December 2021, ScientificAmerican.com 1December 2021VOLUME 325, NUMBER 600
NASA, SDO and Goddard Space Flight Center
ON THe cOVer
In billions of years the Milky
Way and its nearest spiral
neighbor, Andromeda, will
crash together, eventually
combining to form a single
galaxy. Astronomers are
studying galaxy mergers
across the universe to
foretell our own future
and understand how these
events have shaped
cosmic history.
Illustration by ron miller60
ASTRONOMY
32 Cosmic Crashes
New revelations about how galaxies
collide offer a preview
of the Milky Way’s future.
By Aaron S. Evans and Lee Armus
TECHNOLOGY
40 Spying on Your Emotions
Tech companies now use AI to analyze
your feelings in job interviews and
public spaces. But the software is prone
to racial, cultural and gender bias.
By John McQuaid
SPECIAL REPORT
48 Top 10
Emerging Technologies
for 2021
Innovations to help tackle societal
challenges—especially climate change.
A collab or a tion between Scientific
American and the World Economic Forum.SPACE WE ATHER
60 The Threat of Solar Superflares
Geomagnetic storms may occur more
often than scientists thought, with omi
nous implications for a wired global society.
By Jonathan O’CallaghanSPECIAL REPORT
S1 Innovations in Cancer Early Detection
S3 The Equity Equation
By Melba Newsome
S7 The COVID Cancer Effect
By Usha Lee McFarling
S10 Graphic: Cancer Diagnoses
before and during COVID in the U.S.
S12 The Colon Cancer Conundrum
By Cassandra Willyard
S14 Graphic: Concerning Trends
in Colorectal Cancer Incidence in the U.S.Banca do Antfer
Telegram: https://t.me/bancadoantfer
Issuhub: https://issuhub.com/user/book/