2020 Will Rival 2016 for Hottest Year on Record

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December 15, 2020

Dear Reader, With less than a month left in the year, 2020 is extremely close to claiming the title of hottest year in recorded history. The feverish heat is an important marker of the power of the long-term warming trend driven by human activities that emit greenhouse gases. Next, a hacking campaign has gained access to private information from a number of government and industry organizations. Also featured in today's roundup is a story on why talking is better for building social connections than texting. And lastly, check out the latest piece from our new series on kidney disease.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement @sunyaaa

Climate 2020 Will Rival 2016 for Hottest Year on Record It is virtually certain to be at least the second-hottest in the books By Andrea Thompson

Computing Giant U.S. Computer Security Breach Exploited Very Common Software A cybersecurity expert explains how hackers used SolarWinds to steal information from government and industry organizations By Sophie Bushwick

Behavior & Society For a Better Connection, Talk instead of Typing The phone is not as awkward as you think, and you may have a more satisfying interaction By Amit Kumar

Medicine Should Your Kidney Doctor Have a Financial Stake in Dialysis? Joint ventures between nephrologists and dialysis centers have expanded treatment. Critics ask: At what cost? By Carrie Arnold,Larry C. Price

Environment Light Pollution Is Causing Birds to Nest Earlier--Which Might Not Be a Bad Thing Earlier nesting may help birds adjust to the effects of climate change By Drew Higgins

Physics Quantum Mechanics, the Mind-Body Problem and Negative Theology Scientists and philosophers should keep trying to solve reality's deepest riddles while accepting that they are unsolvable By John Horgan

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FROM THE ARCHIVE Heat and Humidity Are Already Reaching the Limits of Human Tolerance Events with extreme temperatures and humidity are occurring twice as often now as they were 40 years ago By Andrea Thompson | May 2020

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