The Antarctic Ozone Hole
Each spring for the past decade the ozone layer in the atmosphere has thinned at the South Pole. Is the loss an anomaly, or is it a sign that the ultraviolet-absorbing layer is in jeopardy globally?...
Features
How Killer Cells Kill
These immune-system cells recognize a target, close in on it and bind tightly to it. Then they secrete onto its surface a lethal pore-forming protein that causes the target cell to leak and die...
The Reality of the Quantum World
Einstein held that quantum-mechanical descriptions of physical systems are incomplete. Laboratory tests show he was probably wrong; the bizarre nature of the quantum world must be accepted...
The Very-Long-Baseline Array
An array of 10 radio antennas across the U.S. will provide the most detailed images yet of the universe. With it astronomers will explore such cosmic puzzles as the mysterious processes powering the quasars...
Intertidal Fishes
Fishes that live between the tides are alternately buffeted by waves and isolated in pools and on mud flats. Anatomy, physiology and behavior suit them to their rigorous habitat
The Not-So-Rare Earths
The rare-earth elements, on which electronic, metallurgical and glass industries depend, are not all that scarce in minerals. The elemental abundances reveal the geochemistry that leads to a mineral's formation...
Art, Illusion and the Visual System
Form, color and spatial information are processed along three independent pathways in the brain. That explains why certain images can create surprising visual effects
The Transformer
Just a century ago this inconspicuous device made the distribution of electric power a practical endeavor. Many elements of modern life depend on it, yet it remains one of technology's unsung heroes...
Departments
50 and 100 Years Ago: January 1988
Twice Burned
The Crash
"Neural Darwinism"
Phasing In
Cosmic Complex
Optimalists Under Fire
The Nautilus and the Bomb
Alzheimer's Proteins
The 57th Variety
Heavy Metal
Flat Out
- Letters
Letters to the Editors, January 1988
Errata, January 1988
- Recommended
Books, January 1988
- Amateur Scientist
The Amateur Scientist, January 1988
- Departments
The Authors, January 1988
Computer Recreations, January 1988
Annual Index 1988
Bibliography, January 1988
