August 30, 2024: We're covering the spread of Mpox, how AI might increase air travel safety and newly discovered benefits of spending on experiences. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | | Monkeypox virus particles (shown in this colored electron micrograph) can spread through close contact with people and animals. NIAID/Alamy Live News | | | A Concerning Spread of Mpox | This month, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that mpox, the disease caused by the monkeypox virus, is a public-health emergency. The move came in response to reports of a rapidly spreading form of the virus in Central Africa. Nearly 18,000 cases of mpox and some 600 deaths have been reported this year in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), reports freelance biomedical journalist Sara Reardon. The form of the virus that's currently spreading fast, called clade 1b, is transmitted through human contact rather than contact with wild animals, heightening concerns among public health workers.
Why this matters: At this point, two strains of monkeypox virus, clade 1b and clade 1a, are circulating in Central Africa, complicating questions about its lethality and the effectiveness of vaccines that could curb the monkeypox outbreaks. Mpox infections and deaths are particularly high among children.
What's next: Vaccines donated by Japan, the U.S., the European Union and others have yet to arrive in Africa. Once they arrive, low- and middle-income nations must await WHO approval to distribute them, following the agency's evaluation of their safety and effectiveness. | | | Cracks in the materials that make up airplanes, bridges and other structures are drawing the attention of mathematicians. They are refining computer simulations to predict the strength of infrastructure, writes mathematician Manil Suri. These simulations can help prevent catastrophic failures of structures. As the U.S. embarks on a massive effort to make its infrastructure more reliable, Suri lays out the analytic approach, called the finite element (FE) method, underlying these simulations. He also discusses the potential for AI to open up FE modeling for users with less technical expertise or even supplant it.
Why it matters: The count of airplane accidents caused by metal fatigue has been rising for years. For instance, a fan blade rupture in an airplane engine in 2018 led to a cabin decompression that sucked a passenger halfway out a window. Properly performed, simulations are far less expensive and more feasible than physical tests of a structure's cracking and failure risks.
What the experts say: "The prospect of human expertise and supervision dwindling in the future should be … a wake-up call. Dependable safeguards for reliability need to be built in if we are to trust the simulation results AI delivers. Such safeguards are already available thanks to mathematical advances. We need to incorporate them into all aspects of numerical simulation to keep aviation and other engineering endeavors safe in an increasingly challenging world," Suri writes. | | | • It's widely accepted by now that more happiness derives from spending spare money on experiences such as travel and outdoor recreation than it does from buying clothing, electronics or other material things. In a series of experiments, psychology and marketing researcher Amit Kumar and colleagues have taken the finding farther. They've discovered that such experiential spending also is better than spending money on material things at bringing people together and giving us a sense of social connection with humanity. | 4 min read | | | • Do you know the answer to the first question of today's science quiz? Also, don't miss today's Spellements, and if you spot any science words that are missing from the puzzle, email them to games@sciam.com. This week, readers D.G., John and BD Colahan of Bloemfontein, South Africa, all found alate. Nice work, all! | | | MOST POPULAR STORIES OF THE WEEK | | | • 'Corn sweat' and climate change bring sweltering weather to the Midwest. | 5 min read | • Brain scientists finally discover the glue that makes memories stick for a lifetime. | 6 min read | • 'Sloth fever' virus is spreading. Here's what you need to know about Oropouche. | 5 min read | | | • If you relax at a beach this weekend, you might wonder where all that sand comes from. The short answer is mountains. Earth and space scientist David R. Montgomery traces the trek made by a grain of sand and notes insights one can draw from the sizes and shapes of grains. | 3 min read | • Summer nights can bring inviting weather for skywatching, which brings to mind the Carl Sagan aphorism that there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all of Earth's beaches. Science communicator and astronomer Phil Plait looks into the math and … he has questions. | 5 min read | | | You might have seen false reports that a female "Fight Club" movie is in the works. For better or for worse, those reports, I repeat, are false, according to journalist and film critic Stephen Silver. But thanks to Tina Fey, a female fight club already has aired on the small screen. Check out the "Jackie Jormp Jomp" episode of "30 Rock" to watch Elizabeth Marvel steal the show from Fey, whose "Liz Lemon" character has been suspended from her job. Happy Labor Day weekend!
| I hope that you have the opportunity to savor this holiday weekend. Please send any comments, questions or favorite workplace spoofs our way: newsletters@sciam.com. | —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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