How Scientists Solved One of the Greatest Open Questions in Quantum Physics

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August 11, 2020

Dear Reader, Here's a preview of what's featured in today's roundup: The quest to solve one of the greatest open questions in physics: How can a quantum phenomenon become macroscopic? A study found that in areas with lower socioeconomic status, corn-fed animal proteins, which are often found in fast food, were more common than plant proteins in the average diet. Indigenous people in the Brazilian Amazon with full ownership rights over their land saw a two-thirds decrease in the rate of deforestation on their land in the world's most important rainforest.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement @sunyaaa

Physics How Scientists Solved One of the Greatest Open Questions in Quantum Physics The story of a macroscopic quantum system and a mathematical odyssey By Spyridon Michalakis

Public Health Trash-Collecting Researchers Find Dietary Patterns in Discarded Hair Clippings People in low-income neighborhoods eat more proteins from animals and less of them from vegetables, a study suggests By Bret Stetka

Neuroscience Cracking the Neural Code with Phantom Smells Scientists used light to evoke an odor directly in a mouse brain—no nose involved By Jason Castro

Environment Amazon Deforestation Falls Where Land Is Under Indigenous Control President Jair Bolsonaro's government, meanwhile, has worked to erode Indigenous protections and ownership By Jean Chemnick,E&E News

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

Policy & Ethics Why Hasn't Africa Gone Digital? One major reason is a lack of reliable, affordable electricity By Rose Mutiso,Katie Hill

Space Dark Frontiers: The Science of Black Holes How massive can black holes become? How do astronomers typically observe them? How do they die? Scientific American presents a conversation about these mysterious cosmic phenomena with Yale University astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan. By Priyamvada Natarajan,Lee Billings

FROM THE STORE Scientific American Space & Physics For $19.99 per year, your subscription includes six bi-monthly digital issues and every digital Space & Physics issue ever published!

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