Heavily Mutated Omicron Variant Puts Scientists on Alert

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December 03, 2021

Epidemiology Heavily Mutated Omicron Variant Puts Scientists on Alert Researchers are racing to determine whether a fast-spreading coronavirus variant poses a threat to COVID vaccines' effectiveness By Ewen Callaway,Nature magazine

Evolution Humans Are Doomed to Go Extinct Habitat degradation, low genetic variation and declining fertility are setting Homo sapiens up for collapse  By Henry Gee

Evolution Redo of a Famous Experiment on the Origins of Life Reveals Critical Detail Missed for Decades The Miller-Urey experiment showed that the conditions of early Earth could be simulated in a glass flask. New research finds the flask itself played an under appreciated, though outsized role. By Sarah Vitak | 05:35

Sponsor Content Provided by AstraZeneca Meet the 2021 C2 Awards Honorees Redefining cancer care takes a community. The third annual Cancer Community Awards (or C2 Awards) celebrate the grassroots changemakers on the frontlines of cancer care. Meet this year's honorees and learn more at YourCancer.org

Neuroscience How Brains Seamlessly Switch Between Languages Bilingual people engage the same brain region that monolingual individuals use to put together words—even when combining different languages By Daisy Yuhas

Reproduction A Timeline of How Abortion Laws Could Affect Pregnancy Decisions If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade in a Mississippi abortion case, numerous state laws will interfere with key biological and social decisions during pregnancy By Sara Reardon

Vaccines The Benefits of Vaccinating Kids against COVID Far Outweigh the Risks of Myocarditis Vaccination is likely to prevent many more COVID cases than it is to cause a rare and nonfatal heart side effect in 5–11-year-olds By Tanya Lewis

Medicine The Importance of Spotting Cancer's Warning Signs Despite the vast resources aimed at finding ways to detect cancer early, more needs to be done By Lauren Gravitz

Astrophysics Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts Are Finally Coming into Focus Twenty years after their initial detection, enigmatic blasts from the sky are starting to deliver tentative answers, as well as plenty of science By Adam Mann

Cancer The COVID Cancer Effect Oncologists are grappling with predicting—and mitigating—the effects of the pandemic By Usha Lee McFarling

Extraterrestrial Life Life Is Complicated--Literally, Astrobiologists Say A new theory suggests that searches for molecular complexity could uncover convincing evidence of extraterrestrial life—and do so soon By Natalie Elliot

Computing What is 'The Cloud' and How Does it Pervade Our Lives? It governs a lot of your digital life these days, but the story of where it first materialized is likely deeper than you know.  By Michael Tabb,Jeffery DelViscio,Andrea Gawrylewski

Fitness Texting Thumb, Trigger Finger, Gamer's Thumb and Other Smartphone Injuries What causes them and how to protect yourself  By Carolyn Barber

FROM THE STORE Trailblazers: Women in Science Sally Ride, the first American woman to go to space, once said that she didn't set out to be a role model, but after her first flight, she realized that she was one. Like her, the 12 women scientists in this collection became unintentional heroes through perseverance and hard work, making great discoveries in all areas of science. From Vera Rubin's examination of the internal dynamics of galaxies to Nobel Prize winner May-Britt Moser's study of the brain's GPS-like navigating system, read up on the achievements of women who became role models for us all.

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BRING SCIENCE HOME Wild Winds: Turbulent Flow around Structures Energy-efficient: What sort of breeze makes wind turbines spin best? Learn how engineers pick the best places to generate wind energy in this fun science activity. Hold on to your hat! Credit: George Retseck Have you ever seen a wind turbine? Wind turbines are large towers with blades on top that are spun by the wind. They are one source of clean, renewable energy. They use the movement from the wind-spun blades to generate electricity. But in order for the turbines to work best, environmental engineers have to figure out where to put wind turbines so that they get the best exposure to steady, consistent winds. In this project you will play the role of an environmental engineer and figure out whether it is a good idea to put wind turbines near tall buildings.

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