First of Our Kind: Could Australopithecus sediba Be Our Long Lost Ancestor?
Sensational fossils from South Africa spark debate over how we came to be human
Features
The Limits of Breath Holding
It's logical to think that the brain's need for oxygen is what limits how long people can hold their breath. Logical, but not the whole story
Revealed: How Cold War Scientists Joined Forces to Conquer Polio
While the superpowers were busy threatening to destroy each other with nuclear weapons, Albert B. Sabin turned to a surprising ally to test his new oral polio vaccine—a Soviet scientist...
Quantum Gravity in Flatland
Imagine space were 2-D rather than 3-D. How would the force of gravity work? The surprising answers are guiding physicists to a unified theory of nature
Why Polio Isn't Going Away
As the number of cases of the paralytic disease fall, world health officials have to grapple with a vexing problem: a component of the most widely used polio vaccine now causes more disease than the virus it is supposed to fight...
Time Traveler: The Art of Charles R. Knight
Artist Charles R. Knight drew on his vast experience depicting living animals to bring prehistoric creatures to life—a practice that made him keenly aware of the finality of extinction...
Entrepreneurs Race to Get a Rover on the Moon and Win $30 Million
The next rover to roam the moon's surface may come not from NASA and its rocket scientists but from college students and private companies working on a shoestring
Everyday Stress Can Shut Down the Brain's Chief Command Center
Neural circuits responsible for conscious self-control are highly vulnerable to even mild stress. When they shut down, primal impulses go unchecked, and mental paralysis sets in
Departments
The Doctor Is Way Out
Who Owns the Past?
100 Years Ago: Loss of the Titanic
- From the Editor
Humanity's Quest to Learn about Our Origins and Last Call for the Science in Action Award
- Letters
Readers Respond to "Hidden Switches in the Mind" and Other Articles
- Advances
Spanish Is Faster Than English, But Mandarin Is Slow
Alzheimer’s May Be Treatable by 2025
Gene Therapy Restores Sight to Three Patients
A New Crop of Digital Science Books Will Change the Way Students Learn
Antarctica's Lake Vostok May Hold Extreme Life
New Data Suggest Mars Once Held an Ocean
Orchids Are as Finicky as the Fungi That Nourish Them
This Is What a Scientist Looks Like
What Is It?
A Coffee Sleuth Delves into the Mystery of "Potato Taste"
Patent Watch
Ocean-Borne Microbes May Help Speed Warming
By the Numbers
Scanning for E.T.'s Calls
- Forum
What Science Wants to Know
- TechnoFiles
Make Technology--and the World--Frictionless
- Recommended
Recommended: The Social Conquest of Earth
- Skeptic
Climbing Mount Immortality: Death, Cognition and the Making of Civilization
- Graphic Science
Space Age Wasteland: Debris in Orbit Is Here to Stay
