Recollections of a Nuclear War
Two nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan 50years ago this month. The author, a member of the Manhattan Project, reflects on how the nuclear age began and what the post-cold war future might hold
Features
Tornadoes
The storms that spawn twisters are now largely understood, but mysteries still remain about how these violent vortices form
How HIV Defeats the Immune System
A plausible hypothesis suggests the immune devastation that underlies AIDS stems from continuous -- and dangerous -- evolution of the human immunodeficiency virus in the body
The Benefits of Background Noise
Stochastic resonance, the phenomenon by which background noise boosts weak signals, is creating a buzz in physics, biology and engineering
The Physiology of Decompression Illness
For more than a century, researchers have known that exposure to high pressure can injure or kill. Gradually, they are beginning to understand the underlying mechanisms
Frog Communication
In striving to be heard by rivals and mates, these amphibians have evolved a plethora of complex strategies
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Meets Jupiter
Images of a comet that broke apart and plummeted into Jupiter continue to dazzle astronomers a year afterward
Lost Science in the Third World
Many researchers in the developing world feel trapped in a vicious circle of neglect and -- some say -- prejudice by publishing barriers they claim doom good science to oblivion
Departments
50 and 100 Years Ago: National Radio Relay Stations and Molasses Pavement
- Letters
Erratum
Letters to the Editors, August 1995
- Advances
Escaping in a Cloud of Ink
- TechnoFiles
Sweet Success
- Recommended
Six Legs Good
- Amateur Scientist
Detecting Signals with Noise
- Science and the Citizen
Misreading Dyslexia
It's all in the Timing
Coming in from the Cold
What the Keck?
Quasimodal
High Tidings
The Mystery of SIDS
Down to Earth
How to Catch a Fly Ball
Putting Bombs Away
Testing's Toll
- Departments
Fast Cash
The High Cost of Living
- Field Notes
Blast from the Past
- Technology and Business
Beyond Binary
I.T., Phone Home
Metal Detectors
Going Down