Issue 3334 | Magazine cover date: 15 May 2021

15 May 2021

Issue 3334

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On the cover

Features

Is everything predetermined? Why physicists are reviving a taboo idea

The nitrogen emergency: How to fix our forgotten environmental crisis

David Eagleman interview: How our brains could create whole new senses

News

Enormous kites flown by robots could help power a Mars colony

Worrying about bad jet lag could actually make your jet lag worse

'Green' bitcoin alternative Chia is leading to hard disc shortages

Indian coronavirus variant in the UK seems to be more transmissible

Cerne Abbas Giant may have been carved into hill over 1000 years ago

Covid-19 booster shots: Will we need them and how would they work?

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Nitrogen pollution is the environmental threat we must hear more about

News

Physics

Is everything predetermined? Why physicists are reviving a taboo idea

Features

Environment

The nitrogen emergency: How to fix our forgotten environmental crisis

Features

Mind

David Eagleman interview: How our brains could create whole new senses

Features

Leaders

Nitrogen pollution is the environmental threat we must hear more about

CARBON is in the news a lot these days. Story after horrifying story tells of how carbon emissions are turning up Earth's thermostat with dire consequences. But when it comes to the environment, there is another element we need to worry about. Nitrogen, carbon's next-door neighbour on the periodic table, is at the centre of …

News

Humans

King Henry VIII’s warship the Mary Rose carried crew from North Africa

The hull of the Mary Rose When the Tudor warship the Mary Rose sank off the south coast of England in 1545, it may have taken an international crew with it. An analysis of the remains of eight mariners from the vessel suggests that some may have come from as far away as North Africa. …

News

Life

Fossil shows a shark eating a proto-squid as it ate a crustacean

News

Environment

Floating googly eyes on a stick scare seabirds away from fishing nets

News

Health

Blood test could predict when pregnant women will give birth

News

Technology

Flat pasta that morphs into 3D shapes when cooked saves on packaging

News

Life

Ant species given first gender-neutral scientific name

News

Technology

IBM’s minuscule new computer chip could cut energy use by 75 per cent

News

Space

Enormous kites flown by robots could help power a Mars colony

News

Health

Worrying about bad jet lag could actually make your jet lag worse

News

Environment

Many US cities will lose nearly all ash trees by 2060

News

Technology

US Navy is developing drones to exterminate birds' eggs near airfields

News

Humans

Brain's movement control centre may have had key role in our evolution

News

Physics

Physicists have measured an atom's 'neutron skin' for the first time

News

Space

Cosmic census reveals 540 stars and planets in our neighbourhood

News

Humans

Ancient hominins may have needed midwives to help deliver babies

News

Health

People who live past 105 years old have genes that stop DNA damage

News

Physics

Measuring time accurately increases the entropy in the universe

News

Technology

'Green' bitcoin alternative Chia is leading to hard disc shortages

News

Health

Indian coronavirus variant in the UK seems to be more transmissible

News

Humans

Cerne Abbas Giant may have been carved into hill over 1000 years ago

News

Health

Covid-19 booster shots: Will we need them and how would they work?

News

Health

Premature ageing of the immune system may be one cause of long covid

News

Analysis

Technology

Trump ban decision shows the limits of a Facebook 'Supreme Court'

Donald Trump, pictured at the White House on 12 January The Oversight Board, an independent body set up by Facebook to review difficult moderation decisions made by the social media giant, has said the firm was right to remove potentially incendiary posts by former US president Donald Trump. The board also said that Facebook needs …

News

Technology

What the battle between Epic Games and Apple could mean for you

News

Technology

Ultra-tiny nanomachines are redefining how we think of robots

News

Aperture

Life

Stark images of Amazon show incredible peaks and Indigenous peoples

Photographer Sebastião Salgado THESE stark black and white images of the Amazon and its culture capture nature's power and hint at the area's precarious future. The shots are by documentary photographer Sebastião Salgado and come from his latest collection, Amazônia , which highlights the lush Amazon rainforest and the complex worlds of its Indigenous communities. …

Regulars

Features

Physics

Is everything predetermined? Why physicists are reviving a taboo idea

Superdeterminism makes sense of the quantum world by suggesting it is not as random as it seems, but critics say it undermines the whole premise of science. Does the idea deserve its terrible reputation?

Features

Environment

The nitrogen emergency: How to fix our forgotten environmental crisis

Features

Mind

David Eagleman interview: How our brains could create whole new senses

Features

Culture

(Left to right) Shamier Anderson, Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim and Toni Collette in Stowaway

Space

Stowaway review: A claustrophobic and philosophical space thriller

(Left to right) Shamier Anderson, Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim and Toni Collette in Stowaway Everything seems to be going well for the three-person crew of a ship on a two-year voyage to Mars and back. For her very last mission, commander Marina Barnett (Toni Collette) has been tasked with transporting biologist David Kim (Daniel …

Culture

Life

The Next 500 Years review: Engineering humanity for life after Earth

Culture

Humans

Don't Miss: A Nobel prize-winner on thinking green

Culture

Space

Shards of Earth review: A rip-roaring space opera with a psychic twist

Culture

Tom Gauld has a good felling about this experiment

Other cartoons by Tom Gauld can be found here .

Regulars

Twisteddoodles: 'My experiment has generated huge amounts of raw data'

Regulars

Space

How to find the constellations of Leo and Virgo in the night sky

Regulars

Puzzle #113: Will Farmer Giles end up with two ewes on his farm?

Regulars

Scientists finally find life on Mars (or actually they haven’t)

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

Regulars

This week's magazine

15 May 2021

On the cover

Nitrogen pollution is the environmental threat we must hear more about

Physics

Is everything predetermined? Why physicists are reviving a taboo idea

Environment

The nitrogen emergency: How to fix our forgotten environmental crisis

Mind

David Eagleman interview: How our brains could create whole new senses

Table of contents

Leaders

Nitrogen pollution is the environmental threat we must hear more about

News

Humans

King Henry VIII’s warship the Mary Rose carried crew from North Africa

Life

Fossil shows a shark eating a proto-squid as it ate a crustacean

Environment

Floating googly eyes on a stick scare seabirds away from fishing nets

Health

Blood test could predict when pregnant women will give birth

Technology

Flat pasta that morphs into 3D shapes when cooked saves on packaging

Life

Ant species given first gender-neutral scientific name

Technology

IBM’s minuscule new computer chip could cut energy use by 75 per cent

Space

Enormous kites flown by robots could help power a Mars colony

Health

Worrying about bad jet lag could actually make your jet lag worse

Environment

Many US cities will lose nearly all ash trees by 2060

Technology

US Navy is developing drones to exterminate birds' eggs near airfields

Humans

Brain's movement control centre may have had key role in our evolution

Physics

Physicists have measured an atom's 'neutron skin' for the first time

Space

Cosmic census reveals 540 stars and planets in our neighbourhood

Humans

Ancient hominins may have needed midwives to help deliver babies

Health

People who live past 105 years old have genes that stop DNA damage

Physics

Measuring time accurately increases the entropy in the universe

Technology

'Green' bitcoin alternative Chia is leading to hard disc shortages

Health

Indian coronavirus variant in the UK seems to be more transmissible

Humans

Cerne Abbas Giant may have been carved into hill over 1000 years ago

Health

Covid-19 booster shots: Will we need them and how would they work?

Health

Premature ageing of the immune system may be one cause of long covid

Analysis

Technology

Trump ban decision shows the limits of a Facebook 'Supreme Court'

Technology

What the battle between Epic Games and Apple could mean for you

Technology

Ultra-tiny nanomachines are redefining how we think of robots

Aperture

Life

Stark images of Amazon show incredible peaks and Indigenous peoples

Features

Physics

Is everything predetermined? Why physicists are reviving a taboo idea

Environment

The nitrogen emergency: How to fix our forgotten environmental crisis

Mind

David Eagleman interview: How our brains could create whole new senses

Culture

Space

Stowaway review: A claustrophobic and philosophical space thriller

Life

The Next 500 Years review: Engineering humanity for life after Earth