Scientific American - USA (2020-05)

May 2020, ScientificAmerican.com 1

May 2020

VOLUME 322, NUMBER 5

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Photograph by Nico Lewis

SPECIAL REPORT

THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE

26 A NEW ERA FOR ALZHEIMER’S

Rethinking its causes and potential cures.

28 The Human Toll

Alzheimer’s took the author’s wife and tortured

his family. There was nothing they—or medicine—

could do to stop it. By Joel Shurkin

30 The Way Forward

The failure to find good treatments for Alzheimer’s

means it is time to reexamine the basic biology

of the disease. Progress in five areas could provide

new hope. By Kenneth S. Kosik

34 The Amyloid Drug Struggle

A leading target for Alzheimer’s treatment

is getting a  harder, and more skeptical, look.

By Tanya Lewis

37 The Menopause Connection

Aging is the biggest risk factor for Alzheimer’s.

Being female is a close second. Why? By Jena Pincott

42 The Role of Air Pollution

Airborne particles in car exhaust are strongly

linked to Alzheimer’s. Recent research shows how

they can reach the brain. By Ellen Ruppel Shell

ON THE COVER

After recent failed efforts

to develop treatments for

Alzheimer’s disease, many

scientists are taking a fresh look

at causes of the illness. New

research areas include the origins

of abnormal proteins and

wayward brain signals, the

surprising role of air pollution,

and factors that lead to higher

risk for women.

Illustration by Galen Dara.

54

GEOLOGY

48 Massif Redo

A novel explanation for

the giant Tamu Massif

volcano rewrites

the story of how the

seafloor formed.

By William W. Sager

SUSTAINABILITY

54 Living with

the Forest

Pygmies thrived in the

Congo Basin—until

development coupled

with conservation ar ­

rived. By Jerome Lewis

PHYSICS

64 Quantum

Steampunk

A new branch of physics

is updating 19th­cen­

tury thermo dynam ics

for today’s quantum

systems. By Nicole

Yunger Halpern

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