There Is Nothing Normal about One Million People Dead from COVID

Sponsored by

    

February 11, 2022

Policy There Is Nothing Normal about One Million People Dead from COVID Mass media and policy makers are pushing for a return to pre-COVID times while trying to normalize a staggering death toll By Steven W. Thrasher

Quantum Physics 100 Years Ago, a Quantum Experiment Explained Why We Don't Fall through Our Chairs The basic concept of quantum spin provides an understanding of a vast range of physical phenomena By Davide Castelvecchi

Medicine COVID Smell Loss and Long COVID Linked to Inflammation Hamsters eating Cocoa Krispies reveal inflammation pathways from the olfactory system to the brain By Robin Lloyd

Sponsor Content Provided by PNAS PNAS Front Matter Dive into today’s stories of science in PNAS Front Matter and explore cutting-edge scientific trends, opinion pieces, in-depth news features, and more. Explore now.

Engineering Synthetic Enamel Could Make Teeth Stronger and Smarter Scientists say that the new material is even more durable than real dental enamel By Joanna Thompson

Quantum Physics Turbulence Equations Discovered after Century-Long Quest The formulas describe the complex behavior of a liquid when it meets a boundary By Rachel Crowell

Policy Facial Recognition Plan from IRS Raises Big Concerns Government agencies are tapping a facial recognition company to prove you’re you By James Hendler,The Conversation US

Electronics New Charging Technique Puts Crumbling Batteries Back Together The method could extend the lifetime of lithium-metal batteries by 30 percent, a new study suggests By Sophie Bushwick

Ecology Beaver Dams Help Wildfire-Ravaged Ecosystems Recover Long after Flames Subside Dams mop up debris that would otherwise kill fish and other downstream wildlife, new observations suggest By Isobel Whitcomb

Epidemiology How Sneezing Hamsters Sparked a COVID Outbreak in Hong Kong Hamsters are only the second species known to have spread SARS-CoV-2 to humans By Smriti Mallapaty,Nature magazine

Astronomy Possible Third Planet Spotted around Proxima Centauri, Our Sun's Nearest Neighbor Star Proxima d might be only a quarter the mass of Earth, potentially making it one of the smallest worlds yet discovered beyond our solar system By Mike Wall,SPACE.com

Defense Cyberattack Misinformation Could Be Plan for Ukraine Invasion A falsified video would be an update on the traditional use of propaganda campaigns during warfare By Sophie Bushwick

Animals Answering an Age Old Mystery: How do Birds Actually Fly? Equally surprising is the fact that we still do not know how birds actually stay airborne. By Emily Schwing | 06:14

Microbiology Omicron's Surprising Anatomy Explains Why It Is Wildly Contagious Specific mutations hide the COVID variant from the immune system and give it a new route into more cells By Megan Scudellari

FROM THE STORE Scientific American Mind, Volume 33, Issue 2

ADVERTISEMENT

BRING SCIENCE HOME Ears: Do Their Design, Size and Shape Matter? Animal ears come in all shapes and sizes. How do these design details affect hearing? Make replicas and test them out on your own ears--see if they give you super hearing!  Credit: George Retseck   Have you ever been puzzled by a faint noise nearby, trying to discover what it is? Maybe you turned your head or cupped your hand behind your ear, hoping to hear the sound better. What if we could make this cup huge? Some animals know the answer. Many animals with exceptional hearing have big ears. A serval (a type of African wildcat), for example, can hear a mouse wiggling its way underground. And bats, which rely on sound to help navigate in the dark, have notoriously large ears on their small heads. In this activity you will design and test your own earlike "hearing aids," looking at animal ears for clues about what helps improve the auditory sense.

LATEST ISSUES

Questions?   Comments?

Download the Scientific American App

To view this email as a web page, go here. You received this email because you opted-in to receive email from Scientific American. To ensure delivery please add news@email.scientificamerican.com to your address book. Unsubscribe     Manage Email Preferences     Privacy Policy     Contact Us