Sterling Martin found that when he returned home to Shiprock while studying biochemistry at the University of Iowa, he had difficulty communicating his work to his family in their native tongue.

THERE is every reason to suppose that this dictionary will quickly assume and long retain a place on the most easily accessible shelves of both private and public libraries. The translation of ...

ADMIRAL BEADNELL'S “Dictionary of Scientific Terms” was first published four years ago, and was warmly welcomed by high authorities for its comprehensiveness, its accuracy and its utility. A new ...

What is design? What makes it distinct from art, science, or engineering? The editors of this site decide dozens of times a day what is or isn’t “design.” But is it ultimately subjective, or can it be ...

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in ...

What do you really know about terms like warp drives and transporters? You likely associate them with Star Trek, but what else? You can expand your knowledge of these and other science-fiction words ...

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in ...

The new online Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction probes the speculative corners of the lexicographic universe. By Jennifer Schuessler “Warp speed” may be a term of the moment, thanks to the ...

One thing nerds like to argue about is what nerds are allowed to argue about. If you agree to stipulate that science fiction is often one of those things—and, hey, we could argue about that—then a ...

In the summer of 1987, movie audiences first met Robocop in the science fiction classic about violence and corrupt corporate power in a future, dystopian Detroit. But the title word is much older than ...