World Changing Ideas 2015
10 big advances that will improve life, transform computing and maybe even save the planet
Features
Algorithms Read Your Intentions by Tracking Your Eyes
Software that translates eye movement into commands to control devices could be a boon for motion-impaired people
One Test Detects Every Vertebrate Virus
A new method identifies every virus in a given sample with near-perfect accuracy
Injectable Probes Could Transform Brain Monitoring
Conductive polymer mesh could be a boon to brain research
Why Fusion Researchers Are Going Small
After decades of slow progress and massive investment, some fusion power researchers are changing tactics
Why Scientists Are Making Kill Switches for GMOs
A genetic kill switch could prevent industrial espionage and environmental contamination
Cooling Panels Pull Heat from Buildings, Beam It into Space
A multipurpose mirror sucks up heat and beams it into outer space
Deep Learning Is the A.I. Breakthrough We've Been Waiting For
Deep-learning technology is helping A.I. fulfill its promise
Cameras That See around Corners Are Closer Than You Might Think
Bouncing photons let cameras see beyond the line of sight
How to Watch a Chemical Reaction in Slow Motion
Infrared spectroscopy and computer simulations reveal the hidden world of solvent-solute interactions
The U.S. Started as a Nation of Tinkerers
Scientific American came out 170 years ago celebrating the individual tinkerer and wound up bearing witness to major technological upheaveals in the nation and the world
Landmark Articles Highlight Scientific American's 170 years
Since 1845, Scientific American has chronicled ideas and inventions that have changed the world. On the following pages, we present highlights from our archives on evolution, the cosmos, the brain and other topics, including a few written for us by our 155 Nobel Prize–winning authors...
What Killed the Dinosaurs
The asteroid strike was bad. The timing was worse
Behind Tomorrow's Telescopes: A Bitter Rivalry from Yesterday
Old grudges between three teams of astronomers have threatened the survival of ground-based astronomy's boldest, biggest projects
Unique Clinic Uses Genomic Findings to Help Patients Immediately
A children's clinic raised and supported by Amish and Mennonites proves that high-tech genetics research can be harnessed right now to prevent disease
Without Government, the Marketplace Will Not Solve Climate Change
Whether or not the world reaches an international emissions agreement, the U.S. government holds the real solution
Departments
Microwave-Powered Rockets Would Slash Cost of Reaching Orbit
- From the Editor
Innovation Celebration: World Changing Ideas, 170 Years of Scientific American and Nobel Laureate Authors
- Letters
Readers Respond to "How We Conquered the Planet"
- Advances
Snakebite Antivenom Development Is Stuck in the 19th Century--What's Next?
Tweets Reveal a Twitter User's Income Bracket
In Israel Kids Cross Streets in Virtual Reality for Safety Science
Geologists Confirm Mantle Plumes Generate Volcanic Hotspots
California Farmers Will Intentionally Flood Their Fields This Winter
Odd Jobs: Meet Ned the Nose
Astronomers Indirectly Spot Neutrinos Released Just 1 Second after the Birth of the Universe
Speedy Ebola Test Wins Google Science Fair 2015
- Forum
Meeting a Global Carbon Limit Is Cheaper Than Avoiding One
- The Science of Health
New Nerve Drugs May Finally Prevent Migraine Headaches
- The Science Agenda
A Tax on Carbon Pollution Can Benefit Business
- Recommended
Book Review: Pacific
Book Review: Science of the Magical
Book Review: Extreme Earth
- Skeptic
Why Climate Skeptics Are Wrong
- Anti Gravity
Water Walker Wanders Worldwide
- 50, 100 & 150 Years Ago
The Flight of the Invisible Airplane, 1915
- Graphic Science
Men and Women Alter a Home's Bacteria Differently
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