Volume 262, Issue 1
You are currently logged out. Please sign in to download the issue PDF.
Features
Is the Brain's Mind a Computer Program?
No. A program merely manipulates symbols, whereas a brain attaches meaning to them
Could a Machine Think?
Classical AI is unlikely to yield conscious machines; systems that mimic the brain might
Antisense RNA and DNA
Molecules that bind with specific messenger RNA's can selectively turn off genes. Eventually certain diseases may be treated with them; today antisense molecules are valuable research tools
What Drives Glacial Cycles?
Massive reorganizations of the ocean-atmosphere system, the authors argue, are the key events that link cyclic changes in the earth's orbit to the advance and retreat of ice sheets
The Handedness of the Universe
From atoms to human beings, nature is asymmetric with respect to chirality, or left- and right-handedness. Clues are beginning to emerge that connect chirality on different levels
Stress in the Wild
Studies of free-ranging baboons in an African reserve are helping to explain why human beings can differ in their vulnerability to stress-related diseases
Microplasmas
Two or more atoms-stripped of their outer electrons, trapped by electromagnetic fields and cooled to temperatures near absolute zeroarray themselves in structures that behave like both liquids and solids
The Cosmic Background Explorer
NASA's cosmological satellite will observe a radiative relic of the big bang. The resulting wealth of data will be scoured for clues to the evolution of structure in the universe