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This week's magazine

9 January 2016

Issue 3055

New Scientist issue 3055 cover
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Editor's picks

We can't treat global browning as a standalone issue

Earth

We can't treat global browning as a standalone issue

Opinion
Illustration of woman's head with a baby playing inside it

Health

Busting the baby brain myth: Why motherhood makes minds sharper

Features
Global browning: Why the world's fresh water is getting murkier

Earth

Global browning: Why the world's fresh water is getting murkier

Features
Bright idea: How light-based Li-Fi could unseat Wi-Fi

Technology

Bright idea: How light-based Li-Fi could unseat Wi-Fi

Features
Strangers within: Meet the other humans who live in your body

Life

Strangers within: Meet the other humans who live in your body

Features

Table of contents

Leaders

We can't treat global browning as a standalone issue

Earth

We can't treat global browning as a standalone issue

An influx of dead organic matter is making lakes and rivers murkier. The problem reveals the interconnectedness of environmental issues

Opinion

News

Polar bear family tree reveals adoptions and identical twins

Life

Polar bear family tree reveals adoptions and identical twins

A pedigree of 4449 polar bears in Canada uncovers the family secrets of six generations, including the first reported case of identical polar bear twins, six adoptions and one case of sibling incest. Based on 45 years of field observations and genetic data, the family tree traces out the complicated histories of the Western Hudson …

News

Health

Liver hormone could tame our love of cakes and booze

News

Space

Giant galaxy caught tearing apart its little neighbour

News

Physics

Four new elements complete the seventh row of the periodic table

News

Health

Vaping really isn't as harmful for your cells as smoking

News

Technology

Smartwatch app detects epileptic seizures and texts a warning

News

Health

Women in Oregon can now get the pill over the counter

News

Earth

UK's carbon footprint from imported food revealed for first time

News

Life

Farting plants have a built-in stink bomb that deters predators

News

Life

Smart guns and mental health checks needed to slash gun violence

News

Space

Supermassive black holes might be hiding entire universes inside

News

Life

We breathe in more bugs from our tap water than from our toilets

News

Life

Women can ‘grow' their own IVF embryos with in-body incubator

News

Life

Taskmaster robots watch while you work in case you miss a step

News

Earth

Plastic grass could cover buildings to produce energy from wind

News

Life

Pigment-making microbes could replace dirty synthetic dyes

News

Falcons imprison live birds, keeping them fresh to eat later

News

Life

Don't shove! Sheep and humans show pushing slows evacuation

News

Elusive narwhal babies spotted gathering at Canadian nursery

News

Memory recall works twice as fast as the blink of an eye

News

Technology

One Per Cent

News

Life-friendly moons might get eaten by their own drifting planet

News

Guinea pigs beat hot temperatures by tweaking their DNA

News

Humans

Sleep isn't needed to create long-term memories – just time out

News

60 Seconds

News

UK territory could host Atlantic's largest protected area

News

Space

NASA wins funds for roomy module suited to deep space missions

News

Health

Meet the young women leading the way in Ethiopia's TB fight

News

Opinion

What's behind surprise diabetes decline in the US?

Health

What's behind surprise diabetes decline in the US?

Diabetes is one of the biggest global health threats we face, spanning both developed and developing nations. The International Diabetes Federation estimates that there are now 415 million adults with the condition and by 2040 there will be 642 million. The vast majority of cases are type 2 diabetes, the form often linked to diet, …

Opinion

Humans

Do we need racial diversity in physics? Affirmative

Opinion

Technology

Why it's time for footballers to use wearable tech on the pitch

Opinion

Analysis

Understanding climate change's role in the UK's recent floods

Earth

Understanding climate change's role in the UK's recent floods

IT'S an environmental whodunit. Last month, in streets that would normally be bustling with sales shoppers, the only sounds were the thrum of helicopters and the lapping of water against walls. First Desmond, then Eva and Frank: three major storms slammed into the UK and Ireland during December, making it the wettest month ever recorded …

News

Aperture

Night-time mouse ninjas caught in mid-air fight for food

Life

Night-time mouse ninjas caught in mid-air fight for food

CAUGHT in the act. These mice probably think nothing can see them. But their late-night capers have been captured by a camera trap. The trap is the work of Eric Médard , a photographer in France who has been shooting animals at night for 25 years. His work isn't easy, because unsurprisingly, many animals aren't …

Regulars

Features

Illustration of woman's head with a baby playing inside it

Health

Busting the baby brain myth: Why motherhood makes minds sharper

Forget the idea that having a baby will turn your mind to mush – there’s growing evidence that it could prime your brain for empathy, reasoning and judgement

Features

Life

Strangers within: Meet the other humans who live in your body

Features

Technology

Bright idea: How light-based Li-Fi could unseat Wi-Fi

Features

Earth

Global browning: Why the world's fresh water is getting murkier

Features

Culturelab

<em>Dark Matter and the dinosaurs</em>: A quest for grown-ups

Life

Dark Matter and the dinosaurs: A quest for grown-ups

On the 12th day of CultureLab, Michael Brooks explores Lisa Randall's latest book and enjoys the warts and all view of how science really works

CultureLab

Life

The Visit: What aliens would really mean for us as humans

CultureLab

Life

Home: It's where the heart is – and now we know why

CultureLab

Regulars

Feedback: Stealth or style? Now you don't have to choose

Feedback: Stealth or style? Now you don't have to choose

Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more Stealth with style TIN foil hats may have a popular following, but they have struggled to overcome their sartorial inelegance. Kathleen James points us towards a brand that may change that: Shield, which boasts that it has created "the world's …

Regulars

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

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