Issue 3145 | Magazine cover date: 30 September 2017

30 September 2017

Issue 3145

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On the cover

Culture

Why do we have such a close relationship with animals?

Features

The brain's 7D sandcastles could be the key to consciousness

The fossil finder extraordinaire who's rewriting human evolution

Exclusive: Inside the clinic offering young blood to cure ageing

Fighting fakery: How to make products immune to counterfeiting

Analysis

EU plan to erase digital borders will further isolate Brexit UK

News

Genetically modified wheat used to make coeliac-friendly bread

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Technology

EU plan to erase digital borders will further isolate Brexit UK

News

Health

Life extension may prove to be a double-edged sword

News

Life

The fossil finder extraordinaire who's rewriting human evolution

Features

Technology

Fighting fakery: How to make products immune to counterfeiting

Features

Health

Exclusive: Inside the clinic offering young blood to cure ageing

Features

Humans

The brain's 7D sandcastles could be the key to consciousness

Features

Leaders

Health

Life extension may prove to be a double-edged sword

Today's middle aged people could routinely live to 120 or more. That means we have time to prepare

News

abortion pills (mifepristone and misoprostol)

Health

Hundreds of UK women are seeking illegal abortions online

More women are asking for abortion pills online Hundreds of UK women are seeking illegal abortions because of problems accessing legal services. More than 500 women approached a charity called Women on Web over a four-month period beginning last November seeking mail-order abortion pills, the organisation revealed today. The medications that the charity provides are …

News

Health

Old fathers pass on more mutations to kids than old mothers

News

Space

Infamous three-body problem has over a thousand new solutions

News

Life

Robots can hitch-hike on sharks thanks to ultrastrong sucker

News

Technology

3D-printed alloys could lead to lighter planes that fly further

News

Earth

Hurricane Maria confirms dire warnings for 2017 hurricane season

News

Life

Dinosaurs that seemed veggie also ate the odd bit of shellfish

News

Space

Far-off galaxies are firing rare high-energy cosmic rays at us

News

Space

Star nicknamed Kronos after eating its own planetary children

News

Health

Walking to work or doing the vacuuming can extend your life

News

Earth

There is no way to spot big earthquakes ahead of time

News

Technology

Uber loses its licence to operate in London

News

Life

Plan to save Great Barrier Reef from encroaching farm pollution

News

Life

New Zealand’s iconic kiwi birds may be losing their sight

News

Space

OSIRIS-REx spacecraft zooms by Earth on its way to an asteroid

News

Technology

Two-colour pixels let you draw pair of images in the same space

News

Technology

AI could put a stop to electricity theft and meter misreadings

News

Health

Electric zap ‘wakes’ man after 15 years in a vegetative state

News

Health

Health body warns many UK areas have high Lyme disease risk

News

Earth

Huge space rocks could have helped start Earth’s plate tectonics

News

Technology

It takes 30 seconds for your fingerprint to grip your smartphone

News

Health

Kidney donors swap organs for transplant vouchers for loved ones

News

Technology

A cheap pollution sensor will keep you off the dirtiest roads

News

Earth

Super-Earths draw asteroids to other worlds, which may seed life

News

Life

Thousands of Puerto Ricans evacuated as dam threatens to breach

News

Humans

Genetically modified wheat used to make coeliac-friendly bread

News

60 Seconds

News

Technology

Blockchain-like ID may mean end of paper birth certificates

News

Health

See-through brains reveal how stroke damages vital blood vessels

News

Opinion

Technology

Drone pilots deserve medals even without risking their lives

Drone operators see the gory results of their missile strikes close up Do military drone operators deserve medals for controlling remote aircraft over battlefields thousands of miles away? UK defence secretary Michael Fallon has said they do – a controversial suggestion that will spark heated debate. That debate is rooted in an age-old argument about …

Opinion

Analysis

Earth

Another lost tribe feared massacred - how can we save the rest?

Should we leave uncontacted tribes alone or try to usher them into the modern world to protect them from violence and disease, wonders Curtis Abraham

News

Health

Why court ruling on ending life support is the right decision

News

Technology

EU plan to erase digital borders will further isolate Brexit UK

News

Aperture

Life

Backyard critters get celeb treatment with glam photo shoots

THIS is how to give the bugs, birds and bees in your backyard a celebrity makeover. With glamorous photo shoots on brilliantly lit but plain white backdrops, the Meet Your Neighbours project plucks these beasts from obscurity and gives them the star treatment. This selection of A-listers was shot by local photographers in field studios …

Regulars

Features

Humans

The brain's 7D sandcastles could be the key to consciousness

We’ve glimpsed mind-bending geometric structures that fleetingly encode our thoughts, memories and feelings – and could solve the greatest mystery of all

Features

Life

The fossil finder extraordinaire who's rewriting human evolution

Features

Health

Exclusive: Inside the clinic offering young blood to cure ageing

Features

Technology

Fighting fakery: How to make products immune to counterfeiting

Features

Culture

Life

Why do we have such a close relationship with animals?

We stroke, cuddle, cultivate and eat all manner of creatures. The Animals Among Us offers a fascinating if flawed account of our entangled relationship with non-human animals

Culture

Space

Rocket man: Willy Ley's fervour helped put men on the moon

Culture

Supersonic car project aims to carry kids to a scientific future

Engaging students' drive THE world land speed record for cars has seen its share of British success. The nation's latest such endeavour is encapsulated in the supersonic Bloodhound SSC, but it is about far more than building a fast car. It also aims to engage and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers by …

Regulars

New Scientist Live seeks to make the world slightly less wrong

New Scientist Promotions

Regulars

Feedback: What is this mysterious 8-legged metal object?

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

Regulars

This week's magazine

30 September 2017

On the cover

Technology

EU plan to erase digital borders will further isolate Brexit UK

Health

Life extension may prove to be a double-edged sword

Life

The fossil finder extraordinaire who's rewriting human evolution

Technology

Fighting fakery: How to make products immune to counterfeiting

Health

Exclusive: Inside the clinic offering young blood to cure ageing

Humans

The brain's 7D sandcastles could be the key to consciousness

Table of contents

Leaders

Health

Life extension may prove to be a double-edged sword

News

Health

Hundreds of UK women are seeking illegal abortions online

Health

Old fathers pass on more mutations to kids than old mothers

Space

Infamous three-body problem has over a thousand new solutions

Life

Robots can hitch-hike on sharks thanks to ultrastrong sucker

Technology

3D-printed alloys could lead to lighter planes that fly further

Earth

Hurricane Maria confirms dire warnings for 2017 hurricane season

Life

Dinosaurs that seemed veggie also ate the odd bit of shellfish

Space

Far-off galaxies are firing rare high-energy cosmic rays at us

Space

Star nicknamed Kronos after eating its own planetary children

Health

Walking to work or doing the vacuuming can extend your life

Earth

There is no way to spot big earthquakes ahead of time

Technology

Uber loses its licence to operate in London

Life

Plan to save Great Barrier Reef from encroaching farm pollution

Life

New Zealand’s iconic kiwi birds may be losing their sight

Space

OSIRIS-REx spacecraft zooms by Earth on its way to an asteroid

Technology

Two-colour pixels let you draw pair of images in the same space

Technology

AI could put a stop to electricity theft and meter misreadings

Health

Electric zap ‘wakes’ man after 15 years in a vegetative state

Health

Health body warns many UK areas have high Lyme disease risk

Earth

Huge space rocks could have helped start Earth’s plate tectonics

Technology

It takes 30 seconds for your fingerprint to grip your smartphone

Health

Kidney donors swap organs for transplant vouchers for loved ones

Technology

A cheap pollution sensor will keep you off the dirtiest roads

Earth

Super-Earths draw asteroids to other worlds, which may seed life

Life

Thousands of Puerto Ricans evacuated as dam threatens to breach

Humans

Genetically modified wheat used to make coeliac-friendly bread

60 Seconds

Technology

Blockchain-like ID may mean end of paper birth certificates

Health

See-through brains reveal how stroke damages vital blood vessels

Opinion

Technology

Drone pilots deserve medals even without risking their lives