'Breakthrough' Infections Do Not Mean COVID Vaccines Are Failing

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August 06, 2021

Public Health 'Breakthrough' Infections Do Not Mean COVID Vaccines Are Failing Getting flu again postinoculation is more common than a return case after a COVID shot By Emily Willingham

Extraterrestrial Life To Understand UAP, We Need Megapixel Imagery If any of them represent advanced technology, high-resolution photographs might tell us whether they’re metaphorically labeled “Made in China” or “Made on Exoplanet X” By Avi Loeb

Extraterrestrial Life Future Space Travel Might Require Mushrooms Mycologist Paul Stamets discusses the potential extraterrestrial uses of fungi, including terraforming planets, building human habitats—and providing psilocybin therapy to astronauts By Nick Hilden

Vaccines Governor Makes Personal Plea to Reluctant Arkansans to Get Vaccinated The Republican went to Blytheville, Texarkana and other municipalities in the state to allay people’s fears By Governor Asa Hutchinson

Policy Canada's Residential Schools Were a Horror Founded to carry out the genocide of Indigenous people, they created conditions that killed thousands of children By Ian Mosby,Erin Millions

Epidemiology Why Do Variants Such as Delta Become Dominant? Mutations that make a virus more transmissible are only part of the equation By Sara Reardon

Neurology Immune Cells Suggest New Alzheimer's Treatment Possibilities Brain cells called microglia have different effects as the neurodegenerative disease progresses By Jason Ulrich,David M. Holtzman

Public Health COVID, Quickly, Episode 12: Masking Up Again and Why People Refuse Shots Today we bring you a new episode in our podcast series COVID, Quickly. Every two weeks, Scientific American’s senior health editors Tanya Lewis and Josh Fischman catch you up on the essential developments in the pandemic: from vaccines to new variants and everything in between. You can listen to all past episodes here.   By Tanya Lewis,Josh Fischman,Maddie Bender | 06:18

Energy The 'Hydrogen Olympics' Lit a Torch for the Clean Fuel's Future An energy expert explains why Japan—along with much of the rest of the world—is committing to the clean-burning fuel By Tess Joosse

Weather 5G Wireless Could Interfere with Weather Forecasts Satellite tracking of water vapor, critical for accurate forecasts, may be foiled by cellphone tower transmissions By John Fialka,E&E News

Natural Disasters See Ominous Supercell Storm Clouds as They Barrel across the U.S. These storms can unleash hail, lighting and—most notoriously—tornadoes By Leslie Nemo

Vaccines Vaccine Mandates Are Lawful, Effective and Based on Rock-Solid Science Clear legal pathways exist to move the U.S. closer to herd immunity By Lawrence O. Gostin

FROM THE STORE The Science of Birds   Birds are fascinating creatures. They descend from dinosaurs, soar the skies and display cognitive abilities once thought to be reserved for humans. It’s easy to understand why so many people are passionate birders. The more you learn about birds, the more captivating they are, and in this eBook, we examine what we know about bird evolution, intelligence, communication, migration and behavior.

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BRING SCIENCE HOME Compelling Compositions: Do Photography Masters Follow Rules? What helps make a good picture? Try this activity, and you'll find out how to take better photos yourself--in a snap! Credit: George Retseck You might wonder what makes some photos mesmerizing and gripping, whereas others look dull, empty or less appealing. It might be easier than you think to create those effective photographs. Some easy composition rules, such as the "rule of thirds" and the "golden mean" have been around for centuries. Do compelling photos follow these rules or does it take more than rules to create an impressive composition? Could applying these rules improve your photography? Do other art forms, such as drawing or painting, follow similar rules? In this science activity you will browse through some famous works of photographic art and investigate how often these follow some basic rules of composition.

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