January 1998
Scientific American Magazine

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

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

From the Editors; January 1998; by Rennie; 1 Page(s)

A Stab in the Dark

Letters to the Editors; January 1998; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

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

The 1997 Nobel Prizes in Science; January 1998; by Staff Editor; 4 Page(s)

The achievements recognized by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm span the range from controversial theory to well-grounded experiment

In Focus: Burying the Problem; January 1998; by Schneider; 2 Page(s)

Could pumping carbon dioxide into the ground forestall global warming?

Extreme Science; January 1998; by Gibbs; 2 Page(s)

Locked in an Arctic ice floe, a ship full of scientists drifts for a year

Don't Stress; January 1998; by Leutwyler; 2 Page(s)

It is now known to cause developmental problems, weight gain and neurodegeneration

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

Bird Brains; A Quick Glucose Test; Smart Gene; Novel Neurochip; Dragging Out Space and Time; New Moons; Chimerical Concertos; Baffling Birth Defect.

Ancestral Quandry; January 1998; by Wong; 2 Page(s)

Neanderthals not our ancestors? Not so fast

Anti Gravity: Tender is the Bite; January 1998; by Mirsky; 1 Page(s)

John Long hails from a time when nonspecialists did lots of varied and interesting science.

By the Numbers: Women in Politics throughout the World; January 1998; by Doyle; 1 Page(s)

The markedly uneven participation of women in public life is illustrated by the map, which shows the proportion of female-held seats in national legislatures.

Profile: From Naked Men to a New-World Order; January 1998; by Gibbs; 2 Page(s)

Finding a hidden logic in "primitive" myths made Claude Levi-Strauss the most renowned anthropologist alive.

Off with its Head!; January 1998; by Zorpette; 1 Page(s)

Headless frog embryos are here. "So what?" biologists say

Laser Show; January 1998; by Dupont; 1 Page(s)

Critics charge that the Pentagon's antisatellite laser test could set a dangerous precedent

New Silicon Tricks; January 1998; by Hayashi; 2 Page(s)

Carbon could boost the speed of silicon chips

Roaches at the Wheel; January 1998; by Yam; 1 Page(s)

Researchers in Tokyo received some notoriety last year when they showed how implants could govern the movements of a cockroach

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

Wearing Your Computer

The Architecture of Life; January 1998; by Ingber; 10 Page(s)

A universal set of building rules seems to guide the design of organic structures-from simple carbon compounds to complex cells and tissues

Burial of Radioactive Waste under the Seabed; January 1998; by Hollister, Nadis; 6 Page(s)

Although the notion troubles some environmentalists, the disposing of nuclear refuse within oceanic sediments merits consideration

Bacterial Gene Swapping in Nature; January 1998; by Miller; 6 Page(s)

Genes travel between independent bacteria more often than once was assumed. Study of that process can help limit the risks of releasing genetically engineered microbes into the environment

The Ulysses Mission; January 1998; by Smith, Marsden; 6 Page(s)

The first space probe to be sent on a "polar" trajectory has made some remarkable discoveries on its first orbit around the sun

Lise Meitner and the Discovery of Nuclear Fission; January 1998; by Sime; 6 Page(s)

One of the discoverers of fission in 1938, Meitner was at the time overlooked by the Nobel judges. Racial persecution, fear and opportunism combined to obscure her contributions

Picosecond Ultrasonics; January 1998; by Maris; 4 Page(s)

Brief pulses of high-frequency sound allow experimenters to probe connections inside a computer chip

The Placebo Effect; January 1998; by Brown; 6 Page(s)

Colds, asthma, high blood pressure and heart disease are among the many conditions that can respond to treatment with a placebo. Should doctors be prescribing sugar pills?

Leonardo and the Invention of the Wheellock; January 1998; by Foley; 6 Page(s)

Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks are full of inventions, from intricate gun parts to bicycles to automobiles. But were any of Leonardo's many creations actually made during his lifetime?

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

A Kitchen Centrifuge

Mathematical Recreations; January 1998; by Stewart; 4 Page(s)

Double Bubble, Toil and Trouble

Reviews; January 1998; by Logsdon, Wallich; 3 Page(s)

Reviews

Commentary: Wonders - Wildfire; January 1998; by Morrison, Morrison; 2 Page(s)

As fire is no part of the mineral kingdom, we find it surprisingly apt to discuss it as though it were one among the kingdoms of living things.

Commentary: Connections - Anybody Out There?; January 1998; by Burke; 2 Page(s)

We were having a bit of harmless fun the other evening after dinner, doing a little table rapping and glass moving, and somebody suggested we have a go at seeing if Charles Darwin was around.

Working Knowledge; January 1998; by Benton; 1 Page(s)

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