Issue 3310 | Magazine cover date: 28 November 2020

28 November 2020

Issue 3310

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On the cover

Culture

His Dark Materials review: Season 2 is spine-chillingly excellent

Features

The universe is expanding too fast, and that could rewrite cosmology

Can a law meant to protect Native American artefacts free an orca?

The race to find and stop viruses that could cause the next pandemic

Analysis

What are the odds of dying if you're infected by the coronavirus?

News

US Navy's huge uncrewed robot ship has journeyed through Panama Canal

Earth had a minimoon for nearly three years before it drifted away

Ancient parasites in a titanosaur’s bones made it look like a zombie

China has launched its most advanced mission to the moon yet

Tiny worm sacrifices itself to make milk for its hatching offspring

Can mass testing schemes stop the spread of the coronavirus?

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Space

China's Chang'e 5 probe is the start of a new era of lunar exploration

News

Life

Can a law meant to protect Native American artefacts free an orca?

Features

Health

The race to find and stop viruses that could cause the next pandemic

Features

Space

The universe is expanding too fast, and that could rewrite cosmology

Features

Leaders

Space

China's Chang'e 5 probe is the start of a new era of lunar exploration

Chang'e 5 is set to bring moon rocks back to Earth for the first time in more than four decades – and China has even more ambitious plans for lunar missions in the coming years

News

Environment

The meat of protected African animals is being sold in Belgium

A red-tailed monkey The meat of several protected African animals is being illegally imported into and sold in Belgium. Sophie Gombeer at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and her colleagues have identified wild animal meat , also known as bushmeat, being sold in several markets in Brussels. They identified the meat of three …

News

Health

AI that can diagnose tinnitus from brain scans may improve treatment

News

Technology

US Navy's huge uncrewed robot ship has journeyed through Panama Canal

News

Technology

Warehouse robots upgraded to make packing decisions 350 times faster

News

Technology

Portable device uses solar power to sterilise medical equipment

News

Life

Very hangry caterpillars could help reveal genetic basis of aggression

News

Humans

Your eyes can reveal your decisions before you've even made them

News

Technology

Magnetic spray turns objects into mini robots that can deliver drugs

News

Health

Potent new antifungal discovered in the microbiome of marine animals

News

Technology

Computer vision can estimate calorie content of food at a glance

News

Health

Ebola outbreak in the DRC ended thanks to vaccine distribution efforts

News

Space

Earth had a minimoon for nearly three years before it drifted away

News

Ancient parasites in a titanosaur’s bones made it look like a zombie

News

Earth

Plate tectonics may have begun a billion years earlier than thought

News

Space

China has launched its most advanced mission to the moon yet

News

Health

Oxford/AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine may be up to 90 per cent effective

News

Life

Tiny worm sacrifices itself to make milk for its hatching offspring

News

Health

Can mass testing schemes stop the spread of the coronavirus?

News

Analysis

Health

What are the odds of dying if you're infected by the coronavirus?

A person with covid-19 being unloaded from a helicopter at the Hautepierre hospital in Strasbourg, France The proportion of people who die after being infected by the coronavirus has become highly controversial. Some have claimed that death rates aren’t as high as thought and that governments are overreacting by imposing measures such as lockdowns. But …

News

Life

The sale of the duelling dinosaurs fossil may be bad news for science

News

Humans

Fears about genetically modified foods are cultural not scientific

News

Aperture

Environment

Surreal Californian oilscape wins climate change photography award

This unreal landscape captures the environmental price of intensive oil exploitation paid by a desert in Kern County, California. The image was taken by David Gardner and won a prize at the 2020 BarTur Photo Award

Regulars

Features

Space

The universe is expanding too fast, and that could rewrite cosmology

Different measurements of the Hubble constant, the rate of space-time expansion, refuse to agree – meaning we may have to look beyond Einstein’s theories to explain the universe

Features

Life

Can a law meant to protect Native American artefacts free an orca?

Features

Health

The race to find and stop viruses that could cause the next pandemic

Features

Culture

Space

The Space Between Worlds review: Sci-fi with the multiverse done right

Micaiah Johnson's debut novel, The Space Between Worlds , is a witty, deep and savvy tale about travelling through the multiverse . (Buy from Amazon *) Cara is a young woman who travels across a multiverse of 380 Earths for her job as a "traverser". Each time she arrives at a new version of the …

Culture

Physics

His Dark Materials review: Season 2 is spine-chillingly excellent

Culture

Humans

Crazy, Not Insane review: Why do people become murderers?

Culture

Humans

Don't Miss: I Am Greta documentary is the story of a climate crusader

Culture

Space

How to help discover new galaxies without leaving your home

Hundreds of thousands of people have participated in the online collaboration Galaxy Zoo to help study unexplored parts of the cosmos, and you can join in too, says Layal Liverpool

Regulars

Puzzle #87: Can you foil this pollster?

Regulars

Tom Gauld's multidisciplinary road network featuring lava tubes

Regulars

Twisteddoodles asks what is blue and fluffy?

Regulars

Why flange and quingle are such funny words according to science

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

Regulars

This week's magazine

28 November 2020

On the cover

Space

China's Chang'e 5 probe is the start of a new era of lunar exploration

Life

Can a law meant to protect Native American artefacts free an orca?

Health

The race to find and stop viruses that could cause the next pandemic

Space

The universe is expanding too fast, and that could rewrite cosmology

Table of contents

Leaders

Space

China's Chang'e 5 probe is the start of a new era of lunar exploration

News

Environment

The meat of protected African animals is being sold in Belgium

Health

AI that can diagnose tinnitus from brain scans may improve treatment

Technology

US Navy's huge uncrewed robot ship has journeyed through Panama Canal

Technology

Warehouse robots upgraded to make packing decisions 350 times faster

Technology

Portable device uses solar power to sterilise medical equipment

Life

Very hangry caterpillars could help reveal genetic basis of aggression

Humans

Your eyes can reveal your decisions before you've even made them

Technology

Magnetic spray turns objects into mini robots that can deliver drugs

Health

Potent new antifungal discovered in the microbiome of marine animals

Technology

Computer vision can estimate calorie content of food at a glance

Health

Ebola outbreak in the DRC ended thanks to vaccine distribution efforts

Space

Earth had a minimoon for nearly three years before it drifted away

Ancient parasites in a titanosaur’s bones made it look like a zombie

Earth

Plate tectonics may have begun a billion years earlier than thought

Space

China has launched its most advanced mission to the moon yet

Health

Oxford/AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine may be up to 90 per cent effective

Life

Tiny worm sacrifices itself to make milk for its hatching offspring

Health

Can mass testing schemes stop the spread of the coronavirus?

Analysis

Health

What are the odds of dying if you're infected by the coronavirus?

Life

The sale of the duelling dinosaurs fossil may be bad news for science

Humans

Fears about genetically modified foods are cultural not scientific

Aperture

Environment

Surreal Californian oilscape wins climate change photography award

Features

Space

The universe is expanding too fast, and that could rewrite cosmology

Life

Can a law meant to protect Native American artefacts free an orca?

Health

The race to find and stop viruses that could cause the next pandemic

Culture

Space

The Space Between Worlds review: Sci-fi with the multiverse done right

Physics

His Dark Materials review: Season 2 is spine-chillingly excellent

Humans

Crazy, Not Insane review: Why do people become murderers?

Humans

Don't Miss: I Am Greta documentary is the story of a climate crusader

More

Space

How to help discover new galaxies without leaving your home