November 2003
Scientific American Magazine

Digital subscribers-sign in for full access

Cover; November 2003; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Table of Contents; November 2003; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

SA Perspectives: Penny-Wise, Planet-Foolish; November 2003; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

How to Contact Us and On the Web; November 2003; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Letters to the Editors; November 2003; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

50, 100 and 150 Years Ago; November 2003; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Mathematics of Children; Culture of Crete; Philosophy of Heat

Healing the Grid; November 2003; by JR Minkel; 2 Page(s)

Several near-term solutions can keep the juice flowing

Malcode Melee; November 2003; by W. Wayt Gibbs; 2 Page(s)

In the war of the worms, was one wearing a white hat?

All Screwed Up; November 2003; by George Musser; 2 Page(s)

An obscure property of light puts a spin on astronomy

Light Sails to Orbit; November 2003; by Philip Yam; 2 Page(s)

NASA watches from the sidelines as Cosmos 1, the first solar sail, goes up

Brain Not Inflamed?; November 2003; by Dennis Watkins; 3 Page(s)

Alzheimer's may not be an inflammation after all

Restoring the Rio; November 2003; by Krista West; 2 Page(s)

Efforts to keep the Rio Grande filled with water

By the Numbers: Why Women Work; November 2003; by Rodger Doyle; 1 Page(s)

The evolution of women in the U.S. job market

News Scan Briefs; November 2003; by Gary Stix, Charles Choi, Philip Yam; 2 Page(s)

Edward Teller, 1908-2003; Killing the Competition; Cleaner Living; Black Hole Life Preserver; Weekend Weather; Bacterial Batteries; Data Points: Cutting Calories; Brief Bits

Innovations: Baffling the Bots; November 2003; by Lee Bruno; 2 Page(s)

Anti-spammers take on automations posing as humans

Staking Claims: Shrink-Wrapping the World; November 2003; by Gary Stix; 1 Page(s)

A law that would crimp the rights of software buyers suffers a major defeat

Skeptic: Candle in the Dark; November 2003; by Michael Shermer; 1 Page(s)

Instead of cursing the darkness of pseudoscience on television, light a candle with Cable Science Network

The Unseen Genome: Gems among the Junk; November 2003; by W. Wayt Gibbs; 8 Page(s)

Just when scientists thought they had DNA almost figured out, they are discovering in chromosomes two vast, but largely hidden, layers of information that affect inheritance, development and disease

The Asteroid Tugboat; November 2003; by Russell L. Schweickart, Edward T. Lu, Piet Hut and Clark R. Chapman; 8 Page(s)

To prevent an asteroid from hitting Earth, a space tug equipped with plasma engines could give it a push

An Army of Small Robots; November 2003; by Robert Grabowski, Luis E. Navarro-Serment and Pradeep K. Khosla; 6 Page(s)

For robot designers these days, small is beautiful

The Future of String Theory--A Conversation with Brian Greene; November 2003; by George Musser; 6 Page(s)

The physicist and best-selling author demystifies the ultimate theories of space and time, the nature of genius, multiple universes, and more

Stranger in a New Land; November 2003; by Kate Wong; 10 Page(s)

Stunning finds in the Republic of Georgia upend long-standing ideas about the first hominids to journey out of Africa

Flying on Flexible Wings; November 2003; by Steven Ashley; 8 Page(s)

Future aircraft may fly more like birds, adapting geometrics of their wings to best suit changing flight conditions

Why We Sleep; November 2003; by Jerome M. Siegel; 6 Page(s)

The reasons that we sleep are gradually becoming less enigmatic

Working Knowledge: Staying Power; November 2003; by Mark Fischetti; 2 Page(s)

Nails and staples

Voyages: Waiting for Liftoff; November 2003; by W. Wayt Gibbs; 3 Page(s)

A rocket launch is a riveting sight. Just don't count on the countdown

Reviews: Limited Visibility; November 2003; by Phil Scott; 2 Page(s)

Promised the Moon tells the story of the women who could have been the first astronauts. Also, The Editors Recommend

Puzzling Adventures: Liquid Switchboard; November 2003; by Dennis E. Shasha; 1 Page(s)

Liquid switchboard

Anti Gravity: A Bridge too Far; November 2003; by Steve Mirsky; 1 Page(s)

A man, a plan, a river, Cambridge

Ask the Experts; November 2003; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

What makes Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma so prone to tornadoes? Are humans the only primates that cry?

Fuzzy Logic; November 2003; by Roz Chast; 1 Page(s)

Out-of-Memory Lane