Scientific American Special Edition 2023 Winter.pdf

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SPECIAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION
PLUS
UNSOLVED
SCIENTIFIC
MYSTERIES
Discov
eries t
hat
are ch
anging
our
under
standi
ng of t
he wo
rld, fro
INCLUDING
m
How the
brain makes
reality
Dinosaurs’
true colors
biolog
y to ph
ysics
Origin of
the universe
in question
Violent
collisions
created our
solar system
© 2023 Scientific American
The truth
about human
metabolism
Viking
women’s
crucial role
in ancient
economy
WINTER 2023
FROM THE EDITOR
ESTABLISHED 1845
Revolutionary Science
is published by the staff of
Scientific American, with
project management by:
Editor in Chief:
Laura Helmuth
Managing Editor:
Jeanna Bryner
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Science Out of the Box
On balance, science tends to
follow a slow
and incremental path: new observations build
on previous findings, often over many years,
contributing piecemeal to a larger body of
knowledge. But every now and then, insights
arise that can dramatically accelerate our un-
derstanding of a given subject or take the field
in unexpected directions. In this special edi-
tion, we’ve rounded up just these kinds of ad-
vances—what Thomas  S. Kuhn called “para-
digm shifts” in his 1962 book
The Structure of
Scientific Revolutions.
You’ll see in this anthology that revolution-
ary discoveries can happen in nearly every
field. In biology and evolution, researchers
have uncovered a remarkable sense of magne-
tism within birds’ eyes that they use to navi-
gate during migrations (
page  4
). Dinosaurs,
long thought of and depicted as impressive but
drab-looking creatures, in fact weren’t drab at
all—research on fossilized melanin cells shows that dinosaurs were feathered in bright col-
ors; some even sported dots and stripes (
page  10
). In human history, archaeologists are
amending their assumptions about the economic roles that women played in Viking and
medieval society, based on recent analyses of North Atlantic textiles (
page 26
).
In cosmology, data from
nasa
’s transformative new observatory—the James Webb Space
Telescope—threaten to upend astrophysicists’ narrative about how the universe formed
(
page  42
), and physicists have devised some astounding ideas about entangled black holes
that will help explain an almost century-old paradox (
page  52
). Current views suggest that
even our solar system did not establish itself slowly, as was long thought, but was born of a
violent blur of impacts and destruction (
page 34
). All of which is confounded by the possibil-
ity that what we “see” out in space may not actually be there, in the quantum sense (
page 60
).
Major advances in our understanding of our own minds and bodies are just as striking.
Trauma from events experienced during pregnancy can be passed down to children, evi-
denced in genetic changes (
page 72
). Evolutionary anthropologist Herman Pontzer and his
colleagues have painstakingly gathered surprising information about metabolism and how
our bodies burn calories (
page  66
). And the mRNA vaccine technologies developed during
the COVID pandemic are poised to revolutionize treatment for a slew of diseases, from her-
pes simplex virus 2 to norovirus and rabies, to name a few (
page 78
).
One of my graduate school advisers used to say that what humans Know (capital “K”) is
infinitesimal compared with what is knowable in the universe. In that spirit, we also pre-
sent a sample of some of the most fascinating unanswered questions, from the enduring
mystery of how human consciousness arises (
page 104
) to a growing debate over the very
nature of the cosmos (
page 88
).
Some of the most astonishing findings collected here are those where conventional sci-
entific practice went out the window. As lichenologist Toby Spribille tells reporter Erica Gies
in the story on page 18, “You have this culture of prepared minds that makes it extremely dif-
ficult to think outside the box. It creates the box.” Indeed, the beauty of scientific inquiry is
that when we quickly leapfrog the pace of discovery—or take our explorations in totally novel
directions—we uncover an entirely new way of thinking. Here’s to breaking the box.
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SCIENTIFICAMERICAN.COM
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© 2023 Scientific American
SPECIAL EDITION
Volume 32, Number 1, Winter 2023
BIOLOGY & EVOLUTION
4
The Quantum Nature of Bird Migration
Migratory birds travel vast distances between their
breeding and wintering grounds. Recent research
hints at  the biophysical underpinnings of their internal
navigation system.
By Peter J. Hore and Henrik Mouritsen
72
Trauma in the Family Tree
Parents’ adverse experiences leave biological traces
in  children.
By Rachel Yehuda
78
Messenger RNA Therapies Finally Arrive
Instructing our cells to make specific proteins could
control influenza, autoimmune diseases, even cancer.
By Drew Weissman
10
The True Colors of Dinosaurs
Long thought impossible, preservation of fossil
pigments is allowing scientists to reconstruct extinct
organisms with unprecedented accuracy—a feat that
is  yielding surprising insights into the lives they led.
By Jakob Vinther
80
Constructing the World from Inside Out
The brain probes your physical surroundings to select
just the information needed to survive and flourish.
By György Buzsáki
18
The Meaning of Lichen
How a naturalist’s observations in the wilds of
British Columbia inspired a scientist to discover
hidden symbioses—overturning 150 years of accepted
scientific wisdom.
By Erica Gies
UNSOLVED QUESTIONS
88
Twin Tensions
A debate over conflicting measurements of
key cosmological properties is poised to shape
the next decade of astronomy and astrophysics.
By Anil Ananthaswamy
26
The Power of Viking Women
Analyses of ancient North Atlantic textiles show that
Viking and medieval women wielded considerable
cultural and economic influence.
By Francine Russo
94
Wonder of the Ancient World
Scientists have revealed intriguing details
about the complex gearing of the Antikythera
mechanism of  ancient Greece.
By Tony Freeth
SPACE & PHYSICS
34
Solar System Smashup
Our neighborhood of planets was not created slowly,
as  scientists once thought, but in a speedy blur
of high-energy crashes, destruction and rebuilding.
By Linda T. Elkins-Tanton
104
Our Inner Universes
Reality is constructed by the brain, and
no two brains are exactly alike.
By Anil K. Seth
110
Long Haulers and Chronic Illnesses
Millions of Americans have long COVID—
and we are not prepared to manage the crisis.
By Meghan O’Rourke
42
Breaking Cosmology
JWST’s first images include unimaginably distant
galaxies that challenge theories of how quickly these
structures can form.
By Jonathan O’Callaghan
52
Black Holes, Wormholes and Entanglement
Researchers cracked a paradox by considering what
happens when the insides of black holes are connected
by spacetime wormholes.
By Ahmed Almheiri
DEPARTMENTS
1
FROM THE EDITOR
Science Out of the Box
112
END NOTE
Sleeping Beauties of Science
Some of the best research can slumber for years.
By Amber Williams
Articles in this special issue are updated or adapted from previous issues of
Scientific American
and from ScientificAmerican.com. Copyright © 2023 Scientific American, a division of
Springer Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved. Scientific American Special (ISSN 1936-1513),
Volume 32, Number 1, Winter 2023, published by Scientific American, a division of Springer
Nature America, Inc., 1 New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, N.Y. 10004-1562. Canadian
BN No. 127387652RT; TVQ1218059275 TQ0001. To purchase additional quantities: U.S., $13.95 each;
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Inquiries: fax 212-355-0408 or telephone 212-451-8415.
Printed in U.S.A.
60
The Universe Is Not Locally Real
Experiments with entangled light have revealed
a profound mystery at the heart of reality.
By Daniel Garisto
BODY & MIND
66
The Human Engine
Studies of metabolism reveal surprising insights
into how we burn calories—and how cooperative
food production helped
Homo sapiens
flourish.
By Herman Pontzer
2
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SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
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SPECIAL EDITION
|
WINTER 2023
© 2023 Scientific American
Stefania Infante
Chase Stone
26
© 2023 Scientific American
Harry Campbell
NASA/ESA/HST Frontier Fields Team (STScI)
80
52
88
SCIENTIFICAMERICAN.COM
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