Scientific American - USA (2020-12)

December 2020, ScientificAmerican.com 1

December 2020

VOLUME 323, NUMBER 6

Photograph by Manuela Schirra and Fabrizio Giraldi

A S T R O N O M Y

26 Explosions at the Edge

Most stars die in fairly predictable

ways, but astronomers have discov-

ered a growing number of unusual

supernovae that challenge the tradi-

tional picture. By Anna Y. Q. Ho

MEDICINE

46 The Viruses Inside You

Trillions of viruses make up the

human virome. Some can harm us,

but some could help us, if we can

figure out how to use them.

By David Pride

SOCIAL MEDIA

54 The Attention Economy

Understanding how algorithms and

manipulators exploit our cognitive

vulnerabilities empowers us to

fight back. By Filippo Menczer

and Thomas Hills

NEUROPLASTICITY

62 New Connections

What hand transplants are

teaching us about the brain.

By Scott H. Frey

PHYSICS

70 Fusion Dreams

Assembly has begun on ITER,

the world’s largest nuclear fusion

reactor. By Clara Moskowitz

SPECIAL REPORT

TOP 10

EMERGING

TECHNOLOGIES

OF 2020

Spatial computing, digital

medicine, low-carbon cement,

whole-genome synthesis, green

hydrogen, quantum sensing,

and four other potentially

transformative inventions.

A collaboration between

Scientific American and

the World Economic Forum.

34

ON THe cOVer

Giant stars explode in a myriad of ways, recent

discoveries show. Astrophysicist Anna Y. Q. Ho

surveys several unusual super novae sighted

recently and explores what they can teach us

about how stars live and die.

Illustration by Kenn brown,

mondolithic Studios.

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