Meet a terrifying robot fish

Plus: Quantum physics and imaginary numbers, why the delta variant took over 2021, and more

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12/19/2021 Hello readers, We're making some changes at Science News to give you more newsletter options. The last Editors' Picks newsletter will land in your inbox on December 26. Look forward to new topic-specific e-mails, written newsletters and other options in 2022. In the meantime, we'll continue to update you with all our latest science headlines every Thursday. As always, feel free to drop us a line at feedback@sciencenews.org. Thank you for reading Editors' Picks. Neandertals were the first hominids to turn forest into grassland 125,000 years ago Neandertals’ campfires, hunting and other activities altered the land over 2,000 years, making them the first known hominids to impact their environs. Read More COVID-19 testing is complicated right now. Here are answers to 6 big questions There are two major categories of COVID-19 diagnostic tests. Here’s what you need to know when deciding whether to take an at-home test or head to the doctor. Read More Quantum physics requires imaginary numbers to explain reality Quantum theory based only on real numbers fails to explain the results of two new experiments. Read More How sleep may boost creativity In a lab experiment, people who had fallen into a shallow sleep were more likely than non- or deep sleepers to later discover a sly math trick. Read More How a warming climate may make winter tornadoes stronger A climate simulation suggests that higher winter temperatures could make twisters more powerful. Read More Science News is a nonprofit. We depend on our readers to support our journalism. You can help by subscribing for as little as $25. SUBSCRIBE NOW The cosmic ‘Cow’ may have produced a new neutron star or black hole A bright, mysterious blast of extragalactic light appears to have spawned a small, compact object. Read More Why the coronavirus’s delta variant dominated 2021 Mapping delta’s unique group of mutations and how they enhance the virus’s life cycle show why the variant spread so easily and caused so much havoc. Read More A bacteria-virus arms race could lead to a new way to treat shigellosis As bacteria that cause shigellosis evolve to escape a virus, the microbes may become less deadly, a hopeful sign for “phage therapy.” Read More The Parker Solar Probe is the first spacecraft to visit the sun’s atmosphere The NASA spacecraft crossed a boundary between the sun’s atmosphere and interplanetary space that has been predicted for decades but never observed.   Read More A terrifying robot can thwart invasive mosquito fish A robot designed to mimic a natural predator of mosquito fish can impair the survival and reproduction of this costly invasive species.   Read More Privacy policy  |  Update Profile  | Manage Subscriptions  |   Unsubscribe This email was sent by: Society for Science 1719 N Street NW Washington, DC, 20036, US