Issue 3134 | Magazine cover date: 15 July 2017

15 July 2017

Issue 3134

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On the cover

Features

When is a black hole not a black hole? When it’s a boson star

Smart but dumb: probing the mysteries of brainless intelligence

Artificial Intelligence ushers in the era of superhuman doctors

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Health

Battle lines are being drawn on the best way for babies to sleep

News

Technology

AI doctors should improve healthcare, but not at any cost

News

Space

When is a black hole not a black hole? When it’s a boson star

Features

Humans

Why help a torturer come to terms with their past?

Features

Technology

Artificial Intelligence ushers in the era of superhuman doctors

Features

Life

Smart but dumb: probing the mysteries of brainless intelligence

Features

Leaders

Technology

AI doctors should improve healthcare, but not at any cost

Algorithms can already outperform specialists at disease diagnosis, but we must come up with a clear framework for what data they are allowed to use

News

Health

Serious head injuries nearly double your risk of dementia

Mind your head Serious head injuries nearly double a person’s risk of developing dementia. That’s the message from an analysis of over 40,000 people who sustained some kind of head injury between 1986 and 2014. Half the people in the study had moderate-to-severe head injuries, which cause lesions in the brain and require a person …

News

Health

Bad eczema flare-ups may be caused by strains of bacteria

News

Technology

Next-gen drones will fly and dive into the sea like pelicans

News

Physics

LHC pops out a new particle that could test the strong force

News

Health

CRISPR gene editing technique is probably safe, study confirms

News

Technology

AI photo check exposes scale of diversity problem at top firms

News

Earth

France plans to ban all new petrol and diesel cars by 2040

News

Humans

Child tooth is fourth fossil clue to mysterious Denisovan humans

News

Technology

Tesla to build world’s largest lithium ion battery in Australia

News

Technology

Neural network poetry is so bad we think it’s written by humans

News

Life

Frogs may have evolved the first kneecaps on Earth

News

Space

Titan's conditions could be just right to power US-sized colony

News

Life

Even toddlers expect bullies to get more than their fair share

News

Life

Sunflowers work together to avoid overcrowding and soak up rays

News

Health

People are hacking antidepressant doses to avoid withdrawal

News

Earth

Invisibility cloak makes solar panels work more efficiently

News

Life

Climate change lets invaders beat Alpine plants in mountain race

News

Life

Spiders lure bees for dinner by making flowers look flashier

News

Life

Large carnivores have lost more than 90 per cent of their range

News

Technology

Quantum cheques could be a forgery-free way to move money

News

Health

Meningitis B vaccines may fight the rise of super-gonorrhoea

News

Tiny laser inside your body could detect cancer, then dissolve

News

Earth

Melting ice may be making mountains collapse in Greenland

News

Technology

Online harassment on the rise – but no one can agree what it is

News

Health

Sleeping less in old age may be adaptation to survive in wild

News

Technology

Transformer robots can be printed on demand in just 13 minutes

News

60 Seconds

News

Video stored in live bacterial genome using CRISPR gene editing

News

Life

Swinging birds play with rhythm like jazz musicians

News

Analysis

Health

Blood doping: Were Armstrong and Russia wasting their time?

Doping with EPO appears to offer nothing but placebo effect in amateur riders. Is this the end for the drug that Lance Armstrong abused, wonders Chris Cooper

News

Technology

Real reform must follow ruling on flawed NHS-DeepMind data deal

News

Technology

North Korean missiles could soon reach the US. Can we stop them?

News

Health

Battle lines are being drawn on the best way for babies to sleep

News

Aperture

Life

Bioluminescent termite mounds lure insects to their death

This photo has since been disqualified from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, run by the Natural History Museum in London, UK, on the grounds that it features a stuffed anteater – though Marcio Cabral denies this. BENEATH this starry sky is a spectacular work of nature with a sinister twist. The glittery rock …

Regulars

Features

Space

When is a black hole not a black hole? When it’s a boson star

Astronomers are confident they know what the mysterious massive object at the Milky Way’s heart is – but our first direct view this year could bring a shock

Features

Life

Smart but dumb: probing the mysteries of brainless intelligence

Features

Technology

Artificial Intelligence ushers in the era of superhuman doctors

Features

Humans

Why help a torturer come to terms with their past?

Features

Culture

Humans

To understand why we behave the way we do, we need to zoom out

A challenging new book, Behave, starts with interacting brain regions and then takes in the ever wider horizons of culture and evolution to make sense of us

Culture

Humans

A mouthful of history: How teeth reveal our evolutionary past

Culture

Health

In search of a treatment for a devastating genetic disease

Vanishing white matter disease causes children to lose their motor skills. The Rainbow Dream Charity hopes to fund research into finding a cure

Regulars

Feedback: Help us design our very scientific pub crawl

Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more

Regulars

This week's magazine

15 July 2017

On the cover

Health

Battle lines are being drawn on the best way for babies to sleep

Technology

AI doctors should improve healthcare, but not at any cost

Space

When is a black hole not a black hole? When it’s a boson star

Humans

Why help a torturer come to terms with their past?

Technology

Artificial Intelligence ushers in the era of superhuman doctors

Life

Smart but dumb: probing the mysteries of brainless intelligence

Table of contents

Leaders

Technology

AI doctors should improve healthcare, but not at any cost

News

Health

Serious head injuries nearly double your risk of dementia

Health

Bad eczema flare-ups may be caused by strains of bacteria

Technology

Next-gen drones will fly and dive into the sea like pelicans

Physics

LHC pops out a new particle that could test the strong force

Health

CRISPR gene editing technique is probably safe, study confirms

Technology

AI photo check exposes scale of diversity problem at top firms

Earth

France plans to ban all new petrol and diesel cars by 2040

Humans

Child tooth is fourth fossil clue to mysterious Denisovan humans

Technology

Tesla to build world’s largest lithium ion battery in Australia

Technology

Neural network poetry is so bad we think it’s written by humans

Life

Frogs may have evolved the first kneecaps on Earth

Space

Titan's conditions could be just right to power US-sized colony

Life

Even toddlers expect bullies to get more than their fair share

Life

Sunflowers work together to avoid overcrowding and soak up rays

Health

People are hacking antidepressant doses to avoid withdrawal

Earth

Invisibility cloak makes solar panels work more efficiently

Life

Climate change lets invaders beat Alpine plants in mountain race

Life

Spiders lure bees for dinner by making flowers look flashier

Life

Large carnivores have lost more than 90 per cent of their range

Technology

Quantum cheques could be a forgery-free way to move money

Health

Meningitis B vaccines may fight the rise of super-gonorrhoea

Tiny laser inside your body could detect cancer, then dissolve

Earth

Melting ice may be making mountains collapse in Greenland

Technology

Online harassment on the rise – but no one can agree what it is

Health

Sleeping less in old age may be adaptation to survive in wild

Technology

Transformer robots can be printed on demand in just 13 minutes

60 Seconds

Video stored in live bacterial genome using CRISPR gene editing

Life

Swinging birds play with rhythm like jazz musicians

Analysis

Health

Blood doping: Were Armstrong and Russia wasting their time?

Technology

Real reform must follow ruling on flawed NHS-DeepMind data deal