Scientific American

The armada of spacecraft that flew by the comet two years ago provided spectacular images and data that continue to yield quantitative information about the nature of the faithful visitor

The pancreatic beta cell is a factory for the production of insulin. New investigative techniques give an unprecedented view of the hormone's manufacture and pathway to the blood

Every atom or molecule emits and absorbs light of characteristic wavelengths. By tuning a laser to match specific wavelengths, atoms and molecules can be detected with unprecedented sensitivity

Inheritance of certain growth-suppressing genes in a mutated form confers susceptibility to cancer. The first such gene to be isolated gives rise to a predisposition to retinoblastoma, an eye tumor

Soldiers who suffered head wounds in the Russo-Japanese War were among those who contributed to the identification of the brain's visual center and the first description of its organization

Some 300 million years ago central France lay at the Equator. The paleoecology of this bygone world has been reconstructed from a superb fossil cache

New estimates of the number of civilian deaths resulting from nuclear attacks by one superpower on the strategic forces of the other further undermine the rationale for such attacks

The hot, high-speed flame of a plasma gun can melt a powder of almost any ceramic or metal and spray it to form a coating for protection against corrosion, wear or high temperature