Issue 3267 | Magazine cover date: 1 February 2020

1 February 2020

Issue 3267

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On the cover

Culture

Man raised alongside chimps says it should never happen again

Features

What is reality? Why we still don't understand the world's true nature

What you experience may not exist. Inside the strange truth of reality

The mysterious microbes shifting humanity's place in the tree of life

News

Maths says you need coarser coffee grounds to make a perfect espresso

The oldest fungi fossils have been identified in a Belgian museum

Mysteriously bright supernova may have smashed up a huge gas cloud

UK nuclear fusion reactor will fire up for the first time in 23 years

New coronavirus may be much more contagious than initially thought

Analysis

Getting Brexit done: Six huge science issues the UK must resolve

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Society

Getting Brexit done: Six huge science issues the UK must resolve

News

Health

Fast action will be key to containing new coronavirus from China

News

Life

The mysterious microbes shifting humanity's place in the tree of life

Features

Physics

What you experience may not exist. Inside the strange truth of reality

Features

Physics

What is reality? Why we still don't understand the world's true nature

Features

Leaders

Health

Fast action will be key to containing new coronavirus from China

As the new virus that emerged in China spreads rapidly around the world, the reaction of national and international health agencies will be key to stopping it

News

Technology

Deepfake software translates videos from one language to another

India has 22 official languages Fake videos created by artificial intelligence may eventually help us communicate with people in other languages. Prajwal Renukanand at the International Institute of Information Technology in Hyderabad, India, and his colleagues have developed software that automatically translates a video of a person speaking in one language into another . It …

News

Humans

Neanderthals may have climbed an active volcano soon after it erupted

News

Health

Pregnancy and breastfeeding linked to lower risk of early menopause

News

Physics

Maths says you need coarser coffee grounds to make a perfect espresso

News

Environment

Smoke from Canadian wildfires caused pollution spikes in New York City

News

Life

The oldest fungi fossils have been identified in a Belgian museum

News

Space

Mysteriously bright supernova may have smashed up a huge gas cloud

News

Health

Snake cells grown in the lab produce venom we could use as medicine

News

Health

Antibiotic resistance genes can be passed around by bacteria in dust

News

Environment

Australia’s fires may accelerate a jump in CO2 forecasted in 2020

News

Health

Taking Viagra in early labour reduces the need for emergency caesarean

News

Technology

UK nuclear fusion reactor will fire up for the first time in 23 years

News

Life

Animal DNA is full of viral invaders and now we've caught them at it

News

Life

Dinosaur tracks seem to show giant sauropods wading on two front legs

News

Humans

A skull suggests humans have been getting piercings for 12,000 years

News

Health

NHS may use people's phone data to predict mental health issues

News

Health

Human genes have been added to pigs to create skin for transplants

News

Technology

UK government approves Huawei 5G deal despite security fears

News

Environment

Problems in social science are being used to discredit climate science

News

Health

New coronavirus may be much more contagious than initially thought

News

Analysis

BWPNWF Members of the English Defence League (EDL) congregate outside the Jazz Pub in Preston, England before protesting on November

Technology

It's too late to ban face recognition – here's what we need instead

Calls for an outright ban on face recognition technology are growing louder, but it is already too late. Given its widespread use by tech companies and the police, including London's Metropolitan Police, permanently rolling back the technology is impossible. It was widely reported this week that the European Commission is considering a temporary ban on …

News

Environment

Make airlines and oil firms pay for tree-planting boom, says UK report

News

Society

Getting Brexit done: Six huge science issues the UK must resolve

News

Space

Figuring out what the Milky Way looks like is akin to a murder mystery

News

Aperture

Environment

Art prints made using rain, fog and snow reveal the nature of water

HOW do you immortalise an ever-changing process? This is the question US artist Meghann Riepenhoff set out to answer with Ecotone, a series of cyanotypes that capture the many faces of water – and the fragility of our relationship with nature as Earth's waters are altered by such things as industry and climate change. Cyanotypes …

Regulars

Features

Physics

What is reality? Why we still don't understand the world's true nature

It’s the ultimate scientific quest – to understand everything that there is. But the closer we get, the further away it seems. Can we ever get to grips with the true nature of reality?

Features

Physics

What you experience may not exist. Inside the strange truth of reality

Features

Life

The mysterious microbes shifting humanity's place in the tree of life

Features

Culture

Life

Man raised alongside chimps says it should never happen again

Nick Lehane's performance piece, Chimpanzee, in London for the first time, reveals how tragedy stalked the amazing achievement of raising chimps in human families

Culture

Technology

Ironbark: Did two spies really prevent all-out nuclear war?

Culture

Technology

Don't Miss: Escape the deep, explore mind and body and meet van Gogh

Culture

Humans

Avenue 5: Hugh Laurie discovers how space tourism can go badly wrong

Culture

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Humans

The life of Veronique Le Guen, record-breaking caver

ON 27 January 1990 , we reported that Véronique Le Guen had taken her own life. Just two years earlier, she had set a world record for the most time spent alone in an underground cavern by a woman. For 111 days, Le Guen went without clocks or any information from the outside world and …

Regulars

Humans

Use the science of curing to turn salmon into gravlax at home

Regulars

New Scientist puzzle #44: Elevator pitch

Regulars

Environment

California has huge environmental inequality – here's how to fix it

Regulars

Tom Gauld on being a small mammal in the large reptiles department

Regulars

Twisteddoodles on a surprising group of human mutants

Regulars

Spotify tackles doggy distress with its latest podcast

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

Regulars

This week's magazine

1 February 2020

On the cover

Society

Getting Brexit done: Six huge science issues the UK must resolve

Health

Fast action will be key to containing new coronavirus from China

Life

The mysterious microbes shifting humanity's place in the tree of life

Physics

What you experience may not exist. Inside the strange truth of reality

Physics

What is reality? Why we still don't understand the world's true nature

Table of contents

Leaders

Health

Fast action will be key to containing new coronavirus from China

News

Technology

Deepfake software translates videos from one language to another

Humans

Neanderthals may have climbed an active volcano soon after it erupted

Health

Pregnancy and breastfeeding linked to lower risk of early menopause

Physics

Maths says you need coarser coffee grounds to make a perfect espresso

Environment

Smoke from Canadian wildfires caused pollution spikes in New York City

Life

The oldest fungi fossils have been identified in a Belgian museum

Space

Mysteriously bright supernova may have smashed up a huge gas cloud

Health

Snake cells grown in the lab produce venom we could use as medicine

Health

Antibiotic resistance genes can be passed around by bacteria in dust

Environment

Australia’s fires may accelerate a jump in CO2 forecasted in 2020

Health

Taking Viagra in early labour reduces the need for emergency caesarean

Technology

UK nuclear fusion reactor will fire up for the first time in 23 years

Life

Animal DNA is full of viral invaders and now we've caught them at it

Life

Dinosaur tracks seem to show giant sauropods wading on two front legs

Humans

A skull suggests humans have been getting piercings for 12,000 years

Health

NHS may use people's phone data to predict mental health issues

Health

Human genes have been added to pigs to create skin for transplants

Technology

UK government approves Huawei 5G deal despite security fears

Environment

Problems in social science are being used to discredit climate science

Health

New coronavirus may be much more contagious than initially thought

Analysis

Technology

It's too late to ban face recognition – here's what we need instead

Environment

Make airlines and oil firms pay for tree-planting boom, says UK report

Society

Getting Brexit done: Six huge science issues the UK must resolve

Space

Figuring out what the Milky Way looks like is akin to a murder mystery

Aperture

Environment

Art prints made using rain, fog and snow reveal the nature of water

Features

Physics

What is reality? Why we still don't understand the world's true nature

Physics

What you experience may not exist. Inside the strange truth of reality

Life

The mysterious microbes shifting humanity's place in the tree of life

Culture

Life

Man raised alongside chimps says it should never happen again