Stars & Stripes
The winner of the 1987 America's Cup competition embodied the results of a concentrated technological effort in sailboat design. Computers played a significant role in the victory
Features
Collisions Between Spinning Protons
The outcome of a collision between two protons shows a surprising dependence on their directions of spin. The results challenge the prevailing theory that describes the proton's structure and forces...
The Causes of Down Syndrome
The genes thought to be responsible for many of the pathologies associated with the disorder are being identified and mapped to sites on chromosome 21
The Clonal-Selection Theory
The antibodies that defend the body from foreign invasion are remarkably diverse. It took nearly 100 years to define and substantiate a theory that could account for their formation
Salt Tectonics
When salt is buried under heavier rocks, it rises buoyantly in vast sheets and fingers; it may even fountain aboveground and flow like a glacier. Laboratory models reveal the patterns of salt upwelling...
Gallium Arsenide Transistors
Their speed holds promise for advanced computers and communication systems. It can be understood by plotting the energy and momentum of an electron propagating through a crystal of the semiconductor...
Gazelle Killing in Stone Age Syria
At Tell Abu Hureyra a band of hunter-gatherers started slaughtering entire gazelle herds 11,000 years ago. Hunting continued long after the emergence of agriculture, which sheds new light on that process...
Air Pollution by Particles
Acidic particles in the atmosphere are known to reduce visibility and damage materials. Ingenious methods have now demonstrated that the main source of the particles is the combustion of fossil fuels...
Departments
50 and 100 Years Ago: August 1987
Science and the Citizen, August 1987
- Letters
Letters to the Editors, August 1987
- Recommended
Books, August 1987
- Amateur Scientist
The Amateur Scientist, August 1987
- Departments
The Authors, August 1987
Computer Recreations, August 1987
Bibliography, August 1987
