Feature
- Tech
Fire Inside
The events of 9/11 put new urgency into efforts to design buildings able to withstand the structural damage that fire can cause.
- Earth
Cellulose Dreams
Turning cellulose from plants into ethanol for fuel could help lower greenhouse-gas emissions—but the conversion is far from straightforward.
- Chemistry
Alien Pizza, Anyone?
Although many biochemical molecules come in left-handed and right-handed versions, life on Earth uses one version exclusively, and some controversial experiments suggest this preference might not be due to chance.
- Planetary Science
Idiosyncratic Iapetus
The strange appearance of Saturn's moon Iapetus suggests that it was frozen in shape soon after birth, providing a glimpse into conditions in the early solar system.
- Earth
Hammered Saws
Sawfish, shark relatives that almost went extinct several decades ago, have now gained protection by international treaty.
- Health & Medicine
Taking a Jab at Cancer
Vaccines that train a person's immune system to kill cancerous cells, when combined with drugs that block tumor defense mechanisms, are starting to show promise.
- Anthropology
Red-Ape Stroll
Wild orangutans regularly walk upright through the trees, raising the controversial possibility that the two-legged stance is not unique to hominids.
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- Computing
Virtual Surgery
Computer simulations of blood flow in the heart allow doctors to test surgical innovations before trying them on patients.
- Animals
Not-So-Elementary Bee Mystery
Old-style epidemiology casework combines with an array of 21st-century lab tests in the search for clues to the disappearance of honeybees.
- Physics
The Power of Induction
A new technology based on classical electromagnetic theory uses oscillating magnetic fields to transfer electric power wirelessly across a room.
- Math
Mathematical Lives of Plants
Mathematical models that capture the essence of biological growth mechanisms are beginning to reveal how plants develop structures with intriguingly elegant geometries.
