The Top Science News

Extracting the best coffee flavor; the biggest cosmic explosion ever seen; and more. Plus: how can we discourage mass shootings? Dynamical systems engineers Maurizio Porfiri and Rayan Succar let us know. [View in browser]( | [Become a member]( May 16, 2023   Did a friend forward this? [Subscribe here](. Good Morning! Here’s the top science news—plus this week’s One Question with dynamical systems engineers [Maurizio Porfiri and Rayan Succar]( [READ NAUTILUS](   DISCOVERIES The Top Science News This Week   [Extracting the Best Flavor from Coffee]( How much grinding is too much grinding? [Physics of Fluids→](   [Stay Away, Santa: Children's Beliefs About the Impact of COVID-19 on Real and Fictional Beings]( Do supernatural characters have to wear masks? [Developmental Psychology→](   [The Magnificent Five Images of Supernova Refsdal: Time Delay and Magnification Measurements]( A new vantage point on the accelerating speed of cosmic expansion. [The Astrophysical Journal→](   [An Experiment Repeated 600 Times Finds Hints to Evolution’s Secrets]( How we became multicellular beings. [The New York Times→](   [Recycling Plastics Might Be Making Things Worse]( Facilities meant to help us reuse our trash are trashing the environment. [Phys.org→](   [Astronomers Capture Largest Cosmic Explosion Ever Witnessed]( A hundred of our solar systems could fit inside the blast. [The Guardian→](   [Chaotically Shifting Planets Could Be a Sign of Advanced Aliens]( The cosmic arrangements are stable but…unnatural. [New Scientist→](   [Human DNA Can Be Collected from Anywhere—Even Air, Scientists Discover]( “In most cases, the quality is almost equivalent to if you took a sample from a person.” [New York Post→](   Experience the endless possibilities and deep human connections that science offers [SUBSCRIBE TODAY](   [SOCIOLOGY]( [How Can We Discourage Mass Shootings?]( INTERVIEW BY BRIAN GALLAGHER One question for [Maurizio Porfiri]( and [Rayan Succar](, dynamical systems engineers at New York University. Porfiri directs NYU’s Dynamical Systems Laboratory and the Center for Urban Science and Progress. Succar is a engineering graduate student in Porfiri’s lab focusing on complex systems and network science.   Maurizio Porfiri: Our work supports a no-notoriety approach, in which we want to dry up the news about mass shootings—limit the number of details—and try to disentangle the presentation of the mass shooting news from the fame it can get. If we provide too many details, then if I am somebody who is trying to gain fame, I will use these details to plan an attack that you don’t expect, something society is not aware of. We find in our new [study]( that the more mass shootings differ from previous history, the more they capture the attention of the public. It seems that fame-seeking mass shooters don’t aim for a high death count, but try to stand out in other ways. [Read the interview](   Related Nautilus Stories   [Why Do Americans Own More Guns Per Capita Than Anyone Else?]( One question for Jennifer Carlson, a sociologist at the University of Arizona. BY BRIAN GALLAGHER [Continue reading →]( [This Is Why Americans Are Irrationally Anxious About Terrorism]( Many of terrorism’s most profound consequences are felt from a distance. BY JULIE SEDIVY [Continue reading →](   More in Sociology [Yes, Your Loud Neighbors Are Driving You Bonkers]( Why are we so sensitive to residential noise? BY LINA ZELDOVICH [Continue reading →]( [The Wisdom of Gay Albatrosses]( Same-sex couples are everywhere in the animal kingdom. Only humans make a big deal about it. BY JUSTIN GREGG [Continue reading →](   P.S. The French mathematician and physicist Joseph Fourier died on this day in 1830. Aatish Bhatia wrote about how learning one of Fourier’s ideas—known today as the Fourier transform—blew his mind. [The math trick is everywhere](, ranging from optics to quantum physics, and lies behind mp3s, JPEGs, and Homer Simpson’s face.   Today’s newsletter was written by Brian Gallagher   BECOME A MEMBER [New Subscribers: Enjoy 25% Off Now Through 5/19]( Nautilus turned 10 this week! We want to celebrate by inviting new members to explore the award-winning science journalism they won’t find anywhere else. [Enjoy 25% off a subscription]( now through Friday, May 19. Take advantage and unlock the unique science journalism you can only read in Nautilus. [Sign Up Now]( Thanks for reading. [Tell us](mailto:brian.gallagher@nautil.us) your thoughts on today’s note. Plus, [browse our archive]( of past print issues, and inspire a friend to sign up for [the Nautilus newsletter](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( Copyright © 2023 NautilusNext, All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the newsletter from nautil.us. Our mailing address is: NautilusNext 360 W 36th Street, 7S, New York, NY 10018 Don't want to hear from us anymore? Click here to [unsubscribe](.