2018-12-01_Discover

Contents

Discover®

SCIENCE FOR THE CURIOUS

ALZHEIMER’S

UNDER

AT TACK

Lifestyle Plans

That Improve

Brain Health P. 32

PLUS

Outsmarting the Next Outbreak P. 56

Yellowstone’s

Trial By Fire P. 26

A Magnetic Quest for Particles P. 42

OUR ANNUAL SCIENCE READS FOR THE HOLIDAYS P. 12

DECEMBER 2018

4 DISCOVERMAGAZINE.COM

COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS

6 EDITOR’S NOTE

A Dose of Patience
Hold a pose for a holistic approach
to a dreaded disease.

7 INBOX

Readers weigh in on the herpes virus
and robot peer pressure.

.
22 VITAL SIGNS

he Big Sleep
When a dying woman fails to respond
to treatment, doctors try a risky
Hail Mary to save her life.
BY ELIEZER J. STERNBERG

26 NOTES FROM EARTH

Burn Notice
Decades after ires scorched
Yellowstone, scientists are learning
how forests rise from the ashes.
BY KRISTEN POPE

64 PROGNOSIS

he Antibiotic
Eaters
Researchers are
examining how bacteria
might help prevent
antibiotic resistance.
BY JONATHON KEATS

9 THE CRUX

A scientist experiences the

grunts and groans of geology

in action; pondering the

impenetrable fog of the early

universe; Hollywood movie

roles for women may have

turned a corner; cool books

are coming for the holidays;

and more.

TOP: JEFF HENRY/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE. BOTTOM: BRYAN AND CHERRY ALEXANDER/NATUREPL.COM

ON THE COVER

Our Annual Science Reads for the Holidays p.

Alzheimer’s Under Attack p.

Outsmarting the Next Outbreak p.

Yellowstone’s Trial By Fire p.

A Magnetic Quest for Particles p.

COVER: Bryan Christie Design

68 HISTORY LESSONS

Fostering Fear

Opposition to vaccines has

a long history in America.

BY SAR A NOVAK

74 20 THINGS YOU DIDN’T

KNOW ABOUT ...

Penguins

Huge in pop culture, the birds were

once even bigger — some

over 200 pounds.

Today, their

downsized

descendants

live everywhere

from ice shelves

to subtropical

beaches.

BY GEMMA TA R L ACH

An emperor penguin

and its chick.

The 1988 Yellowstone fires offer clues to how a forest’s ecosystem recovers. More on page 26.