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This week's magazine

9 October 2021

Issue 3355

New Scientist issue 3355 cover
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Editor's picks

A new dawn in AI and quantum computing now looks tantalisingly close

Technology

A new dawn in AI and quantum computing now looks tantalisingly close

News
Repressed memories: The dangerous idea we can’t seem to forget

Mind

Repressed memories: The dangerous idea we can’t seem to forget

Features
Supersized AIs: Are truly intelligent machines just a matter of scale?

Technology

Supersized AIs: Are truly intelligent machines just a matter of scale?

Features
'Ionic wind' could power planes, save energy and fight wild weather

Technology

'Ionic wind' could power planes, save energy and fight wild weather

Features

Table of contents

Leaders

A new dawn in AI and quantum computing now looks tantalisingly close

Technology

A new dawn in AI and quantum computing now looks tantalisingly close

THERE are two grand ambitions now for computer science: truly intelligent machines and useful quantum computers. Recent developments suggest not only that these goals should be achievable, but that they could be closer than we think. Take the quest to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) – AIs that go well beyond being good at one …

News

News

camcopter-S-100

Environment

Drones are 'sniffing' ship exhaust for illegal fuel in European waters

The Camcopter S-100, manufactured by Schiebel Drones are routinely being used for anti-pollution missions off the coast of Europe to “sniff” the exhaust fumes from ships and catch operators using illegal fuel. At the start of last year, the UN's International Maritime Organization introduced new legislation to reduce the limit on the percentage of sulphur …

News

Space

The deepest canyons on Mars were rapidly formed by devastating floods

News

Technology

DeepMind AI can accurately predict if it will rain in next 90 minutes

News

Environment

It’s now easier to run trials testing CRISPR-edited crops in England

News

Space

Exoplanet in a triple star system may orbit all three at once

News

Health

Prioritising covid vaccines for people of colour may have saved lives

News

Technology

Biological computer made from single-celled organisms can crunch data

News

Health

Japan 2011 earthquake and tsunami linked to increased risk of dementia

News

Life

Some female butterflies can see an extra ultraviolet colour

News

Space

Other planets in our solar system can masquerade as Earth from afar

News

Life

Female cleaner fish can judge when to cheat without getting caught

News

Technology

Norwegian reservoirs power homes in Great Britain via 724km cable

News

Health

Sexual desire may be triggered by gentle touch sensors in your skin

News

Humans

Marie Antoinette's censored love letters have been read using X-rays

News

Technology

Quantum computers can now fix their own mistakes without making more

News

Space

Weird white dwarf that is colder than it should be defies explanation

News

Health

Lubricating arthritic knees with synthetic fluid may help tissue heal

News

Health

Woman’s depression treated by an implant responding to brain patterns

News

Humans

People reached remote Atlantic islands 700 years earlier than thought

News

Environment

People in cities have faced huge increase in heat exposure since 1983

News

Health

Why is New Zealand seemingly giving up on its zero-covid strategy?

News

Health

Ivermectin 'buyers clubs' want to use the drug to treat covid-19

News

Analysis

Medical pills in white, blue and other colors

Health

Coming off antidepressants risks relapse – but so does staying on them

Ending the use of antidepressants carries some risk, but so does staying on them People who stop taking antidepressants because they feel they no longer need them could trigger a relapse into depression, a study has shown. The findings may be taken by some as reason to continue taking such medicines indefinitely – but in …

News

Technology

A maize meme shows why you shouldn't trust social media

News

Environment

The 5 roles you may have to affect climate change

News

Aperture

Sublime slime mould wins New Scientist photography competition

Life

Sublime slime mould wins New Scientist photography competition

Photographer Barry Webb A WOODLOUSE feasts on a gelatinous slime mould in this mystifying shot by photographer Barry Webb. The image, taken in Buckinghamshire, UK, was the overall winner in this year's New Scientist Photography Awards , as decided by public vote. Slime moulds are organisms that can exist as single cells, but clump together …

Regulars

Features

Supersized AIs: Are truly intelligent machines just a matter of scale?

Technology

Supersized AIs: Are truly intelligent machines just a matter of scale?

Gigantic neural networks that write with remarkable fluency have led some experts to suggest that scaling up current technology will lead to human-level language abilities – and ultimately true machine intelligence

Features

Technology

'Ionic wind' could power planes, save energy and fight wild weather

Features

Mind

Repressed memories: The dangerous idea we can’t seem to forget

Features

Culture

Astronaut looking planet earth from the window of his capsule. Concept about science and space exploration

Humans

The Apollo Murders review: Chris Hadfield's novel is a space thriller

Home feels a long way away when you don’t know who to trust Book The Apollo Murders Chris Hadfield Quercus I FOLLOW space flight pretty closely, and yet I couldn't tell you the names of the people currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS) without looking it up. We weren't always this blasé about human …

Culture

Humans

Eating to Extinction review: Are our bland diets bad for the world?

Culture

Don't Miss: Dopesick is an intense drama about the US opioid crisis

Culture

Humans

Living Proof review: A unique take on Scotland's environmental history

Culture

More

How to water your garden in a more environmentally friendly way

Environment

How to water your garden in a more environmentally friendly way

LAST month, a campaign by the Royal Horticultural Society urged UK gardeners to be more environmentally friendly. One piece of advice was to get a water butt and use rainwater for watering instead of the mains . You might think there is plenty of water to go around in a rainy country like the UK, …

Regulars

Puzzle #134: Can you work out which keyboard to hack?

Regulars

Regulars

Why some people find it so hard to find food in the fridge

Why some people find it so hard to find food in the fridge

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

Regulars

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

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