The Mathematics of How Connections Become Global

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March 17, 2021

Math The Mathematics of How Connections Become Global Percolation theory illuminates the behavior of many kinds of networks, from cell-phone connections to disease transmission By Kelsey Houston-Edwards

Public Health Scarcity of COVID Shots Might Boost Demand among the Vaccine-Hesitant Willingness is rising, even among skeptical groups, at a time when there are still not enough doses to go around By Melba Newsome

Computing An IBM AI Debates Humans--but It's Not Yet the Deep Blue of Oratory The give-and-take of formal arguments is still outside of a machine's "comfort zone"—at least for now By Bret Stetka

Physics Why Does DNA Spontaneously Mutate? Quantum Physics Might Explain A phenomenon called proton tunneling could account for point mutations in strands of genetic material By Nicoletta Lanese,LiveScience

Environment Oceans May Emit More Ozone-depleting Gases Scientists warn of ultraviolet radiation and cancer risk By Valerie Yurk,E&E News

Behavior & Society Most People Don't Actively Seek to Share Fake News New research shows that subtly nudging people to think about accuracy increases the quality of the news they share By David Rand,Gordon Pennycook

Policy & Ethics Human Genetics Needs an Antiracism Plan The field began in part to support white supremacy—and it hasn't fully shaken off that shameful heritage  By Lea K. Davis

The Body Reproductive Problems in Both Men and Women Are Rising at an Alarming Rate A likely culprit is hormone-disrupting chemicals By Shanna H. Swan,Stacey Colino

Policy & Ethics Trans Girls Belong on Girls' Sports Teams There is no scientific case for excluding them By Jack Turban

Evolution Chimpanzees Show Altruism while Gathering around the Juice Fountain New research tries to tease out whether our closest animal relatives can be selfless By Mark Stratton | 04:56

FROM THE STORE Ask the Experts: Physics and Math Scientific American's  "Ask the Experts" column has been answering reader questions for nearly two decades. Now, we've combed through our archives and compiled some of the most interesting entries into a series of eBooks organized by subject. In the first of the series – Physics and Math – professors and researchers tackle a wide range of natural phenomena and mathematical concepts from what is antimatter to applications of game theory to what we know about tachyons.

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