Issue 3280 | Magazine cover date: 2 May 2020

2 May 2020

Issue 3280

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On the cover

Features

What four coronaviruses from history can tell us about covid-19

How the turtle got its shell: Amazing fossils are solving the mystery

Is the universe conscious? It seems impossible until you do the maths

News

Mysterious ‘Planet Nine’ on the solar system’s edge may not be real

The US Navy patented a device to make laser ‘ghost planes’ in mid-air

What is it like to be a covid-19 contact tracer and what do they do?

How many people have really died from covid-19 so far?

Analysis

Why it’ll still be a long time before we get a coronavirus vaccine

Regulars

The science of how 'wok hei' makes stir-fried food taste so good

I'm a space archaeologist studying junk strewn across the solar system

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Physics

Pondering the big question of consciousness is a welcome distraction

News

Is the universe conscious? It seems impossible until you do the maths

Features

Health

What four coronaviruses from history can tell us about covid-19

Features

Life

How the turtle got its shell: Amazing fossils are solving the mystery

Features

Leaders

Physics

Pondering the big question of consciousness is a welcome distraction

Our best mathematical theory of consciousness is sparking a rethink of one of science’s hardest problems – how simple matter gives rise to a complex mind

News

Space

A giant raft of rock may once have floated across Mars’s ancient ocean

A close-up of the western Medusae Fossae Formation taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter A giant floating raft of volcanic rock called pumice could have drifted across an ancient Martian ocean and created one of the most mysterious features we can see on the planet's surface today. The Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF), found near the …

News

Space

Mysterious ‘Planet Nine’ on the solar system’s edge may not be real

News

Technology

AI can distinguish between bots and humans based on Twitter activity

News

Technology

The US Navy patented a device to make laser ‘ghost planes’ in mid-air

News

Health

Some babies who were born prematurely have weaker hearts as adults

News

Environment

Fracking wells in the US are leaking loads of planet-warming methane

News

Technology

Pocket-sized device tests DNA in blood samples for genetic conditions

News

Environment

Slower-moving hurricanes will cause more devastation as world warms

News

Earth

Plate tectonics may have started on Earth 3.2 billion years ago

News

Health

Waste water tests could monitor 2 billion people for the coronavirus

News

Health

Pet food can contain drug-resistant bacteria that may pass to humans

News

Health

BCG vaccine being trialled as potential protection against covid-19

News

Health

What is it like to be a covid-19 contact tracer and what do they do?

News

Space

We may have found 19 more interstellar asteroids in our solar system

News

Health

Drinking coffee appears to cause epigenetic changes to your DNA

News

Health

Electrical devices implanted in the brain may help treat anorexia

News

Health

Names of UK's coronavirus science advisers to be revealed

News

Environment

It’s impossible to predict if crucial Antarctic glacier will collapse

News

Health

How many people have really died from covid-19 so far?

News

Analysis

large consignment of amazon deliveries left on doorstep of house during coronavirus covid-19 lockdown in the uk

Humans

We can't rely on rampant consumerism to get us out of this mess

Hyperconsumption adds to environmental destruction that brings people into contact with animal viruses that can spark pandemics. We have to avoid the temptation to rely on it to get us out, writes Graham Lawton

News

Health

We must act quickly to avoid a pandemic-related mental health crisis

News

Health

Why it’ll still be a long time before we get a coronavirus vaccine

News

Aperture

Technology

Retro computers reveal three decades of technological evolution

In a new photography book, the home computer revolution of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s is told through nostalgic industrial-design images

Regulars

Features

Health

What four coronaviruses from history can tell us about covid-19

Four coronaviruses cause around a quarter of all common colds, but each was probably deadly when it first made the leap to humans. We can learn a lot from what happened next

Features

Life

How the turtle got its shell: Amazing fossils are solving the mystery

Features

Is the universe conscious? It seems impossible until you do the maths

Features

Culture

A chimpanzee eats a mango in a tree. National Geographic's JANE GOODALL: THE HOPE picks up where JANE (2017) left off, following Jane Goodall through three generations of advocacy work as she meets with everyone from schoolchildren in Zanzibar to Prince Harry and spreads a message of hope in a time of immense environmental change. (National Geographic/Bill Wallauer)

Life

Jane Goodall: We must protect chimps from being exposed to covid-19

Jane Goodall walking along the beach of Lake Tanganyika Jane Goodall has achieved an incredible amount in her life. As a researcher, she has changed our understanding of chimpanzees – highly intelligent animals with unique cultures and tight family bonds . As a conservationist, she has galvanised generations of activists. A new documentary, Jane Goodall: …

Culture

Humans

Notes from an Apocalypse review: A lively romp through the end of days

Culture

Humans

Don't Miss: Rick & Morty are returning to Netflix

Culture

Technology

Network Effect review: A glorious thought-provoking Murderbot tale

Culture

Humans

The science of how 'wok hei' makes stir-fried food taste so good

Getting your wok scorching hot and preparing your ingredients in advance is the best way to make a tasty stir-fry, says Sam Wong

Regulars

New Scientist puzzle #57: Matchstick magic

Regulars

Space

I'm a space archaeologist studying junk strewn across the solar system

Regulars

Twisteddoodles on an unlikely collaboration between people and nature

Regulars

Tom Gauld on trying to get the story of Rapunzel just right

Regulars

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.

Can you walk your pizza-sized tortoise during lockdown?

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

Regulars

This week's magazine

2 May 2020

On the cover

Physics

Pondering the big question of consciousness is a welcome distraction

Is the universe conscious? It seems impossible until you do the maths

Health

What four coronaviruses from history can tell us about covid-19

Life

How the turtle got its shell: Amazing fossils are solving the mystery

Table of contents

Leaders

Physics

Pondering the big question of consciousness is a welcome distraction

News

Space

A giant raft of rock may once have floated across Mars’s ancient ocean

Space

Mysterious ‘Planet Nine’ on the solar system’s edge may not be real

Technology

AI can distinguish between bots and humans based on Twitter activity

Technology

The US Navy patented a device to make laser ‘ghost planes’ in mid-air

Health

Some babies who were born prematurely have weaker hearts as adults

Environment

Fracking wells in the US are leaking loads of planet-warming methane

Technology

Pocket-sized device tests DNA in blood samples for genetic conditions

Environment

Slower-moving hurricanes will cause more devastation as world warms

Earth

Plate tectonics may have started on Earth 3.2 billion years ago

Health

Waste water tests could monitor 2 billion people for the coronavirus

Health

Pet food can contain drug-resistant bacteria that may pass to humans

Health

BCG vaccine being trialled as potential protection against covid-19

Health

What is it like to be a covid-19 contact tracer and what do they do?

Space

We may have found 19 more interstellar asteroids in our solar system

Health

Drinking coffee appears to cause epigenetic changes to your DNA

Health

Electrical devices implanted in the brain may help treat anorexia

Health

Names of UK's coronavirus science advisers to be revealed

Environment

It’s impossible to predict if crucial Antarctic glacier will collapse

Health

How many people have really died from covid-19 so far?

Analysis

Humans

We can't rely on rampant consumerism to get us out of this mess

Health

We must act quickly to avoid a pandemic-related mental health crisis

Health

Why it’ll still be a long time before we get a coronavirus vaccine

Aperture

Technology

Retro computers reveal three decades of technological evolution

Features

Health

What four coronaviruses from history can tell us about covid-19

Life

How the turtle got its shell: Amazing fossils are solving the mystery

Is the universe conscious? It seems impossible until you do the maths

Culture

Life

Jane Goodall: We must protect chimps from being exposed to covid-19

Humans

Notes from an Apocalypse review: A lively romp through the end of days

Humans

Don't Miss: Rick & Morty are returning to Netflix

Technology

Network Effect review: A glorious thought-provoking Murderbot tale

More

Humans