Welcome to our Sunday newsletter. You’ll find the top stories The Conversation U.S. published this week listed below.

Editor’s note: Tuesday marks the 80th anniversary of Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor and an opportunity to reflect on its significance. As Colorado State University political scientist Peter Harris observed in an article we published in 2016, that attack on Dec. 7, 1941, led to more than formal U.S. entry into World War II.

Pearl Harbor changed how this nation would interact with other countries for the rest of the 20th century and beyond. Declaring war on Japan and fascist European powers marked “a critical juncture in the history of U.S. foreign relations, sidelining isolationism as a powerful force in domestic politics and making overseas engagement the accepted norm,” Harris wrote.

Emily Schwartz Greco

Philanthropy + Nonprofits Editor
The omicron variant possesses numerous mutations in the spike protein, the knob-like protrusions (in red) that allow the virus to invade other cells. Juan Gaertner/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Will omicron – the new coronavirus variant of concern – be more contagious than delta? A virus evolution expert explains what researchers know and what they don’t

Suresh V. Kuchipudi, Penn State

It’s too early to say whether the newly identified omicron variant is going to overtake delta. But particular mutations in the new strain have researchers deeply concerned.
Reverse vaccination teaches the immune system to ignore rather than attack self-proteins. Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Reverse vaccination technique in mice suggests new way to teach the immune system not to attack lifesaving treatments

Sathy Balu-Iyer, University at Buffalo

A recent lab-stage study finds that preexposure to the proteins used to treat conditions like hemophilia A could help train the immune system to tolerate rather than attack therapies.