This week's magazine

Table of contents

Leaders

Health

We must share vaccines globally in our fight against covid-19

IN THE long term, the future is looking bright. Several coronavirus vaccines are proving far more effective than we dared hope, and while some aren't as effective against new variants, most do still work. In the short term, however, things may get worse before they get better. Despite many countries, including the UK, starting to …

News

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News

Life

Whale sharks gulp down air to float vertically while feeding

A whale shark feeding at the water's surface Whale sharks are the world’s largest living fish, measuring up to 18 metres long, but somehow they can suspend themselves in an upright position despite having a body density that is greater than that of seawater. A study of captive whale sharks suggests this may be due …

News

Technology

AI lets man with paralysis type by just thinking about handwriting

News

Humans

Isotope study hints ancient Greeks used foreign fighters in key battle

News

Physics

Clouds of atoms trap light in a way that could store quantum data

News

Technology

The way we use emojis evolves like language and changes their meaning

News

Health

Pigs can breathe oxygen via their rectum, so humans probably can too

News

Environment

Climate change is speeding up the degradation of ancient rock art

News

Life

Deep-sea snailfish repairs its DNA to survive 7 km below the surface

News

Health

Cuba's bid to vaccinate all citizens with home-grown covid-19 shots

News

Environment

On the hunt for platypus DNA in Australia's waterways

News

Life

Female mice that lose a male partner are wary of taking a new one

News

Health

Early signs of Parkinson’s disease could be spotted in the nose

News

Space

Astronomers may have found black holes that formed soon after big bang

News

Space

Europa’s icy shell may have pockets of water that could support life

News

Health

Indian coronavirus variant is threatening UK plans to end lockdown

News

Health

What's the fairest way to share covid-19 vaccines around the world?

News

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Analysis

Environment

A mysterious rise in methane levels is sparking global warming fears

Livestock, particularly cows, are a major source of methane IN A University of Colorado lab, near a furnace running at 1100°C and machines adorned with Star Trek posters, lie rows of metal flasks holding clues to the cause of an alarming rise in a powerful greenhouse gas. They contain samples of air from around the …

News

Technology

Artificial intelligence has been of little use for diagnosing covid-19

News

Health

Does eating celery really burn more calories than it contains?

News

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Aperture

Life

Cicadas set to emerge in once in every 17-year event

This intricate image of a cicada shedding its skin in the US state of Maryland was taken by Carolyn Kaster. Trillions more will soon emerge across the country for a brooding event that occurs once every 17 years

Regulars

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Features

Health

How the way you move can change the way you think and feel

New research suggests the connection between exercise and the brain goes deeper than you might think. These six kinds of movement can help make you more creative, boost your self-esteem and reach altered states of consciousness

Features

Environment

Kimberly Nicholas interview: How to be human in a warming world

Features

Physics

Rules of attraction: Strange chemical bonds that defy the textbooks

Features

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Culture

Technology

Power to the Public review: How digital tech can ease global problems

Power to the Public: The promise of public interest technology Tara Dawson McGuinness and Hana Schank Princeton University Press THE question of how best to use technology to meet the everyday needs of citizens is on the agenda, especially in the US, where President Joe Biden wants to "listen to science". So far, he has …

Culture

Has science fiction become too serious?

Culture

Humans

Don't Miss: Netflix original anime Eden is a sci-fantasy with robots

Culture

Technology

In Silico review: The ambitious project to recreate the human brain

Culture

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More

Puzzle #114: Can you work out Francesca and Martha’s birthdays?

#114 Lara's birthday "It's amazing," said Lara. "Today is the 29th of the month and I am 29. Tomorrow is the 30th and it is my 30th birthday. Imagine someone's age matching the date two days running!" "Not that amazing, is it?" asked Thomas, doubtfully. "Surely that will happen to everyone at least once in …

Regulars

Tom Gauld's institute of nursery rhyme studies

Regulars

Twisteddoodles: Is your dog a cross between a pug and a Pekingese?

Regulars

Life

Animal sounds hold clues to biodiversity – help scientists unlock them

Regulars

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Regulars

The peculiar case of asking Alexa for the mass of a neutrino

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

Regulars

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word