September 1998
Scientific American Magazine

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Cover; September 1998; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Table of Contents; September 1998; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

From the Editors, including Masthead; September 1998; by Rennie; 1 Page(s)

Go Ahead, Walk in the Mud

Letters to the Editors; September 1998; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

50, 100 and 150 Years Ago; September 1998; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

In Focus: Forestalling Violence; September 1998; by Nemecek; 2 Page(s)

American youths are suffering an epidemic of violence, both in and out of the classroom. Designing effective prevention programs is proving difficult

Herb Remedy; September 1998; by Stix; 2 Page(s)

Exploring ways to administer marijuana as a medicine

Stalking the Wild Dugong; September 1998; by Mukerjee; 2 Page(s)

An undersea elephant remains elusive

The Flip Side of the Universe; September 1998; by Musser; 1 Page(s)

New cosmological observations confirm inflation

In Brief; September 1998; by Leutwyler; 3 Page(s)

Alexander's Fate; Science Knowledge; Hello, SOHO?; Perfecting Microwaved Foods; Treating Tuberculosis; Triggering Tourette's Syndrome; Asteroids on the Inside; Phone Home; Just Add Water

Anti Gravity: Tomorrow, Partly Froggy; September 1998; by Mirsky; 1 Page(s)

Television evangelist and sometime presidential candidate Pat Robertson recently shocked the world by revealing that a science existed that he knew even less about than paleontology.

A World Aflame; September 1998; by Nemecek; 1 Page(s)

Every year fire scorches some 71 million hectares (175 million acres) of forest and grassland

River of Vitriol; September 1998; by Ariza; 2 Page(s)

The Rio Tinto in Spain abounds in acid-and unexpected organisms

By the Numbers: Ethnic Groups in the World; September 1998; by Doyle; 1 Page(s)

Many of the world's problems stem from the fact that it has 5,000 ethnic groups but only 190 countries.

Profile: Riding the Back of Electrons; September 1998; by Stix; 2 Page(s)

Theoretician Rolf Landauer remains a defining figure in the physics of information

The Reinvention of Paper; September 1998; by Gibbs; 2 Page(s)

Cheap, lightweight, low-power electronic displays have been made in the lab

Healing Cancer; September 1998; by Gibbs; 2 Page(s)

Vaccines that prod the body to cure itself are finally being readied for market

The Dope on Holography; September 1998; by Beardsley; 1 Page(s)

A new technique could fulfill holography's promise for capturing information

Cyber View; September 1998; by Grossman; 1 Page(s)

Opaque Transparency

Preserving the Laetoli Footprints (Part 1); September 1998; by Agnew, Demas; 6 Page(s)

The discovery of hominid footprints in East Africa reshaped the study of human origins. Now conservators have protected the fragile tracks from destruction

Preserving the Laetoli Footprints (Part 2); September 1998; by Agnew, Demas; 6 Page(s)

The discovery of hominid footprints in East Africa reshaped the study of human origins. Now conservators have protected the fragile tracks from destruction

The Footprint Makers: An Early View; September 1998; by Matternes; 1 Page(s)

I worked on my painting of the Laetoli footprint makers during the early fall of 1978, shortly after the discovery of the hominid trackway.

The Laetoli Diorama; September 1998; by Tattersall; 1 Page(s)

Only very rarely does the fossil record provide evidence of an actual event in human prehistory.

Weightlessness and the Human Body; September 1998; by White; 6 Page(s)

The effects of space travel on the body resemble some of the conditions of aging. Studying astronauts' health may improve medical care both in orbit and on the ground

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; September 1998; by Barkley; 6 Page(s)

A new theory suggests the disorder results from a failure in self-control. ADHD may arise when key brain circuits do not develop properly, perhaps because of an altered gene or genes

Making New Elements; September 1998; by Armbruster, Hessberger; 6 Page(s)

Three new elements-110, 111 and 112-have been produced over the past several years. Scientists are now struggling to create 113 and 114. How many elements can they add to the periodic table?

The Evolution of the Periodic System; September 1998; by Scerri; 6 Page(s)

From its origins some 200 years ago, the periodic table has become a vital tool for modern chemists

The Oort Cloud; September 1998; by Weissman; 6 Page(s)

On the outskirts of the solar system swarms a vast cloud of comets, influenced almost as much by other stars as by our sun. The dynamics of this cloud may help explain such matters as mass extinctions on Earth

Thermophotovoltaics; September 1998; by Coutts, Fitzgerald; 6 Page(s)

Semiconductors that convert radiant heat to electricity may prove suitable for lighting remote villages or powering automobiles

The Amateur Scientist; September 1998; by Carlson; 2 Page(s)

Spooling the Stuff of Life

Mathematical Recreations; September 1998; by Stewart; 2 Page(s)

Counting the Pyramid Builders

Reviews; September 1998; by Albers; 2 Page(s)

Reviews

Commentary: Wonders - A Minor Shift in Point of View; September 1998; by Morrison, Morrison; 2 Page(s)

Scientists have discovered some eight or 10 planetary systems beyond our own

Commentary: Connections - Rebellious Affiars; September 1998; by Burke; 2 Page(s)

I was in one of London's oldest coffeehouses the other day, sipping a cup (of Folger's as it happens) and thinking about the first such watering holes

Working Knowledge; September 1998; by Pohlmann; 1 Page(s)

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