Issue 3294 | Magazine cover date: 8 August 2020

8 August 2020

Issue 3294

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On the cover

Features

A radical new theory rewrites the story of how life on Earth began

The real reasons miscarriage exists – and why it's so misunderstood

Lisa Piccirillo: How I cracked a 50-year-old maths problem in a week

News

Lyme disease vaccine found to be safe and effective in clinical trial

Extreme heat from the sun is baking a thin crust on Mercury’s surface

Finding coronavirus superspreaders may be key to halting a second wave

These are the 12 ways you can drastically cut your dementia risk

Quantum version of the ancient game of Go could be ultimate AI test

Termite intruders evolved cowardice to squat in another species’ nest

Coronavirus: US has no cohesive plan to tackle massive second wave

How to hug people in a coronavirus-stricken world

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Health

Forget about blame with miscarriage: its function is entirely natural

News

Life

A radical new theory rewrites the story of how life on Earth began

Features

Health

The real reasons miscarriage exists – and why it's so misunderstood

Features

Humans

Lisa Piccirillo: How I cracked a 50-year-old maths problem in a week

Features

Leaders

Health

Forget about blame with miscarriage: its function is entirely natural

FOR more than a century, medical researchers have known that miscarriage is rarely preventable and is instead usually due to chromosomal abnormalities in an embryo. In recent decades, it has also become clear that miscarriage is very common: as many as one in five known pregnancies ends this way. That figure goes up as we …

News

Life

Tiny mammals once scavenged meat from giant dinosaur carcasses

Early mammals seem to have scavenged on gigantic sauropod dinosaurs The first mammals were small and elusive, but that didn’t stop them chowing down on dinosaur meat. A bone fragment from a giant dinosaur has bite marks that could only have been made by small mammals, which probably scavenged the carcass. “This is the earliest …

News

Physics

Half of Nobel prizes in science go to just five research fields

News

Space

The best view of the stars from Earth is on a hill in Antarctica

News

Health

Lyme disease vaccine found to be safe and effective in clinical trial

News

Space

Extreme heat from the sun is baking a thin crust on Mercury’s surface

News

Space

NASA has launched its Perseverance Mars rover and Ingenuity helicopter

News

Health

Boosting gut microbes helps protect mice against Alzheimer’s disease

News

Space

We can now predict dangerous solar flares a day before they happen

News

Health

Finding coronavirus superspreaders may be key to halting a second wave

News

Health

These are the 12 ways you can drastically cut your dementia risk

News

Technology

Australia will use robot boats to find asylum seekers at sea

News

Life

Leonardo da Vinci saw a whale fossil that opened his mind to deep time

News

Environment

Deep-sea anglerfish fuse bodies to mate thanks to an odd immune system

News

Space

Dark matter map hints at cracks in our understanding of the universe

News

Life

Seal lice can survive the pressure found 4000 metres under the sea

News

Technology

Quantum version of the ancient game of Go could be ultimate AI test

News

Technology

Changing how we make solar panels could reduce their carbon emissions

News

Health

Opening schools in UK without more testing risks covid-19 second wave

News

Humans

Beautiful shell carving was part of Incan offering to Lake Titicaca

News

Life

Termite intruders evolved cowardice to squat in another species’ nest

News

Health

Coronavirus: US has no cohesive plan to tackle massive second wave

News

Health

How to hug people in a coronavirus-stricken world

News

Analysis

Health

What Hiroshima teaches us about coronavirus and the future of humanity

The nuclear bomb told us we are the greatest threat to our own survival – and the covid-19 pandemic shows the lessons still to learn, say Anders Sandberg and Thomas Moynihan

News

Health

Nutrition memes forget that there is no such thing as a 'healthy food'

News

Aperture

Earth

Striking image of oily Amazon water shortlisted for photo prize

BR-319: Highway to the Tipping Point by Evgeny Makarov is shortlisted for the Royal Geographical Society's Earth Photo 2020 competition in the category A Climate of Change

Regulars

Features

Life

A radical new theory rewrites the story of how life on Earth began

It has long been thought that the ingredients for life came together slowly, bit by bit. Now there is evidence it all happened at once in a chemical big bang

Features

Health

The real reasons miscarriage exists – and why it's so misunderstood

Features

Humans

Lisa Piccirillo: How I cracked a 50-year-old maths problem in a week

Features

Culture

Space

The Lady Astronaut series tackles historical sexism brilliantly

Two recent books imagine a different history of science, but one handles the prejudices of the time much better than the other, says Jacob Aron

Culture

Humans

The Expanse review: A sprawling spaceship-studded saga you should see

Culture

Humans

Don’t miss: Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt star in Project Power

Culture

Puzzle #71: Can you draw a line through all of the white squares?

#71 White lines There are 32 white squares on a chessboard. Your task is to draw a line that passes through all of the white squares only once, moving via the corners where they touch without lifting your pen off the board. The diagram shows the kind of line that is required. Start from any …

Regulars

Twisteddoodles takes a jaunt in a time machine

Regulars

Tom Gauld on what it's like to work in a building designed by Escher

Regulars

Humans

Why are witches hexing the moon on TikTok?

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

Regulars

This week's magazine

8 August 2020

On the cover

Health

Forget about blame with miscarriage: its function is entirely natural

Life

A radical new theory rewrites the story of how life on Earth began

Health

The real reasons miscarriage exists – and why it's so misunderstood

Humans

Lisa Piccirillo: How I cracked a 50-year-old maths problem in a week

Table of contents

Leaders

Health

Forget about blame with miscarriage: its function is entirely natural

News

Life

Tiny mammals once scavenged meat from giant dinosaur carcasses

Physics

Half of Nobel prizes in science go to just five research fields

Space

The best view of the stars from Earth is on a hill in Antarctica

Health

Lyme disease vaccine found to be safe and effective in clinical trial

Space

Extreme heat from the sun is baking a thin crust on Mercury’s surface

Space

NASA has launched its Perseverance Mars rover and Ingenuity helicopter

Health

Boosting gut microbes helps protect mice against Alzheimer’s disease

Space

We can now predict dangerous solar flares a day before they happen

Health

Finding coronavirus superspreaders may be key to halting a second wave

Health

These are the 12 ways you can drastically cut your dementia risk

Technology

Australia will use robot boats to find asylum seekers at sea

Life

Leonardo da Vinci saw a whale fossil that opened his mind to deep time

Environment

Deep-sea anglerfish fuse bodies to mate thanks to an odd immune system

Space

Dark matter map hints at cracks in our understanding of the universe

Life

Seal lice can survive the pressure found 4000 metres under the sea

Technology

Quantum version of the ancient game of Go could be ultimate AI test

Technology

Changing how we make solar panels could reduce their carbon emissions

Health

Opening schools in UK without more testing risks covid-19 second wave

Humans

Beautiful shell carving was part of Incan offering to Lake Titicaca

Life

Termite intruders evolved cowardice to squat in another species’ nest

Health

Coronavirus: US has no cohesive plan to tackle massive second wave

Health

How to hug people in a coronavirus-stricken world

Analysis

Health

What Hiroshima teaches us about coronavirus and the future of humanity

Health

Nutrition memes forget that there is no such thing as a 'healthy food'

Aperture

Earth

Striking image of oily Amazon water shortlisted for photo prize

Features

Life

A radical new theory rewrites the story of how life on Earth began

Health

The real reasons miscarriage exists – and why it's so misunderstood

Humans

Lisa Piccirillo: How I cracked a 50-year-old maths problem in a week

Culture

Space

The Lady Astronaut series tackles historical sexism brilliantly

Humans

The Expanse review: A sprawling spaceship-studded saga you should see