Technology
SciAm's 2009 Gadget Guide: 10 Tech Toys You Deserve after a Tough Year [Slide Show]
This year will be remembered for the federal economic stimulus package, Wall Street bailouts, and just possibly a fun new gadget or two
Features1826 articles archived since 1845
Health
Bugs Inside: What Happens When the Microbes That Keep Us Healthy Disappear?
The human body has more microbial than human cells, but this rich diversity of micro-helpers that has evolved along with us is undergoing a rapid shift--one that may have very macro health consequences...
Health
Triple-Drug Cocktail in the Works for Hepatitis C Therapy
Drugs that are specific to hepatitis C will soon go from trial to clinic, giving more patients hope, but a vaccine is still elusive
Technology
On a Roll: Autonomous Navigation Lasers and Robotics Push "Smart" Wheelchair Technology to the Cutting Edge [Slide Show]
One of the latest attempts to build a commercially viable smart wheelchair is leveraging lessons learned from the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge
Environment
Peat and Repeat: Can Major Carbon Sinks Be Restored by Rewetting the World's Drained Bogs?
Bogs, swamps and mires help keep 500 billion metric tons of carbon out of the atmosphere, so preserving peatlands is emerging as a new priority
Technology
Vint Cerf: Connecting with an Internet Pioneer, 40 Years Later
Cerf reflects on the cobbling together of four network nodes, a moment that helped usher in the invention that changed life as we know it
Health
Will Electronic Medical Records Improve Health Care?
Some see electronic health records as little more than disjointed data, whereas others see potential to improve health care, identify trends and stop outbreaks
Climate Change
7 Answers to Climate Contrarian Nonsense
Evidence for human interference with Earth’s climate continues to accumulate
Environment
How Can Humanity Avoid or Reverse the Dangers Posed by a Warming Climate?
With greenhouse gas emissions continuing to rise, strong efforts will be required to reverse global warming
Space & Physics
10 Views of Earth from the Moon, Mars and Beyond [Slide Show]
For more than 40 years, missions throughout the solar system have sent back stunning images of our home planet
Biology
Darwin's Influence on Modern Thought
Great minds shape the thinking of successive historical periods. Luther and Calvin inspired the Reformation; Locke, Leibniz, Voltaire and Rousseau, the Enlightenment. Modern thought is most dependent on the influence of Charles Darwin...
The Sciences
In the Dark: Unusual Deep-Sea Species Documented [Slide Show]
A marine census details more than 5,000 species that live more than 1,000 meters below the surface
Environment
Swimmers, Hoppers and Fliers: How Do Toxic Chemicals Move around the Planet?
Toxic chemicals created by human activity reach unusual concentrations in the Arctic, among other places
Technology
Will Federal Stimulus Money Spark a High-Speed Rail Renaissance in the U.S.?
The drive for energy conservation coupled with the recession has the U.S. switching policy tracks with its push to develop a high-speed rail transportation network. But does it have enough engineering expertise to do it right?...
Technology
U.S. High-Speed Rail Projects Aim to Catch Up [Slide Show]
The Obama administration will make up to $13 billion available for high-speed railroad projects across the nation, which lags far behind the fast railways of Asia and Europe
