Features

• Scientific American Volume 312, Issue 2 | Space

  Could Black Hole Energy Save Humanity’s Future?

  Let's say some future civilization wanted to get energy out of a black hole. The first step would be to build a space elevator that defies the laws of physics

  February 1, 2015 |Adam Brown |

  PLUS:
  Space Elevator Enthusiasts Push On despite Lengthy Time Frames and Long Odds
  

• Scientific American Volume 312, Issue 2 | Energy & Sustainability

  Energy, Water and Food Problems Must Be Solved Together

  Our future rides on our ability to integrate how we use these three commodities

  February 1, 2015 |Michael E. Webber |

  PLUS:
  Soldier Flies: The New Food for Farm Fish
  

• Scientific American Volume 312, Issue 2 | Health

  Molecular Clocks throughout Body, Not Just Brain, Keep Tissues Humming

  Genes in the liver, pancreas and other tissues (not just the brain) keep the various parts of the body in sync. Timing miscues may lead to diabetes, depression and other illnesses

  February 1, 2015 |Keith C. Summa and Fred W. Turek |

  PLUS:
  How Mammals Tell Time [Video]
  

• Scientific American Volume 312, Issue 2 | Technology

  Memcomputers: Faster, More Energy-Efficient Devices That Work Like a Human Brain

  New types of electronic components, closer to neurons than to transistors, are leading to tremendously efficient and faster “memcomputing”

  February 1, 2015 |Massimiliano Di Ventra and Yuriy V. Pershin |

  PLUS:
  Building New Computers That Function Like Brains [Video]
  

• Scientific American Volume 312, Issue 2 | Evolution

  Secrets of Neandertal Cognition Revealed

  Analyses of anatomy, DNA and cultural remains have yielded tantalizing insights into the inner lives of our mysterious extinct cousins

  February 1, 2015 |Kate Wong |

  PLUS:
  The Neandertal Mystique
  

• Scientific American Volume 312, Issue 2 | More Science

  4 Years After the Meltdown, Investigating Fukushima’s Ecological Toll

  We know surprisingly little about what low-dose radiation does to organisms and ecosystems. Four years after the disaster in Fukushima, scientists are beginning to get some answers

  February 1, 2015 |Steven Featherstone |

  PLUS:
  4 Years after Fukushima
  

• Scientific American Volume 312, Issue 2 | Mind & Brain

  An Electrode in the Brain Turns Off Depression

  Electrical stimulation deep within the brain may alleviate devastating mood disorders

  February 1, 2015 |Andres M. Lozano and Helen S. Mayberg |

  PLUS:
  New Promise of Relief for Major Depression
  

• Scientific American Volume 312, Issue 1 | Space

  Planets More Habitable Than Earth May Be Common in Our Galaxy

  Planets quite different from our own may be the best homes for life in the universe

  January 1, 2015 |René Heller |

  PLUS:
  Faraway Planets May Be Far Better for Life
  

• Scientific American Mind Volume 26, Issue 1 | Mind & Brain

  Vaccines Give Addicts a Shot at Quitting

  Vaccines against cocaine, heroin and other substances may one day help addicts stay clean

  January 1, 2015 |Carrie Arnold |

• Special Editions Volume 23, Issue 5s | Mind & Brain

  The Secret to Raising Smart Kids

  HINT: Don't tell your kids that they are. More than three decades of research shows that a focus on “process”—not on intelligence or ability—is key to success in school and in life

  January 1, 2015 |Carol S. Dweck |

• Special Editions Volume 23, Issue 5s | Mind & Brain

  What Does a Smart Brain Look Like?

  A new neuroscience of intelligence is revealing that not all brains work in the same way

  January 1, 2015 |Richard J. Haier |

• Scientific American Mind Volume 26, Issue 1 | Mind & Brain

  Autism Grows Up

  New programs are helping ease the transition to adulthood for people on the spectrum

  January 1, 2015 |Jennifer Richler |

• Special Editions Volume 23, Issue 5s | Mind & Brain

  The Aha! Moment

  A step-by-step guide to your next creative breakthrough

  January 1, 2015 |Nessa Bryce |

• Special Editions Volume 23, Issue 5s | Mind & Brain

  Fit Body, Fit Mind?

  How can you stay sharp into old age? It is not just a matter of winning the genetic lottery. What you do can make a difference

  January 1, 2015 |Christopher Hertzog, Arthur F. Kramer, Robert S. Wilson and Ulman Lindenberger |

• Special Editions Volume 23, Issue 5s | Mind & Brain

  Rational and Irrational Thought: The Thinking That IQ Tests Miss

  Why smart people sometimes do dumb things

  January 1, 2015 |Keith E. Stanovich |

• Special Editions Volume 23, Issue 5s | Mind & Brain

  Five Common Myths about the Brain

  Some widely held ideas about the way children learn can lead educators and parents to adopt faulty teaching principles

  January 1, 2015 |

• Special Editions Volume 23, Issue 5s | Mind & Brain

  When High IQs Hang Out

  “Genius” societies offer a social network for the top tier of test takers

  January 1, 2015 |Lena Groeger |

• Scientific American Volume 312, Issue 1 | More Science

  Robotic Men and Robotic Vehicles Explore Ancient Shipwrecks

  Scientists are using exotic technologies to excavate underwater shipwrecks with the same precision as an archaeological dig

  January 1, 2015 |Philip J. Hilts |

  PLUS:
  Return to the Antikythera Shipwreck
  

• Scientific American Mind Volume 26, Issue 1 | More Science

  Scientists Determine What Hurdles Still Hamper Women's Progress in Science

  Blatant bias no longer blocks women from blossoming into scientists and engineers. Yet societal factors still nudge women away from academic science

  January 1, 2015 |Stephen J. Ceci, Donna K. Ginther, Shulamit Kahn and Wendy M. Williams |

  PLUS:
  Do Women Earn Less Than Men in STEM Fields?
  

• Scientific American Volume 312, Issue 1 | Health

  Experimental Drugs Target Bacteria’s Social Network

  Evolutionary biologists are trying to attack bacteria in a new way: by short-circuiting their social life

  January 1, 2015 |Carl Zimmer |

  PLUS:
  New Tools against Biofilms [Video]