This week's magazine

Table of contents

Leaders

Health

As the pandemic fades, the climate crisis must take centre stage again

We're all hoping 2021 will see the end of the pandemic. How we reboot the world after covid-19 will help shape our fate as an even bigger emergency looms – dangerous climate change

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News

Health

2021 preview: How soon will a covid-19 vaccine return life to normal?

People enjoy the sun while social distancing in Melbourne, Australia, in October 2020 after restrictions eased IF 2020 felt hellish, be warned that we aren't out of the fire yet, even if we are moving in the right direction. Welcome to 2021, aka purgatory. There is little doubt that vaccines hold the key to ending …

News

Space

2021 preview: Three missions will make February 2021 the month of Mars

News

Earth

2021 preview: We will find out if microplastics are harming our cells

News

Environment

2021 preview: A crucial year for action on climate change

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Analysis

Humans

How to avoid using your devices too much during the pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has had us glued to our screens, but there are easy ways to reach a better balance, says Becca Caddy

News

Health

Are there benefits to following a raw food diet?

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Aperture

Book of maps shows Antarctica in wonderful detail

Antarctic Atlas by Peter Fretwell tells the tale of Antarctica through a collection of carefully constructed maps setting out the continent's geology, people and nature

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Features

Health

The other superbugs: Killer fungi are the threat we need to act on now

We know too well the dangers of pandemic-causing viruses and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but deadly fungal infections that can shrug off our best treatments are on the rise too

Features

Technology

Demis Hassabis interview: Our AI will unlock secrets of how life works

Features

Space

Everything we know about the universe – and a few things we don't

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Culture

Humans

The best science books to read in 2021

From Bill Gates's How to Avoid a Climate Disaster to Chiara Marletto's revolutionary recasting of physics, The Science of Can and Can't, 2021 is a blockbuster year for popular science books

Culture

Humans

10 of the best sci-fi books that you should read in 2021

Culture

Humans

The best sci-fi films and science documentaries to watch in 2021

Culture

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More

Humans

Why you should start thinking about planting potatoes now

Grow bigger potatoes by getting a head start on the growing season with the magic of chitting, says Clare Wilson

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Puzzle #94: Which imaginary creature has the most legs?

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Tom Gauld on the shrinking size of powerful computers

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Twisteddoodles on when cells exchange gifts

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Mathematicians finally discover when your elevator will arrive

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