2020's most popular stories that aren't about COVID-19

Including: Fighting HIV and winning, restoring Notre Dame's sound and more

To view this email as a web page, go here.

12/27/2020 Dear Science News readers, Thank you for being with us through a year like no other. As the year wraps up, we're sharing our five most popular news stories and five most popular long-form articles — excluding those related to COVID-19. You've no doubt read quite a few pandemic-related stories over the last year, so here’s a chance to catch up on science news beyond coronavirus. Here's to a safe and happy holiday season and new year.  — The Science News team In a first, a person’s immune system fought HIV — and won Some rare people may purge most HIV from their bodies, leaving only broken copies of the virus or copies locked in molecular prisons, from which there is no escape. Read More The first room-temperature superconductor has finally been found A compound of carbon, hydrogen and sulfur conducts electricity without resistance up to 15° C, but there’s a catch: It works only under high pressure. Read More Astronomers have found the edge of the Milky Way at last Computer simulations and observations of nearby galaxies let astrophysicists put a firm number on the Milky Way's size. Read More More ‘murder hornets’ are turning up. Here’s what you need to know While we've learned more about Asian giant hornets since we published this story in May, these two things are still true: The hornets aren't as dangerous to humans as their nickname makes them sound, and you probably haven't seen one in the wild.  Read More A star orbiting the Milky Way’s giant black hole confirms Einstein was right An oddity previously seen in Mercury’s orbit has been spotted in a star circling the supermassive black hole at the Milky Way’s center. Read More Science News is a nonprofit. We depend on our readers to support our journalism. You can help by subscribing for as little as $25. SUBSCRIBE NOW How to restore the legendary acoustics of Notre Dame Researchers are wielding their knowledge of physics to unveil a hidden history of sound in historical buildings.  Read More New fleets of private satellites are clogging the night sky As private companies launch dozens of satellites at a time, researchers are assessing the impact on ground-based telescopes. Read More It’s time to stop debating how to teach kids to read and follow the evidence Most children need help learning to read, but there’s long-standing disagreement on how best to help them. Decades of research have identified the most effective approaches. Read More To fight discrimination, the U.S. census needs a different race question Asking about race on the U.S. census can help identify discrimination against minority groups. But sociologists say the question needs a makeover. Read More What lifestyle changes will shrink your carbon footprint the most? You can reduce your carbon emissions, but the most influential changes will depend on your circumstances. Read More Privacy policy  |  Update Profile  | Manage Subscriptions  |   Unsubscribe This email was sent by: Society for Science & the Public 1719 N Street NW Washington, DC, 20036, US