How Iran Can Still Use Cyber and Drone Technology to Attack the U.S.

January 09, 2020

How Iran Can Still Use Cyber and Drone Technology to Attack the U.S.

View all Scientific American publications.

January 09, 2020

Dear Reader,

Months after a fire destroyed large sections of Notre Dame Cathedral, scientists are embarking on an unprecedented effort to study the iconic building and gain a better understanding of how it was constructed. Also, a recently unveiled model of a new drone hints at the use of a guidance technique called active flow control, which could make aircraft stealthier. And in our lead story, Technology Editor Sophie Bushwick discusses Iran's arsenal of cyberattacks and precision-guided weapons in a Q&A with Chris Meserole, a fellow in foreign policy and expert in AI and emerging technology at the Brookings Institution.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement
@sunyaaa

Engineering

How Iran Can Still Use Cyber and Drone Technology to Attack the U.S.

Cyberattacks and missile launches have already happened

By Sophie Bushwick

Medicine

Combining Multiple Antibiotics May Make Bacteria More Likely to Develop Resistance

Once pathogens become tolerant of one drug, they are more likely to become resilient against others, a clinical study finds

By Karen Weintraub

Engineering

The Next DARPA X-Plane Won't Maneuver like Any Plane Before It

The challenge is to build an airplane without moving control surfaces

By Eric Tegler

Engineering

A Huge Scientific Effort Is Studying Notre Dame's Ashes

Researchers are making use of an unprecedented opportunity to study the cathedral's innards

By Philip Ball,Nature magazine

Conservation

Why Are America's Black-Footed Ferrets Disappearing?

Despite some success, the species remains threatened in the U.S. West. Biologists are trying to understand why

By Elizabeth Miller,Undark

Public Health

WHO Says Mysterious Illness in China Likely Being Caused By New Virus

The virus behind an outbreak that has sickened at least 59 people in Wuhan is thought to be a type of coronavirus, the family that includes SARS and MERS

By Helen Branswell,STAT

FROM THE STORE

Playing Politics: The Science of Elections

Politics makes strange bedfellows, and that becomes even more apparent when trying to analyze the science of politics. Pulling from an array of disciplines including social science, behavioral science and mathematics, this eBook analyzes key factors in the process of electing a leader.