Catálogo de publicaciones - revistas

<jats:title>Deep origins of modern inequality</jats:title> <jats:p>Methodological innovations are enabling scientists to study how events in the distant past affect contemporary life. Nunn reviews recent research at the intersection of history, development, and culture that aims to understand the cultural evolution of economic development. The persistence of global inequality is used as a case study to demonstrate the interplay of these dynamics. Future areas of research and implications for policy are discussed.</jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" related-article-type="in-this-issue" xlink:href="10.1126/science.aaz9986">eaaz9986</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>A possible Majorana sighting</jats:title> <jats:p> Majorana zero modes, exotic quasiparticles predicted to occur in topological superconductors, hold promise as a building block of topological quantum computing. Two of the frontrunners for the physical implementation of Majoranas include hybrid semiconductor-superconductor nanowires and topological insulators in contact with a superconductor. Vaitiekėnas <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> introduce a platform that combines elements of both: a semiconductor nanowire that is fully wrapped by a superconductor. Combining theoretical calculations with experiments, the researchers present evidence that is consistent with the emergence of Majorana zero modes in this system. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" related-article-type="in-this-issue" xlink:href="10.1126/science.aav3392">eaav3392</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:p>Marine food–reliant subsistence systems such as those in the African Middle Stone Age (MSA) were not thought to exist in Europe until the much later Mesolithic. Whether this apparent lag reflects taphonomic biases or behavioral distinctions between archaic and modern humans remains much debated. Figueira Brava cave, in the Arrábida range (Portugal), provides an exceptionally well preserved record of Neandertal coastal resource exploitation on a comparable scale to the MSA and dated to ~86 to 106 thousand years ago. The breadth of the subsistence base—pine nuts, marine invertebrates, fish, marine birds and mammals, tortoises, waterfowl, and hoofed game—exceeds that of regional early Holocene sites. Fisher-hunter-gatherer economies are not the preserve of anatomically modern people; by the Last Interglacial, they were in place across the Old World in the appropriate settings.</jats:p>

<jats:p>The majority of crises that most of us have lived through have not looked to science for immediate answers. In many cases, much of the scientific analysis came after the fact—the effects of climate change on extreme weather events; the causes of nuclear accidents; and the virology of outbreaks that were contained such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002–2003 or Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2012. Now, science is being asked to provide a rapid solution to a problem that is not completely described.</jats:p>

<jats:p>There is an unprecedented race to develop a vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). With at least 44 vaccines in early-stage development, what outcome can we expect? Will the first vaccine to cross the finish line be the safest and most effective? Or will it be the most well-funded vaccines that first become available, or perhaps those using vaccine technologies with the fewest regulatory hurdles? The answer could be a vaccine that ticks all these boxes. If we want to maximize the chances for success, however, and have enough doses to end the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, current piecemeal efforts won't be enough. If ever there was a case for a coordinated global vaccine development effort using a “big science” approach, it is now.</jats:p>

<jats:p>A roundup of weekly science policy and related news.</jats:p>