Predicting the Next Great Earthquake in California
On part of the San Andreas fault an earthquake of magnitude 8 in the next 30 years is assigned a probability of 50 percent. Precise predictions a wait better knowledge of how quakes are triggered...
Features
How the Trypanosome Changes Its Coat
The parasite, which deprives much of Africa of meat and milk, survives in the bloodstream by evading the immune system. Its trick is to switch on new genes encoding new surface antigens
Gamma-Ray Bursters
Intense flashes of high-energy radiation appear unpredictably in the sky. Limited observational data have frustrated attempts to determine their cause, but likely mechanisms have been proposed...
Brownian Motion
Observing the random course of a particle suspended in a fluid led to the first accurate measurement of the mass of the atom. Brownian motion now serves as a mathematical model for random processes...
Reproductive Success in Red Deer
A 12-year study of more than 1,000 of these gregarious animals in a nature reserve of the U.K. has revealed the determinants of the lifetime breeding success among red deer stags and hinds...
Phased-Array Radars
Such a radar can track or search for objects without moving its antenna. To steer the beam it relies on wave interactions among signals from a multitude of small antenna elements
The Functional Replacement of the Ear
Implantable prostheses designed to deliver electrical stimuli directly to the auditory nerve hold considerable promise for people with a type of deafness in which the sensory hair cells of the inner ear are damaged...
Damascus Steels
They contained more carbon than most modern steels. Along with skillful forging, this property accounted for the renowned strength and toughness of Damascus swords and for their beautiful markings...
Departments
50 and 100 Years Ago: February 1985
Science and the Citizen, February 1985
- Letters
Letters to the Editors, February 1985
- Recommended
Books, February 1985
- Amateur Scientist
The Amateur Scientist, February 1985
- Departments
The Authors, February 1985
Computer Recreations, February 1985
Bibliography, February 1985
