(FORTUNE Magazine) – TECHNOLOGY/Cover Story 56 AMERICA'S HOT YOUNG SCIENTISTS Let FORTUNE introduce you to 12 brilliant thinkers who have achieved important breakthroughs -- from Susan Solomon, who is solving the riddle of the ozone hole, to Donald Eigler, the man who moves atoms. American science still sets the pace, and U.S. investment in research and development is paying spectacular dividends. by Gene Bylinsky

THE ECONOMY 73 THE BOSSES SEE A RECESSION SOON The latest FORTUNE 500 CEO Poll shows America's brass see an economic downturn at hand. They're not so bearish on stocks. by Jaclyn Fierman

82 NO DOWNTURN HERE Some American industries are growing with surprising vigor. by Joseph Spiers

AIRLINES 85 THE FAA'S LOOSE GRIP ON AIR SAFETY With more -- and older -- jets in the sky, the airline system needs tougher policing than ever. But the agency that's supposed to do the job is undermanned and badly managed. by Erik Calonius

94 ALTITUDE CHECK: ARE THE FAA'S STANDARDS HIGH ENOUGH?

ENTREPRENEURS 105 OH, HOW THE MONEY GROWS AT ADM Dwayne Andreas, king of corn, beans, and clout, cultivates friends in high places and rakes in profits at Archer Daniels Midland. by Ronald Henkoff

MONEY & MARKETS 119 WILL THE FDIC RUN OUT OF MONEY? There's a good chance it will. But by acting now, Washington can keep commercial banking from reprising the S&L debacle. by Brett Duval Fromson

124 HOW TOUGH TIMES COULD HIT BIG BANKS

CORPORATE PERFORMANCE 129 HOW QUAKER OATS GOT ROLLED The Oat King's misadventures in pet foods and toys were a manager's worst nightmare: rational decision-making that leads straight to a trapdoor. So much for synergy. by Bill Saporito

136 'IRRATIONALITY IN THE PET FOOD BUSINESS'

COMPANIES TO WATCH 140 LIVE ENTERTAINMENT Bringing hot movies into the home. by Ret Autry

Also: Seitel, Failure Group, and Nichols Research.

JAPAN 143 TRYING TO CLONE U.S.-STYLE MBAs Even the professors at Dartmouth's Amos Tuck School find themselves learning cautionary, and funny, lessons from their joint venture with a Japanese university. by Patricia A. Langan

INNOVATION 154 PRODUCTS TO WATCH

MANAGING 156 A NEW AGE FOR BUSINESS? Visionary thinkers are rejecting the by-the-numbers approach to enterprise and seeking a new paradigm. Love and caring in the workplace? The profit motive less than preeminent? Major corporations are buying in. by Frank Rose

160 THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS GOES GREEN

DEPARTMENTS 4 EDITOR'S DESK 8 INDEX 12 NEWS/TRENDS American CEOs meet Gorbachev and find the Soviets want trade, not aid, foreign investors snub the U.S., Steve Jobs strikes again, and more.

25 FORTUNE FORECAST $ Recession? Don't bet on it. FORTUNE's economists aren't writing off this expansion yet. The growth we look for will be nerve-rackingly feeble, but it will continue. by Vivian Brownstein

43 PERSONAL INVESTING The best antidote to recession anxiety? Drug stocks, a defensive play that provides above-average growth. by Andrew Evan Serwer

Also: the new glow on global bond funds, bargains in the energy sector, and Portfolio Talk with Alan Fields of Harbor Capital Management.

177 LETTERS TO FORTUNE

181 FORTUNE PEOPLE Beer brewer Coors pushes plain water, G.I. Joe meets the New Kids on the Block at the Hasbro toy company, and more. by Mark M. Colodny

183 OFFICE HOURS Insomnia can affect your performance in sneaky ways. Learn to wind down, worry in advance, exercise right, and avoid nightcaps. by Walter Kiechel III

187 KEEPING UP Corpses as collateral, a boo for Miss Saigon, how to fix up love letters, racketeering in Southern California, and other matters. by Daniel Seligman

ABOVE: Physicist Mark Reed of Yale University, photographed by Louis Psihoyos (Matrix).

COVER: Psihoyos also shot this picture of astronomer Alan Dressler.