December 1996
Scientific American Magazine

Digital subscribers-sign in for full access

Cover; December 1996; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Table of Contents; December 1996; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

From the Editors, including Masthead; December 1996; by Rennie; 1 Page(s)

Experienced Readers for Young Minds

Letters to the Editors; December 1996; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

50, 100 and 150 Years Ago; December 1996; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

In Focus: Deadly Enigma; December 1996; by Beardsley; 2 Page(s)

The U.S. wakes up to the threat of mad cow disease and its relatives

Down the Drain; December 1996; by Zorpette; 2 Page(s)

Russia continues to pump nuclear waste into the ground, despite U.S. aid

Field Notes: Jungle Medicine; December 1996; by Gibbs; 1 Page(s)

Deep in the Impenetrable Forest inside Uganda's Bwindi National Park, an enclave of 13 mountain gorillas has suffered years of interminable eavesdropping by primatologists trying to learn about the animals: how they fight, mate, play.

In Brief; December 1996; by Leutwyler; 3 Page(s)

And the Nobel Prize winners are ...; Extreme Doubt; Combinatorial Support; Critical Costs; Stoking the Oldest Coal; Hothouse Flowers; The Chicken and the Egg; Cashing in on Contraceptives; Tracking Solar Neutrinos; Fourth Rock from the Sun; Waiting to Exhale

Beyond the Test Ban; December 1996; by Horgan; 2 Page(s)

Experts debate the need for a giant laser-fusion machine

Sex and the Spinal Cord; December 1996; by DeKoker; 3 Page(s)

A new pathway for orgasm

By the Numbers: Deaths Caused by Alcohol; December 1996; by Doyle; 2 Page(s)

Excessive alcohol consumption leads to more than 100,000 deaths annually in the U.S.

Anti Gravity: The Victors Go Despoiled; December 1996; by Mirsky; 1 Page(s)

"Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me," Star Trek's Mr. Scott once wisely noted.

Hard to Melt; December 1996; by Mukerjee; 2 Page(s)

Ice cubes that take the heat

Fear and Fecundity; December 1996; by Beardsley; 1 Page(s)

Death-defying guppy stunts - just to dazzle the females

Cyber View; December 1996; by Gibbs; 2 Page(s)

Snap, Crunch or GigaPOP?

The Sale of a New Machine; December 1996; by Zorpette; 2 Page(s)

Can a new scientific computer revive a moribund industry?

Where the Wind Blows; December 1996; by Gibbs; 1 Page(s)

Ancient mariners cursed the capricious wind for the ships it stranded and sunk.

Welding with a Match; December 1996; by Garcia; 1 Page(s)

Foils less than 100 microns thick bond with a mere spark

Plastic Power; December 1996; by Leutwyler; 2 Page(s)

Polymers take a step forward as photovoltaic cells and lasers

Recently Netted...; December 1996; by Eisenberg; 1 Page(s)

Easy Electronic Charging; Cryptolopes to Go

Profile: Manuel Elkin Patarroyo; December 1996; by Holloway; 2 Page(s)

The Man Who Would Conquer Malaria

The Specter of Biological Weapons; December 1996; by Cole; 6 Page(s)

States and terrorists alike have shown a growing interest in germ warfare. More stringent arms-control efforts are needed to discourage attacks

Primordial Deuterium and the Big Bang; December 1996; by Hogan; 6 Page(s)

Nuclei of this hydrogen isotope formed in the first moments of the big bang. Their abundance offers clues to the early evolution of the universe and the nature of cosmic dark matter

Creating Nanophase Materials; December 1996; by Siegel; 6 Page(s)

The properties of these ultrafine-grained substances, now found in a range of commercial products, can be custom-engineered

Cell Suicide in Health and Disease; December 1996; by Duke, Ojcius, Young; 8 Page(s)

Cells can - and often do - kill themselves, in a process known as apoptosis. This capacity is essential to the proper functioning of the body; flawed regulation may lie behind many diseases

Atmospheric Dust and Acid Rain; December 1996; by Hedin, Likens; 5 Page(s)

Emissions of acidic air pollutants have fallen dramatically. Why is acid rain still a problem? Atmospheric dust may be part of the answer.

A Cricket Robot; December 1996; by Webb; 6 Page(s)

Can a simple electromechanical system perform a complex behavior of a living creature? There was one sure way to find out

Daily Life in Ancient Egypt; December 1996; by McDowell; 6 Page(s)

Workmen and their families lived some 3,000 years ago in the village now known as Deir el-Medina. Written records from the unusually well educated community offer fascinating descriptions of everyday activities

Why Freud Isn't Dead; December 1996; by Horgan; 6 Page(s)

Skeptics continue to challenge Sigmund Freud's ideas about the mind. Yet no unquestionably superior theory or therapy has rendered psychoanalysis completely obsolete

The Amateur Scientist; December 1996; by Carlson; 3 Page(s)

Dissecting the Brain with Sound

Mathematical Recreations; December 1996; by Stewart; 3 Page(s)

Cows in the Maze

Reviews; December 1996; by Morrison, Morrison; 6 Page(s)

The Scientific American Young Readers Book Awards

Commentary: Connections - Sweet Dreams; December 1996; by Burke; 2 Page(s)

One of the less glamorous aspects of my work is having to fly frequent transatlantic red-eyes, and any airline that gives me a sleep-inducing hot chocolate gets my money.

Annual Index 1996; December 1996; by Staff Editor; 3 Page(s)

Working Knowledge; December 1996; by Rogers; 1 Page(s)

Pop Tops