Scientific American Magazine Vol 323 Issue 5

Scientific American

Volume 323, Issue 5

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Features

Solving the Mysteries of Ancient Plagues

DNA from bacteria and viruses, recovered from human remains, shows how pathogens helped to topple empires and change civilizations

Confronting Misinformation

How to protect society from fear, lies and division

How Do We Prevent War in Space?

There are defensive, offensive and diplomatic options for averting conflicts in orbit

Decoding a Disorder at the Interface of Mind and Brain

A mysterious condition once dismissed as hysteria is challenging the divide between neurology and psychiatry

Why So Many Americans Are Skeptical of a Coronavirus Vaccine

It’s not just “antiscience thinking”

How Birds Evolved Their Incredible Diversity

An analysis of 391 skulls shows that birds evolved surprisingly slowly, compared with their dinosaur forerunners

The 1918 Flu Faded in Our Collective Memory: We Might 'Forget' the Coronavirus, Too

The legacy of the 20th century’s deadliest pandemic shows how large groups remember—and forget—their shared past

Trolling for Truth on Social Media

What 1990s Internet protest movements share with today’s disinformation campaigns

When a Journalist Becomes a Disinformation Agent

Simulation games help newsrooms prepare for covering a chaotic election season

How to Get Through This Election

Stop arguing with people about what is true. Instead ask how they are voting

Eight Persistent COVID-19 Myths and Why People Believe Them

From a human-made virus to vaccine conspiracy theories, we rounded up the most insidious false claims about the pandemic

Departments

Advances
Earthshaking Signature 'Brawn Songs' and Movement, Developed over Time, Identify Seals
New Space Weather Network Extends over Africa
Metal-Breathing Bacteria Synthesize High-Tech Material
In Case You Missed It
Echolocation Drains Bats Traveling through Noise
Storm-Surfing Parasites Spread Widely
Neighborhood Wealth Dramatically Impacts Home Greenhouse Gas Emissions
New Pen-and-Ink Method Draws Health Sensors Directly on Skin
Cells Solve an English Hedge Maze with the Same Skills They Use to Traverse the Body
Anti Gravity
We Sometimes Missed the Boat--and Bridge
The Science of Health
Yoga May Bolster the Brain Regions Most Affected by Aging
Meter
Poem: The Noble Gases
Reviews
Early Maps of Geologic Strata, an Oliver Sacks Documentary and a New Science Podcast
From the Editor
Resist Misinformation, Watch Birds and Remember Plagues
Letters
Readers Respond to the July 2020 Issue
The Science Agenda
Repairing Earth once the Pandemic Is Over
Observatory
Scientists Failed to Use Common Sense Early in the Pandemic
50, 100 & 150 Years Ago
50, 100 & 150 Years Ago: November 2020
Graphic Science
Flu Season Never Came to the Southern Hemisphere
Forum
A Diplomatic Appointment Goes to a Man with the Wrong Kind of Experience