Issue 3178 | Magazine cover date: 19 May 2018

19 May 2018

Issue 3178

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On the cover

Features

Fixing planet plastic: How we'll really solve our waste problem

Biodegradable plastic: Waste that eats itself

How tech bugs could be killing thousands in our hospitals

Analysis

Trump’s Iran U-turn could restart the global nuclear arms race

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Humans

Trump’s Iran U-turn could restart the global nuclear arms race

News

Health

Let’s all heed the health benefits of a month without alcohol

News

Earth

Fixing planet plastic: How we'll really solve our waste problem

Features

Physics

Upend atom! We've found a whole new way of doing chemistry

Features

Health

How tech bugs could be killing thousands in our hospitals

Features

Earth

Biodegradable plastic: Waste that eats itself

Features

Leaders

Earth

Plastic waste is a problem – but some solutions are even worse

Plastics have done wonders for hygiene and human health. We need to fix the waste problem – but don’t throw out the baby with the bath tub

News

Health

Let’s all heed the health benefits of a month without alcohol

News

Space

Exoplanet with a cloudless sky may let us see inside a gas giant

The clearest skies we've seen on an exoplanet There’s never a cloudy day on WASP-96b. This hot gas giant may have the least cloudy skies on any exoplanet astronomers have ever seen, and consequently, that makes it a great place to plumb the depths and study in what might be happening below the planet’s clear …

News

Space

The sun will die in a blaze of swirling gas in 5 billion years

News

Technology

DeepMind AI developed navigation neurons to solve a maze like us

News

Humans

Napoleon Complex: Are smaller men really more aggressive?

News

Life

Ferocious pack-hunting pseudoscorpions believe in sharing fairly

News

Health

Doing Dry January lowers cancer-promoting proteins in your blood

News

Technology

Eye scanner can tell if you've mastered a foreign language

News

Earth

A plague from South Korea is killing frogs and toads worldwide

News

Health

Eating all your meals before 3pm could be good for your health

News

Humans

Stem cells may reveal how Neanderthal DNA works in modern humans

News

Space

Interstellar cloud mapped by listening to its magnetic waves

News

Humans

Trolley problem tested in real life for first time with mice

News

Physics

Utterly bizarre theoretical 'fractons' could be made for real

News

Health

Cause of polycystic ovary syndrome discovered at last

News

Technology

Huge new Facebook data leak exposed intimate details of 3m users

News

Space

Probe saw plumes on Europa 20 years ago - we just didn't notice

News

Earth

Rich nations restore their own forests but trash those elsewhere

News

Space

We’ve lost track of more than 900 near-Earth asteroids

News

Earth

The tides are getting stronger thanks to the shifting continents

News

Earth

Fertiliser feeds us but trashes the climate – now there's a fix

News

Analysis

Iceberg being towed away from an oil rig

Earth

Towing icebergs to Cape Town is a poor way to halt water crisis

Hauling chunks of polar ice to dry regions to provide fresh water sounds tempting but there are many reasons to reject it, says Olive Heffernan

News

Technology

Google’s human-like phone calls are a clever but nasty trick

News

Humans

Trump’s Iran U-turn could restart the global nuclear arms race

News

Health

Keep the facts front and centre in Ireland's abortion debate

News

Technology

We've only just realised the huge power and value of our data

News

Aperture

Earth

Salvaged plastics imitate bizarre and beautiful sea life

THE creatures of the deep take on bizarre and beautiful forms: the straggly jellyfish, the striated oyster in its shell, the gelatinous un-form of the blobfish. But give this image (also featured on our cover) more than a passing glance and you will see that these are not natural creations. Each is a piece of …

Regulars

Features

Earth

Fixing planet plastic: How we'll really solve our waste problem

From bag bans to bacterial mulchers, many solutions are touted for the plastic waste crisis. Find out which work – and which don't – in our definitive guide

Features

Physics

Upend atom! We've found a whole new way of doing chemistry

Features

Earth

Biodegradable plastic: Waste that eats itself

Features

Health

How tech bugs could be killing thousands in our hospitals

Features

Culture

Superhuman: What human extremes mean for today and tomorrow

What makes exceptional people? Will the future need extreme abilities? An unusual book maps the territory, while three others ask what makes us human at all

Culture

Evading death and mind-uploading: The ambition of transhumanism

Culture

Physics

What Is Real? A tale of how big egos hijacked quantum physics

Culture

Old Scientist: Nominative determinism through the ages

IT HAS been done to death in New Scientist since the 1990s, which is why we often insist we will publish no new examples. Then more appear that are almost too good to be true, and we are back in the realms of nominative determinism, a term coined for us by the visual scientist C.R. …

Regulars

Feedback: Did dinosaurs fart? Science says yes

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

Regulars

This week's magazine

19 May 2018

On the cover

Humans

Trump’s Iran U-turn could restart the global nuclear arms race

Health

Let’s all heed the health benefits of a month without alcohol

Earth

Fixing planet plastic: How we'll really solve our waste problem

Physics

Upend atom! We've found a whole new way of doing chemistry

Health

How tech bugs could be killing thousands in our hospitals

Earth

Biodegradable plastic: Waste that eats itself

Table of contents

Leaders

Earth

Plastic waste is a problem – but some solutions are even worse

Health

Let’s all heed the health benefits of a month without alcohol

News

Space

Exoplanet with a cloudless sky may let us see inside a gas giant

Space

The sun will die in a blaze of swirling gas in 5 billion years

Technology

DeepMind AI developed navigation neurons to solve a maze like us

Humans

Napoleon Complex: Are smaller men really more aggressive?

Life

Ferocious pack-hunting pseudoscorpions believe in sharing fairly

Health

Doing Dry January lowers cancer-promoting proteins in your blood

Technology

Eye scanner can tell if you've mastered a foreign language

Earth

A plague from South Korea is killing frogs and toads worldwide

Health

Eating all your meals before 3pm could be good for your health

Humans

Stem cells may reveal how Neanderthal DNA works in modern humans

Space

Interstellar cloud mapped by listening to its magnetic waves

Humans

Trolley problem tested in real life for first time with mice

Physics

Utterly bizarre theoretical 'fractons' could be made for real

Health

Cause of polycystic ovary syndrome discovered at last

Technology

Huge new Facebook data leak exposed intimate details of 3m users

Space

Probe saw plumes on Europa 20 years ago - we just didn't notice

Earth

Rich nations restore their own forests but trash those elsewhere

Space

We’ve lost track of more than 900 near-Earth asteroids

Earth

The tides are getting stronger thanks to the shifting continents

Earth

Fertiliser feeds us but trashes the climate – now there's a fix

Analysis

Earth

Towing icebergs to Cape Town is a poor way to halt water crisis

Technology

Google’s human-like phone calls are a clever but nasty trick

Humans

Trump’s Iran U-turn could restart the global nuclear arms race

Health

Keep the facts front and centre in Ireland's abortion debate

Technology

We've only just realised the huge power and value of our data

Aperture

Earth

Salvaged plastics imitate bizarre and beautiful sea life

Features

Earth

Fixing planet plastic: How we'll really solve our waste problem

Physics