From the Editor: Bringing the Best
A fellowship can make a huge difference in a graduate career.

Outlook: The Galleries Within
There's beauty sublime in our very cells.

Profile: Missing Links
A 1.5 million-year-old skeleton told Alan Walker of the origins of human language.

Encyclopedia:

Musical Fusion
Contemporary composers need love too.

Far Out!
An x-ray survey picks up one of the most distant objects yet seen.

The Bomb Charmer
He's perfecting detection of non-metallic explosives.

Converting Methane
What's the best way to make swamp gas into something we can use?

See-Through Ads
Look below the surface at what they're really selling.

News Reports

ARTICLES

Fellow Travelers
From rural Texas to Berkeley, California, from thinking robots to answers for Alzheimer's families, Penn State's graduate fellows are all over the map, and they're asking all kinds of questions. One thing they have in common: They all know where they're headed.

Engineering Bridges
Engineer Tom Boothby and graduate student Jim Bintrim have driven all over Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio testing the strength of masonry arch bridges.Their goal is a practical way to say how much weight these historic old stone or brick structures can handle.

The Mind of the Swarm "The choice of a new nest site by a swarm of bees is one of the clearest examples of group decision-making outside of human behavior," writes entomologist Scott Camazine. Sometimes it takes a while. Writer David Pacchioli spent two days in the desert, waiting for the go.