Physicists Probe Validity of Einstein's Gravity on Cosmic Scales

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January 21, 2020

Dear Reader, Despite the extraordinary success of Einstein's theory of general relativity, physicists still wonder if it might someday face the same fate as Newton's law. As Tom Siegfried writes in our main story, there is no guarantee that general relativity reigns over the entire expanse of the cosmos. He shares several rival theories that have been proposed in recent decades. Also, researchers are trying to develop environmentally-friendly fridges using twistable fibers. And existing drugs to treat diseases ranging from diabetes to alcoholism could also work against cancer, according to a new study.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement @sunyaaa

Physics Physicists Probe Validity of Einstein's Gravity on Cosmic Scales New tests could verify the general theory of relativity, or find flaws By Tom Siegfried,Knowable Magazine

Engineering A Simple Twist of Thermodynamics Could Lead to Greener Refrigeration Fibers that become colder when they are untwisted could inspire more environmentally-friendly fridges By Sophie Bushwick

Medicine Old Drug, New Tricks: Existing Medicines Show Promise in Fighting Cancer Dozens of compounds approved for other purposes can kill cancer cells selectively By Jim Daley

Public Health WHO Calls for Emergency Meeting as Chinese Virus Spreads to Health Care Workers The new coronavirus has sickened people in several countries, and there has been at least one confirmed case of human-to-human transmission By Helen Branswell,STAT

Medicine The Unexpected Diversity of Pain It comes in many types that each require specialized treatment, and scientists are learning to diagnose different varieties By Amber Dance,Knowable Magazine

Climate Past Racist "Redlining" Practices Increased Climate Burden on Minority Neighborhoods Such areas face a disproportionate risk of heat-related impacts and exposure to air pollution By Daniel Cusick,E&E News

FROM THE STORE Ask the Experts: Chemistry In this installment of the Ask the Experts series, Chemistry, our professors, scientists and researchers tackle reader questions about the substances that compose all matter, their properties and how they interact and change. Queries range from elementary questions, such as why some elements change color over a flame, to how chemistry works in everyday life to how certain substances affect the body and more.

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FROM THE ARCHIVE Martin Luther King Jr.'s Haunting Reflections on Science and Progress King's warning in 1964 that moral progress lags far behind scientific and technological progress remains as relevant as ever. By John Horgan

QUOTE OF THE DAY "To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "The Purpose of Education," 1947

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