The Law of the Sea
In December 119 nations signed the Convention on the Law of the Sea. The U.s. was not among them, but development programs under the new law will nonetheless be proceeding
Features
Microprogramming
In most modern computers the routing of information is controlled at the lowest level by a microprogram: a set of stored instructions that functions in place of a completely "hard-wired" control system...
The Script of the Indus Valley Civilization
One of the four earliest civilizations has a script that has long resisted decipherment. A start on deciphering it is now made on the basis of facts and inferences from the archaeological record...
Mitochondrial DNA
The cell's energy-generating organelle has its own genetic system. The organization of its genes and even its version of the "universal" genetic code are different from those of the nucleus and bacteria...
The Future of the Universe
A forecast for the expanding universe through the year 10 100 : All protons will decay, galaxies will form black holes and black holes will "evaporate." If the universe collapses, it may cycle...
Memory in Food-Hoarding Birds
Birds that hide seeds and later recover them appear to excel in spatial memory. One species evidently remembers where it has put thousands of caches for as long as several months
Oscillating Chemical Reactions
Once thought to violate natural law, reactions where concentrations of key substances periodically rise and fall have now been designed dehberately. They may illuminate simllar behavior in living systems...
Autopsy
Postmortem examination contributes in many ways to medical knowledge and the planning of health care. Yet in recent years the rate of autopsy in the U.S. has declined to only 15 percent
Departments
50 and 100 Years Ago: March 1983
Science and the Citizen, March 1983
- Letters
Letters to the Editors, March 1983
- Recommended
Books, March 1983
- Amateur Scientist
The Amateur Scientist, March 1983
- Departments
The Authors, March 1983
Metamagical Themas, March 1983
Bibliography, March 1983
