Astronomers May Have Captured the First Ever Image of Nearby Exoplanet Proxima C

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April 21, 2020

Dear Reader, Astronomers say they might have managed to see exoplanet Proxima c for the first time. If the detection is confirmed, it would have profound implications for our understanding of our nearest neighboring planetary system. Read today's lead story for more details. Other articles featured in this roundup: a new device fits on rooftops and harvests wind energy; how inland areas can prepare for larger and less predictable hurricanes; and RNA sequencing is providing a new picture of cancer that might open possibilities for novel treatments.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement @sunyaaa

Space Astronomers May Have Captured the First Ever Image of Nearby Exoplanet Proxima C It could be an unprecedented view of a world in the closest planetary system to our own, but uncertainties aplenty remain By Jonathan O'Callaghan

Biology Close-Up Views of Tumors Reveal a New Cancer Biology RNA sequencing has shown a previously unknown dimension to the way malignant cells work—which could lead to novel treatments By Philip Ball

Energy The Force That Makes Planes Fly Could Fuel Rooftop Wind Power A new device could open more areas to wind production by using stationary airfoils instead of twirling turbines By Andrea Thompson

Space This Black-Hole Collision Just Made Gravitational Waves Even More Interesting An unprecedented signal from unevenly sized objects gives astronomers rare insight into how black holes spin By Davide Castelvecchi,Nature magazine

Natural Disasters Inland Areas Need to Prepare for Expanding Reach of Hurricanes Improved emergency planning and stronger building codes could help avoid costly surprises By John Fialka,E&E News

Behavior & Society The Right Way to Talk across Divides "Conversational receptiveness" can be learned By Francesca Gino,Julia Minson,Mike Yeomans

Public Health Health Care Workers Are Scared, Sad, Exhausted—and Angry Leaders from hospital administrators to the president have failed them and betrayed their trust By Kunmi Sobowale

Behavior & Society How Shared Memory Has Shaped the COVID-19 Response A nation's prior experience with similar disasters can make a big difference By Alex Long

Public Health The Next Public Health Crisis: Mass Unemployment Poor access to health insurance will afflict patients, health systems and states

Environment Air Pollution, COVID-19 and Earth Day The Trump Administration wants to scale back on Clean Air Act enforcement—even as we learn that places with more pollution have more coronavirus deaths

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FROM THE ARCHIVE The Curious Case of Proxima C Astronomers continue to gather evidence for a second world around the sun's nearest neighboring star By Lee Billings | January 2020

QUOTE OF THE DAY "If this is true, it's very exciting." Anglada-Escudé, astronomer who led the discovery of Proxima b in 2016

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