Scientific American 2022 05.pdf

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MAY 2022
SCIENTIFICAMERICAN.COM
How
Birds Hear
Birdsong
Why Omicron
Spread across
the World
Life Lessons
from the
Amazon
THE KEY TO
QUANTUM
COMPUTING
New techniques aim to fix physics errors fast
M ay 2 0 2 2
VO LU M E 3 2 6 , N U M B E R 5
70
Q UA N T U M C O M P U T I N G
V I R O LO G Y
28 Errors in the Machine
The same physics that makes
quantum computers powerful
also makes them finicky. New
techniques aim to correct errors
faster than they can build up.
By Zaira Nazario
A N I M A L B E H AV I O R
58 Evasive Anatomy
The Omicron coronavirus
variant had specific mutations
that hid it from the immune
system. That helped make it
wildly contagious.
By Megan Scudellari
B I O LO G Y
36 How Birds Hear Birdsong
Studies suggest that they pay
more attention to fine acoustic
details that humans cannot hear
than to the melodies that
captivate us.
By Adam Fishbein
E C O LO G Y
62 Parasites Lost
Body-invading organisms
play an outsize role in nature.
Do some deserve protection?
By Rachel Nuwer
A N T H R O P O LO G Y
44 Bold Experiments
in Fish Farming
In coastal Maine, scientists
are cleaning up aquaculture’s
dirty reputation and trying to
save a threatened economy—
but not without controversy.
By Ellen Ruppel Shell
70 Designing for Life
An Indigenous community
in the Amazon basin is
showing the world how
to live with, rather than
off, nature.
By Carolina Schneider
Comandulli, with the
Apiwtxa Association
ON THE C OVE R
Quantum computers aim to outclass classical
machines, but they can only do that if scientists
can keep errors in check. Enter quantum error
correction codes. These connect quantum bits,
or qubits, with “helper” qubits, which keep noise
away from where data are stored. The strategy
is promising but presents many challenges.
Photograph by IBM Research.
Photograph by André Dib
May 2022, ScientificAmerican.com
1
4 From the Editor
6 Letters
8 Science Agenda
Cryptocurrencies and NFTs are gaining in popularity.
But without oversight, it’s buyer beware.
By the Editors
10 Forum
Greater inclusivity in science is driving
the awareness that female birds sing, too.
By Lauryn Benedict and Matt Wilkins
8
12 Advances
AI’s triumph in a realistic racing game. Learning
languages like a child. Hundreds of viruses surfing on
pollen. Why sponges are so good at growing bacteria.
24 Meter
The poetry of wind energy connects a mother and son.
By Barbara Quick
26 The Science of Health
New antiobesity drugs show promise—but are costly
and require a lifetime of use.
By Claudia Wallis
84 Mind Matters
12
People think others view them quite harshly,
but that is rarely the case.
By Anna Bruk
86 Recommended
Inside an Arctic research expedition. Natural history
of fragrance. Essays on places in peril. A ghostwriter
on a trippy mission.
By Amy Brady
88 Observatory
Scientists must stop using intellectual attainment
to excuse abusive behavior.
By Naomi Oreskes
90 50, 100 & 150 Years Ago
By Mark Fischetti
92 Graphic Science
84
Plotting the global outlook for coral reefs.
By Katie Peek
Scientific American (ISSN 0036-8733), Volume 326, Number 5, May 2022, published monthly by Scientific American, a division of Springer Nature America, Inc., 1 New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, N.Y. 10004-
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Scientific American, May 2022

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