Summer on Mars: NASA's Perseverance Rover Is One of Three Missions Ready to Launch

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July 07, 2020

Dear Reader, More than 200 scientists have outlined evidence that they say shows the novel coronavirus can spread in tiny airborne particles, urging the World Health Organization to update its guidance. Read our story on what we already know about airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Also featured below is a piece on what makes the human brain special. In recent years, brain scans have started to show that it's the particular way neurons connect to one another. And in space news, three new missions are launching to Mars this summer—from the U.S., China, and United Arab Emirates—and at least one of them could reinvigorate interest in the search for life there. Check out our lead story to learn more.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement @sunyaaa

Space Summer on Mars: NASA's Perseverance Rover Is One of Three Missions Ready to Launch A new generation of orbiters, landers and rovers will study the Red Planet as never before, setting the stage for returning pristine samples to Earth By Jonathan O'Callaghan

Neuroscience How Human Brains Are Different: It Has a Lot to Do with the Connections Different mammals demonstrate common patterns in brain connections. But our own species has a few twists of its own By Michele Solis

Math The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle of Social Science Modeling It's known as the "curse of dimensionality," and it's why our estimates of how a disease will behave will always have imprecision By Ben Klemens

Environment More U.S. Homes Are at Risk of Repeat Flooding The significant growth in such properties has come despite billions spent to protect them By Thomas Frank,E&E News

Public Health How Coronavirus Spreads through the Air: What We Know So Far The virus that causes COVID-19 can persist in aerosol form, some studies suggest. But the potential for transmission depends on many factors, including infectiousness, dose and ventilation By Tanya Lewis

FROM THE STORE July 4th Flash Sale Celebrate July 4th with 25% savings on any subscription to Scientific American. Your purchase will support expert journalism. Use code JULY20 at checkout.

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FROM THE ARCHIVE To Beat a Computer at Chess, Prevent It from Learning Originally published in February 1950 | July 2020

QUOTE OF THE DAY "We're seeking signs of life, and that motivates a different suite of instruments." Ken Farley, project scientist for Perseverance at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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