X-ray Dreams
Scientists of all stripes yearn for the incredibly powerful beacon of an X-ray laser. Charles Rhodes wants one so badly that he's willing to reinvent physics to get it.
by Will Hively
The Coming Himalayan Catastrophe
Along the fault where India crashes into Asia, huge mountains arise, and huge earthquakes occur. East of Delhi lies a stretch of the fault where a major quake is long overdue. The Indian government is building a hydroelectric dam there.
The Killer Cat Virus That Doesn't Kill Cats
Can we learn from a feline? Over millions of years, wild cats have learned how to live with a virus quite similar to one that's killing us.
Fetal Attraction
In theory, brain cells that have been killed by Parkinson's disease can be replaced with cells from the brains of aborted fetuses. Now that the necessary politics and the technology are in place, neurosurgeons are about to find out if that theory is correct.
Black Holes, Ants, and Roller Coasters
Many physicists regarded centrifugal force less as a force than a fiction. Then a Polish astrophysicist discovered that black holes won't work without it--without it working in reverse, that is.