This week's magazine

Table of contents

Leaders

Health

It's time to give the pedometer a break and embrace lifting weights

The incredible benefits of strength training are only just becoming apparent. That's good timing, when working out indoors is beneficial to everyone's health

News

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News

Environment

Rare herb devastated by Australian bush fires saved by seed bank

Clover Glycine has been restored to South Australia During the recent unprecedented bush fires in Australia , a single blaze in Cudlee Creek, a small town near Adelaide in South Australia, burned more than 25,000 hectares of land and destroyed numerous homes and vehicles. One of the largely unnoticed victims of the Cudlee Creek fire …

News

Technology

Software recreates a 3D model of your face from a smartphone video

News

Life

Whale sharks can live for at least 50 years – and probably longer

News

Physics

Baffling 500-page ABC maths proof to be published after eight-year row

News

Technology

Deepmind AI can understand the unusual atomic structure of glass

News

Life

Soil gets its smell from bacteria trying to attract invertebrates

News

Mind

Stress early in life can make a child’s brain more like an adult's

News

Environment

The Great Barrier Reef has suffered its most widespread bleaching yet

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Space

Rockets armed with talcum powder could stop deadly space junk

News

Humans

Oldest ever piece of string was made by Neanderthals 50,000 years ago

News

Space

Monster rocky exoplanet could let us glimpse the heart of Jupiter

News

Humans

Ancient nomadic warrior women may have inspired the Mulan legend

News

Mind

Psychology tips for maintaining social relationships during lockdown

News

New cases of Ebola emerge in Democratic Republic of the Congo

News

Health

Could the coronavirus trigger post-viral fatigue syndromes?

News

Health

Wuhan’s covid-19 crisis: Intensive care doctors share their stories

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Analysis

Health

Australia seems to be keeping a lid on covid-19 – how is it doing it?

Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia is closed There are early signs that Australia is starting to beat the coronavirus , with the rate of new infections slowing for more than a week. How is it achieving this and will the trend continue? Australia has recorded just more than 6000 confirmed cases of covid-19 to date, …

News

Health

Do face masks work against the coronavirus and should you wear one?

News

Humans

Can you really grow enough fruit and veg to be self-sufficient?

News

Humans

Earth Day at 50: How an idea changed the world and still inspires now

News

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Aperture

Earth

Dazzling damselflies and a SpaceX plume commended by photo awards

Flower Power THIS dazzling shot is among the standout entries to the inaugural Photographer of the Year competition by photo website Nature TTL. It was selected from more than 7000 images submitted by wildlife photographers from 117 countries. Flower Power by Brandon Yoshizawa was highly commended in the Landscape category. It shows the flower-shaped exhaust …

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Features

Health

Why strength training may be the best thing you can do for your health

Building muscle reduces the risk of cancer and stroke, boosts brainpower, burns through calories and more – it might even be better for you than cardio

Features

Life

Life's other mystery: Why biology's building blocks are so lop-sided

Features

Life

The extraordinary deep-sea lifeforms that feast on sunken carcasses

Features

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Culture

Humans

The way we think about the brain may be completely wrong

Thinking of the brain as a machine may be hampering our progress in understanding how it works, says The Idea of the Brain: A history by Matthew Cobb

Culture

Humans

The City We Became review: N. K. Jemisin pits New York against aliens

Culture

Humans

Don't Miss: absurd animals, the chemical age and DIY dancing

Culture

Humans

Altered Carbon 2 review: A great premise that's become too serious

Culture

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More

Humans

Baking without eggs: How to use aquafaba to make meringues

You don't need eggs to make meringues, pancakes and a host of other baked goods. If you know the science behind it, there are ingredients such as aquafaba that can do the same job

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New Scientist puzzle #55: Ton up

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Health

My patient's marriage was saved by a brain injury

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Twisteddoodles on why you probably think this diagram is about you

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Tom Gauld on how to create a truly bottomless cup of coffee

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The worst April fools’ papers of 2020

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

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Letters

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The last word