Fusion and the Z Pinch
A device called the Z machine has led to a new way of triggering controlled fusion with intense nanosecond bursts of x-rays
Features
Low-Back Pain
Low-back pain is at epidemic levels. Although its causes are still poorly understood, treatment choices have improved, with the body's own healing power often the most reliable remedy...
Computing with DNA
The manipulation of DNA to solve mathematical problems is redefining what is meant by computation
Monitoring and Controlling Debris in Space
The path from Sputnik to the International Space Station has been littered with high-tech refuse, creating an environmental problem in outer space
A Quarter-Century of Recreational Mathematics
The author of Scientific American's column "Mathematical Games" from 1956 to 1981 recounts 25 years of amusing puzzles and serious discoveries
Irrigating Crops with Seawater
As the world's population grows and freshwater stores become more precious, researchers are looking to the sea for the water to irrigate selected crops
Microdiamonds
These tiny, enigmatic crystals hold promise both for industry and for the study of how diamond grows
The Philadelphia Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793
One of the first major epidemics of the disease in the U.S., it devastated America's early capital. It also had lasting repercussions for the city and country
Departments
- From the Editor
Believing Your Eyes
- Letters
Letters to the Editors, August 1998
Errata
- Recommended
Reviews and Commentaries: America's Industrial Comeback
- Anti Gravity
Hoop Genes
- 50, 100 & 150 Years Ago
50, 100 and 150 Years Ago: Spelling Bee, Daily Grind and Aboriginal Boomerang
- Wonders
The Left and the Right
- In Brief
In Brief, August 1998
- Profile
An Express Route to the Genome?
- Mathematical Recreation
Monks, Blobs and Common Knowledge
- Amateur Scientist
Building a Consciousness of Streams
- Science and the Citizen
A Massive Discovery
Beyond Physics
Food for Thought
Bright Lights, Big Mystery
- By the Numbers
Amphibians at Risk
- Working Knowledge
Scuba Regulators--Working Knowledge
- Connections
Tick Tock
- Cyber View
Access Denied
- Technology and Business
Trade Rules
The Other Computer Problem
Look for the Union Label
- In Focus
Deadly Secrets
