The Origin of the Universe
Cosmologists are closing in on the ultimate processes that created and shaped the universe
Features
In the Beginning... Introducing the Origins Issue
A powerful urge to understand the emergence of the cosmos or even life itself fuels the scientific enterprise
The Origin of Computing
The information age began with the realization that machines could emulate the power of minds
The Origin of Life on Earth
Fresh clues hint at how the first living organisms arose from inanimate matter
The Origin of the Mind
The first step in figuring out how the human mind arose is determining what distinguishes our mental processes from those of other creatures
Rainbows
The simple magic of their shape and colors still puzzles
Origins: The Start of Everything
Where do rainbows come from? What about flying cars, love and LSD?
Flying Car
A long-standing dream
Love
Large brains may have led to the evolution of amour
Digital Audio Player
Mobile music rocked the record industry
Asteroids
The small fry of the solar system have troubled pasts
Batteries
Their inventor may not have known how they actually work
External Ears
They guide sound to the sensitive middle ear
Insurance
Its probability-based view of misfortunes helped to shape the scientific outlook
Scotch Tape
Most new inventions quickly fall into oblivion; some stick
Antibiotics
These wonder-drug molecules might have evolvedto help bacteria speak with their neighbors, not kill them
Artificial Heart
Did the wrong man get credit for the world's first permanent pump?
Coriolis Effect
The earth's spin influences hurricanes but not toilets
Ball Bearings
Cheap steel was key to allowing the routine design of parts that rolled against one another
Egg
The answer to the age-old riddle is biologically obvious
Teeth
They long predate the smile
The Stirrup
Invention of the stirrup may rival that of the longbow and gunpowder
Cancer
When a cells controls break down, chaos is unleashed
LSD
An inquisitive Swiss chemist sent himself on the first acid trip
Cooking
Preparing foods with fire may have made us humans what we are
Clocks
Their origin is one of the deepest questions in modern physics
Legs, Feet and Toes
The essential parts for walking on land evolved in water
Paper Money
A substitute for coins turned into a passport for globalization
The Vibrator
One of the first electrical appliances made its way into the home as a purported medical device
Economic Thinking
Even apparently irrational human choices can make sense in terms of our inner logic
Buckyballs and Nanotubes
A once overlooked form of carbon may represent the future of technology
The Placenta
An eggshell membrane evolved into the organ that lets fetuses grow in the womb
Graphical Perspective
"Realistic" imagery depends on relatively recent cultural assumptions and technical skills
Anthrax
Solving the riddle of its lethal contagion modernized the understanding of disease
The Paper Clip
Despite its shortcomings, the iconic design will likely stick around
The Eye
What was half an eye good for? Quite a lot, actually
Intermittent Windshield Wipers
A now routine automotive feature pitted an individual inventor against the entire industry
The Pill
Infertility treatments led to reproductive liberation
Diamond
Its hardness is natural; its value is not
The Mechanical Loom
Programmable textile machinery provided inspiration for the player piano and the early computer
Mad Cow Disease
Cannibalism takes its revenge on modern farms
The Blueprint
A failure for photography, it was long irreplaceable for duplicating house plans
Feathers
Barbs became plumes long before birds took wing--in fact, long before birds
Bone
Structure, strength and storage in one package
AIDS and HIV
The viral infections origin among apes might hold a key for someday taming it
Religious Thought
Belief in the supernatural may have emerged from the most basic components of human cognition
Recorded Music
The first recordings remained silent for 150 years
The Color Blue
The natural pigment was once a "precious" color
Gamma Rays
To create one typically means you have to destroy something, be it a single particle or an entire star
Facial Expressions
Our unique expressiveness may have a three-million-year-old pedigree
Chocolate
Mixing the bitter treat with milk was the popular breakthrough
Light
It emerged not with a quick flip of the switch but with a slow breaking of the dawn
Internal-Combustion Engine
Still powering the world's vehicle fleet 130 years on
Appendix
Not needed, but not useless
Cupcakes
The yummy baked good is one of America's first and finest contributions to world cuisine
Tectonic Plates
The long, strange trip of continental drift
The Web
The global information resource spun out of research into fundamental physics
Departments
An Update on C. P. Snow's "Two Cultures"
The U.S. Must Prioritize Its Carbon Strategy [Extended Version]
Cache and Carry: A Review of the Kindle
100 Years Ago: Punch Cards and the Census
Prioritize the Carbon Strategy
- Letters
Letters to the Editors, September 2009
- Advances
Radio for Responders: Public Safety Bandwidth Goes Unused
Quantum Entanglement, Photosynthesis and Better Solar Cells
More Animals Seem to Have Some Ability to Count
Conflicted Conservation: When Restoration Efforts Are Pitted against Human Rights
Digging Up Valuable Fossils in Suburban New Jersey
Gene therapy: An Interview with an Unfortunate Pioneer
Swine Ebola
Airlines and Recycling: The Not-So-Green Skies
- Recommended
Recommended, September 2009
- Skeptic
Paranoia Strikes Deep
- Perspectives
Fossils for All: Science Suffers by Hoarding
