Scientific American Magazine

In spite of many political obstacles, four southeast Asian nations helped by 14 others under UN auspices are engaged in thorough advance planning for a historic experiment in river development

These peculiar celestial objects consist of a hot, dense star surrounded by a sphere of luminous gas. The comparison of old and new astronomical photographs elucidates their mechanism

Two earlier articles in this magazine described the synthesis of elements up to element 101. The list now extends to element 103, and plans are afoot to make some of the rarer elements in quantity

In 1912 Alfred Wegener proposed that the continents had originated in the breakup of one supercontinent. His idea has not been widely accepted, hut new evidence suggests that the principle is correct

Simple tests of this protein provide objective measurements of the biological age, as distinct from the calender age, of an animal. They also clarify the molecular basis of aging

The intelligent solution of a problem seems to involve more than trial and error. Experiments show that it often requires a fresh insight based on a sudden shift in the way the problem is viewed

The importance of the iron-cutting lathe to the Industrial Revolution is rarely appreciated. A number of ingenious lathe mechanisms can be traced back to the Middle Ages

Solitary wasps prey on spiders and insects to feed their larvae. Their highly specific predatory behavior, including choice of prey and manner of carrying it, provides clues to the evolution of wasps