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Editor's note: In the August issue of Scientific American, cosmologist George Ellis describes why he's skeptical about the concept of parallel universes. Here, multiverse proponent multiverse proponents Alexander Vilenkin and Max Tegmark offer counterpoints, explaining why the multiverse would account for so many features of our universe--and how it might be tested.

A decade after the fall of the soviet union in 1991, modernization is the watchword in Russia--with science as a vital means to that end. During the spring meeting of the 14 international editions of Scientific American , we gathered in Moscow, and our hosts introduced us to many of the surrounding issues. Scientific American has had a long history in this country, where it has been available in translation for 28 years

You’ve heard of tennis elbow. Well, a friend of mine has gamekeeper’s thumb. When he told me his diagnosis, it rang a bell

Watch Scientific American editor in chief Mariette DiChristina host the first Google Science Fair awards dinner.

With budgets getting tighter and health care needs growing, it makes sense to funnel shrinking resources to the most effective care. But, as Sharon Begley explains in " The Best Medicine " in the July 2011 issue of Scientific American , finding the best bang for our medical buck would be easier if we used the increasingly important analytical tool of comparative-effectiveness research.

I can't even recall a time that I wasn't cognisant of the fact that I lived in a country that actively pioneered space exploration. I remember sitting on wicker hassock in my Dad's study, as a child and asking lots of questions. Dad would light his pipe, lean back in his big red chair, blow circular smoke rings and try his best to answer them.

While astrophotography has become more detailed and enriched in the last 50 years with the invention of things like color filters and digital processing, early lunar images offer more beauty and sense of wonder to the viewer.

When a woman gives birth, she may picture in her mind's eye what that new tiny creature might become--a comedian perhaps, or mechanic or physicist. She might envision the adventures and mishaps she will share with her child along the way.

Last week, self proclaimed "geek," Miss California, Alyssa Campanella made beauty pageant history ...by default . When the interviewer posed a Theory of Evolution question, she was one of only two delegates to use the scientific definition of the word "theory" in her response. The honey-drenched, colloquial, conjecture-based definition that the majority of her competitors clung to was, yes, diplomatic.

Scientific American math and physics editor Davide Castelvecchi revisits the Monty Hall problem so you can know whether you're better off holding on to your original pick or switching when new information presents itself. [More]

I used to be tough on Stephen Jay Gould, the great evolutionary biologist, who died in 2002. I found him self-righteous and pompous, in person and on the page. In an August 1995 profile of him for Scientific American I summed up his worldview, which emphasizes the role of randomness, or "contingency," in shaping life, as "shit happens." [More]

Editor's note: The following is a response by climatologist Michael E. Mann to a Q&A article that appeared in the June 2011 issue of Scientific American , which became available to readers in May. Last month, Scientific American ran a disappointing interview by Michael Lemonick of controversial retired University of California, Berkeley, physics professor Richard Muller.

The Advances section of Scientific American 's July issue chronicles tree-saving tortoises, the largest spider fossil ever discovered, an update on the hunt for dark matter, and many other developments. For those interested in learning more about the news described in the section, a list of selected further reading follows below. "Tortoises to the Rescue," page 16 [More]

The Advances section of Scientific American 's July issue chronicles tree-saving tortoises, the largest spider fossil ever discovered, an update on the hunt for dark matter, and many other developments. For those interested in learning more about the news described in the section, a list of selected further reading follows below. "Tortoises to the Rescue," page 16 [More]

Six months ago a paper appeared on the Science Express pre-publication site of the prestigious journal Science . It came from a group of NASA-funded researchers, accompanied by the full NASA publicity hoopla, but it was harshly criticized by other researchers, with almost all agreeing that it was so seriously flawed that it should never have been published