Could We Force the Universe to Crash?

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August 10, 2020

Dear Reader, Are we living in a simulation? The proposition that the world is a sham is not new; it's been cropping up for thousands of years across different cultures, from China to ancient Greece. In our lead story, astronomer Caleb Scharf says the neatest test of the hypothesis would be to crash the system that runs our simulation. Next up, new research could let scientists co-opt biology's basic building block—the cell—to construct materials and structures within organisms. A study shows how to make specific cells produce electricity-carrying (or blocking) polymers on their surfaces. And lastly, a new film "Radioactive" celebrates Marie Curie's brilliance, it also reveals her courage as a female scientist struggling with the male-dominated scientific community.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement @sunyaaa

Space Could We Force the Universe to Crash? If we're all living in a simulation, as some have suggested, it would be a good, albeit risky, way to find out for sure By Caleb A. Scharf

Public Health How to Know If It's OK to Visit Your Favorite Store or Restaurant Public health experts offer tips for evaluating the risks of visiting public places during the COVID-19 pandemic By Julie Appleby,Kaiser Health News

Neuroscience Construction Process Builds Brain Circuits A novel technique turns brain cells into circuit components By Simon Makin

Physics The Film Radioactive Shows How Marie Curie Was a "Woman of the Future" A world-famous scientist is depicted with a nuance befitting both her achievements and her struggles By Cristine Russell

Climate The U.S. Needs to Address Its Climate Migration Problem With rising seas threatening coastal communities, federal watchdog warns the government's scattershot approach needs revising By Daniel Cusick,E&E News

Policy & Ethics The Dark Side of Being a Female Shark Researcher Being a scientist should not require developing the grit to continually endure misogyny, discrimination, harassment, assault or bullying By Catherine Macdonald

Environment Trying to Tame the Klamath River Filled It with Toxic Algae The Karuk tribe and its allies are working to undo damage from a century of river development By Jeremy Deaton,Nexus Media

EARTH How to Mine the Oceans Sustainably Deep-sea minerals including nickel, copper, manganese and cobalt are crucial to building clean-energy technologies By Michael W. Lodge

Public Health Blame Poverty, Not the Poor, for COVID-19's Spread in Brazil's Amazon In the state of Rondônia, social inequities give diseases a powerful boost By Kate Wong

Policy & Ethics Awareness of Our Biases Is Essential to Good Science Ideological, social and political values have always influenced research By Angela Potochnik

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FROM THE ARCHIVE Are We Living in a Computer Simulation? High-profile physicists and philosophers gathered to debate whether we are real or virtual—and what it means either way By Clara Moskowitz | April 2016

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