In a First, Physicists Glimpse a Quantum Ghost

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December 10, 2021

Quantum Physics In a First, Physicists Glimpse a Quantum Ghost After a decade of work, researchers have achieved the first ever experimental reconstruction of a quantum wave function By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Epidemiology How the Omicron Variant Got So Many Scary Mutations So Quickly The numerous changes in the coronavirus's spike protein could have arisen in an isolated population or an immunocompromised person—or animals By Sarah Wild

Archaeology Pompeii's Ruins to Be Reconstructed by Robot An ambitious project is underway to develop a robot with enough smarts, strength and sensitivity to restore fragmented archaeological remains By Jen Pinkowski

Weather Flooding Rains--and Blizzard Conditions--Hit Hawaii A moisture-laden weather system called a kona low is pummeling the island chain By Daniel Cusick,E&E News

Public Health COVID Variants Hint at How the Virus Will Evolve The rapid spread of new variants such as Omicron offers clues to how SARS-CoV-2 is adapting and how the pandemic will play out over the next several months By Ewen Callaway,Nature magazine

Climate Change As Arctic Sea Ice Melts, Killer Whales Are Moving In Underwater recorders have picked up the sounds of orcas in places they haven't previously been detected By Chelsea Harvey,E&E News

Behavior This Protein Could Boost Brain Function without Exercise An exercise pill might one day produce health gains without the exertional pain By Emily Willingham

Astronomy NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Is Fueled for Late December Launch After some two decades of development, the orbital observatory is set to at last reach space on December 22 By Chelsea Gohd,SPACE.com

Aerospace Sustainable Aviation Fuel Aces Helicopter and Plane Flight Tests The biofuel, made from used cooking oil, could help the aviation industry cut climate-threatening carbon emissions By Dhananjay Khadilkar

Vaccines How Scientists Can Update COVID Vaccines against Omicron A microbiologist explains how Pfizer and Moderna would rapidly adjust mRNA vaccines By Deborah Fuller,The Conversation US

Culture Nonfiction Is Cool, and Our Kids Know It Changes in publishing have altered this genre for the better, so put some books on your holiday list By Amanda Baker

Vaccines Boosters Can Help End the COVID Pandemic The extra shot doesn't mean that vaccines are ineffective; our bodies just need a reminder By Hayley A. Gans,Yvonne A. Maldonado

FROM THE STORE Special Editions Volume 30, Issue 5s

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BRING SCIENCE HOME Circular Reasoning: Finding Pi Can you uncover a useful mathematical formula with just a few household objects and some ribbon? It's easier than you think. In fact, we would wager a slice of pi that you can! Credit: George Retseck Mathematicians get excited about the discovery of mathematical relationships. They look at the world around them in terms of numbers, formulas and equations. Mathematics is fun and practical, too. It comes in handy when calculating how long you need to save your allowance before you can buy a new game. You use math to double or triple a recipe or to calculate how late you can leave your house and still get to school on time, too. You can also use it to predict the size of things—on a page or in the real world. In this science activity you will examine circular objects and see what relationships you can discover about their sizes. You will explore whether the circumference of a circle relates in a particular way to its diameter. As you explore the relationship, you might be surprised at how useful the results can be; maybe it will inspire you to save up for a bigger bike!

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