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Computing has changed everything. What next?
Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses the last century's extraordinary advances in computing, and what they might mean for the future
By Nancy Shute - Computing
Core memory weavers and Navajo women made the Apollo missions possible
The stories of the women who assembled integrated circuits and wove core memory for the Apollo missions remain largely unknown.
- Archaeology
The world’s oldest pants stitched together cultures from across Asia
A re-creation of a 3,000-year-old horseman’s trousers helped scientists unravel its complex origins.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
An anime convention in November was not an omicron superspreader event
Vaccines, ventilation and other safety measures probably prevented the variant’s spread at Anime NYC, reports suggest.
- Animals
How lizards keep detachable tails from falling off
A hierarchical structure of micropillars and nanopores allows the tail to break away when necessary while preventing it from easily detaching.
By Anna Gibbs - Archaeology
A technique borrowed from ecology hints at hundreds of lost medieval legends
An ecology-based statistical approach may provide a storybook ending for efforts to gauge ancient cultural diversity.
By Bruce Bower - Computing
Artificial intelligence challenges what it means to be creative
Computer programs can mimic famous artworks, but struggle with originality and lack self-awareness.
By Richard Moss - Oceans
Sunlight helps clean up oil spills in the ocean more than previously thought
Solar radiation dissolved as much as 17 percent of the surface oil slick spilled after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion, a new study suggests.
- Science & Society
Nudge theory’s popularity may block insights into improving society
Small interventions that influence people’s behavior can be tested. But the real world requires big, hard-to-measure changes too, scientists say.
By Sujata Gupta - Quantum Physics
‘From Data to Quanta’ defends Niels Bohr’s view of quantum mechanics
In his new book, philosopher Slobodan Perović corrects misconceptions about physicist Niels Bohr’s work.
- Health & Medicine
Chewing sugar-free gum reduced preterm births in a large study
Among 10,000 women in Malawi, those who chewed xylitol gum daily had fewer preterm births compared with women who didn’t chew the gum.
- Astronomy
How ‘hot Jupiters’ may get their weirdly tight orbits
Gravitational kicks from other planets and stars can send giant worlds into orbits that bring them close to their suns.
By Ken Croswell