Beyond Earth

Next stop: Mars? In an era of renewed discovery, experts in space exploration and planetary science are starting to look closely at the technological, social, and political hurdles that remain before humans can live on other worlds. A special report from the 2003 Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science.

Smart Search

Why does computer scientist Lee Giles work on the Web? “Because that’s where the data are.” Oceans of data, getting ever deeper. Making all that information truly accessible, Giles says, will take real — and artificial — intelligence.

Where Iron and Immunity Intersect

Most of us are familiar with anemia, in which a lack of iron causes pallid skin, dizziness, and shortness of breath. Fewer know what happens when the body gets too much iron. Yet hemochromatosis — characterized as a “rusting away” of the body’s tissues — affects millions.

Planted in the Past

Boas, Bones, and Race