Floating in Space
Balloons offer scientists a low-cost, quick-response way to study the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere and those of other planets
Features
The Balloon That Flew Round the World
To build a balloon capable of circumnavigating the globe, engineers ripped a page from aeronautical history
A Zeppelin for the 21st Century
By developing new aerodynamic computer models and using modern materials, the company that originated zeppelins has returned them to the skies over Europe
The Fate of Life in the Universe
Billions of years ago the universe was too hot for life to exist. Countless eons hence, it will become so cold and empty that life, no matter how ingenious, will perish
Vision: A Window on Consciousness
In their search for the mind, scientists are focusing on visual perception--how we interpret what we see
Flammable Ice
Methane-laced ice crystals in the seafloor store more energy than all the world's fossil fuel reserves combined. But these methane hydrate deposits are fragile, and the gas that escapes from them may exacerbate global warming...
Slave-Making Queens
Life in certain corners of the ant world is fraught >with invasion, murder and hostage-taking. The battle royal is a form of social parasitism
Time-Reversed Acoustics
Arrays of transducers can re-create a sound and send it back to its source as if time had been reversed. The process can be used to destroy kidney >stones, detect defects in materials and communicate with submarines...
The Grameen Bank
A small experiment begun in Bangladesh has turned into a major new concept in eradicating poverty
Departments
- From the Editor
Who Wants to Live Forever?
- Letters
Letters
Erratum
- Recommended
The Editors Recommend
THE HINT HALF GUESSED
- Anti Gravity
Down in Front
- 50, 100 & 150 Years Ago
50, 100 and 150 Years Ago
- Wonders
The Surefire Résumé
- In Brief
IN BRIEF
- Profile
The Ascent of Scent
- Mathematical Recreation
Most-Perfect Magic Squares
- Amateur Scientist
Falling Into Chaos
- Science and the Citizen
A TASTE OF WEIGHTLESSNESS
QUANTUM CLAUSTROPHOBIA
MICKEY MOUSE, Ph.D.
FLORAL FIEND
SPEAKING UP FOR SCIENCE
- By the Numbers
Campaign Finance
- Working Knowledge
Toothpaste
- Connections
Various, Unrequited
- Cyber View
NO WAY TO RUN A NETWORK
- Technology and Business
LITTLE BIG SCIENCE
PORK PROGRESS
MIND OVER MATTER
- In Focus
THE INVISIBLE EPIDEMIC
