Uncategorized

  1. Computing

    Calculating Cartoons

    Thanks to sophisticated computer simulations of the laws of physics, spectacular special effects—plus a zoo of strange but real-looking creatures—increasingly enliven movie screens and computer-game consoles.

    By Peter Weiss
  2. Plants

    Shower power: Raindrops shoot seeds out with a splat

    In a seed-dispersal mechanism scientists have never seen before in flowering plants, rain plops into a capsule and makes seeds shoot out the corners.

    By Susan Milius
  3. Humans

    Smallpox redux: World body suggests keeping the virus

    Fear of bioterrorism has led the World Health Organization to postpone its 2002 deadline for destruction of smallpox virus stocks so that scientists can refine current vaccines and improve defenses against the disease.