments
The Authors, November 1977
Bibliography, November 1977
