March 13, 2025: U.S birds are in trouble. Plus, what does a mummy smell like? And a new claim of quantum computing supremacy. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | D-Wave's Advantage2 quantum processor. D-Wave Quantum Inc. | | | • D-Wave, a Canada-based tech firm, made a scientific and stock-market splash yesterday with its declaration of a breakthrough in quantum computing, but for some experts the company's claims
are landing with a thud. | 4 min read | | | • Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin outlined an aggressive plan to dismantle climate regulation at the agency. | 5 min read | | | • A Ukraine ceasefire deal relies on critical minerals in demand around the world for military, technological and other uses. A geoscientist shares what's known about Ukraine's reserves, which could help the country recover from war. | 5 min read | | | A Greater Prairie Chicken displaying in the spring.Steve Oehlenschlager/Getty Images | | | A new report by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative analyzed population trends for more than 700 bird species across the U.S. Researchers included data from crowdsourced bird spotting apps like eBird to track species distribution. They identified 229 bird species that are of high or moderate conservation concern. Birds that rely on very niche ecosystems like grasslands or arid landscapes, for example, are doing quite poorly, with populations decreasing by more than 40 percent since 1970.
Why this matters: Bird populations have been falling for decades. A 2019 report found that the U.S. had some three billion fewer birds than in 1970. The latest report cited a separate conservation initiative called Road to Recovery that has placed 42 U.S. bird species on "red alert" (including the Greater Prairie Chicken above).
What can be done: Preserving habitat is key. Financial incentives like the Conservation Reserve Program pay farmers to leave environmentally-fragile land untouched (which keeps habitats available for birds). The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, one of the nation's oldest environmental laws, protects birds from being hunted, or otherwise killed, or sold. In recent years the law has been applied to companies (like oil companies) that damage birds' habitats (the Trump administration will likely scrap this application). Under the Urban Bird Treaty, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works with U.S. cities to help preserve vital habitats for birds (trees and brush) and reduce hazards for birds (lights and high wires). | | | A selection of the mummified bodies in the exhibition area of the Egyptian museum in Cairo. Emma Paolin | Long-dead bodies from Ancient Egypt sport fragrances not unlike modern high-end perfumes: aged linen, pine resin and citrus oils—with just a whiff of pest repellent. Trained "sniffers" from Slovenia and Egypt smelled nine different mummies at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, describing the smells as "sweet," "woody" or "spicy."
Why this is interesting: Social class may have played a huge role in the quality and persistence of mummy smells in Ancient Egypt. Individuals with higher social status would have been mummified with more pleasant or more intensely smelling natural extracts. For example, the bodies of pharaohs and other elites were treated with fresh natural salts and resins derived from expensive herbs, whereas the same salts were used over and over to preserve poorer people.
What the experts say: "Smell" is surprisingly absent from our interactions with past societies. Identifying which chemicals constitute mummy smells will allow scientists to reconstruct these ancient scents for both researchers and museum visitors. Mummy perfumes could even be coming to museum shops. "Everyone would like to smell like ancient Egyptians: sweet, woody and spicy," jokes Abdelrazek Elnaggar, study co-author and professor of cultural heritage studies at Ain Shams University in Egypt. "What we'd like to do now is to share our experience with museum visitors so they can enjoy it in exhibition—and even take it home!" —Gayoung Lee, news intern
| | | Are you enjoying this newsletter? Consider supporting the vital science journalism we do with a subscription to Scientific American. Special discounts are available for Today in Science readers!
| | | • Many boys and men report feeling pressured to be stereotypically masculine. "Pressure is the antithesis of autonomy—or the basic human need to act in line with one's true self," writes Adam Stanaland, an assistant professor of social psychology at the University of Richmond. "This is why acting out manliness for pressured reasons leads to 'fragile' masculine identities," he says. In his research he has found that "pressure to be a certain kind of masculine leads to aggressive thoughts and feelings, especially among adolescent boys and young adult men who are in throes of forming an identity." | 6 min read | | | Tuesday the butterflies were in trouble. Today it's the birds. Individuals can make changes that help keep birds alive, and some tactics you might never have thought of before. For example, many songbirds that summer in North America spend their winters in coffee plantations in South and Central America. Look for bird-friendly shade-grown coffee, certified by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Consider installing window tape to prevent birds from colliding with your home, and keep your cats inside (cats kill some 2.6 billion birds a year). Find more great tips at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. | I know a lot of us in this community are bird lovers. What are your tips to other readers for helping birds? Send them to: newsletters@sciam.com. Until tomorrow! | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
One New York Plaza, New York, NY, 10004 | | | | | | Support our mission, subscribe to Scientific American | | | | | | | | | |
