This week's magazine

Table of contents

Leaders

Space

The James Webb Space Telescope is expensive, but it should be worth it

THEY say good things come to those who wait. And when it comes to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), we have been waiting long enough. Originally due to launch in 2007, it has been plagued by delays due to engineering problems, the need to find money to meet its soaring costs and, more recently, …

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News

Technology

Smartphone app can detect hidden camera lenses from reflections

Time-of-flight sensors built into some smartphones can be used to detect the telltale reflections from hidden camera lenses

News

Life

Lakes freezing later in winter leads to less algae in the spring

News

Environment

UK refuses to release document showing Net Zero Strategy CO2 savings

News

Space

A pair of nearby supermassive black holes are heading for a collision

News

Life

Risso’s dolphins have invented rapid spin-dive technique for hunting

News

Life

Extinct New Zealand bird hunted like an eagle and ate like a vulture

News

Space

Extremely dense planet with an enormous iron core has an 8-hour year

News

Technology

DeepMind AI collaborates with humans on two mathematical breakthroughs

News

Environment

Impossible Foods in talks with UK farmers to swap livestock for trees

News

Humans

Fossil footprints hint at mystery hominin with unusual walking style

News

Life

New species of armoured dinosaur had a tail shaped like a fern frond

News

Humans

Humans have been relatively short for thousands of years

News

Health

Rare mutation in Old Order Amish people linked to lower heart disease

News

Space

Sun-like stars may go through brighter phases as they grow up

News

Technology

Fake covid-19 vaccine certificates are being sold on the dark web

News

Health

Omicron looks set to cause a huge wave of covid-19 around the world

News

Technology

US Navy is developing GPS that uses cosmic rays to navigate the Arctic

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Analysis

Health

Why has the UK been so slow to vaccinate children against covid-19?

Compared with other high-income countries, the UK has been slow to approve and roll out covid-19 vaccines to teenagers, prompting concerns over long covid and the new omicron variant

News

Technology

Australia’s planned anti-trolling law may silence political critics

News

Humans

Lessons from the covid-19 pandemic could help us reduce cyberbullying

News

Humans

We’ll never understand the universe while we’re drowning in admin

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Aperture

Life

The eerie bioluminescence of the ghost fungus in all its glory

Photographer Jürgen Freund AgencyNaturepl.com THIS haunting shot of a bioluminescent fungus may seem otherworldly, but you can witness the astonishing sight in forests here on Earth. The photo was taken in the Atherton Tableland plateau in Queensland, Australia, by nature photographer Jürgen Freund . This species is probably Omphalotus nidiformis , otherwise known as the …

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Features

Space

How the James Webb telescope will rewrite the story of the universe

The most anticipated space telescope ever is about to launch. It will give us a clear picture of the first stars and reveal the atmospheres of exoplanets too – if it unfolds without a hitch

Features

Space

3 of the most exciting space telescopes planned for launch by 2034

Features

Environment

The Amazon is turning into savannah – we have 5 years to save it

Features

Humans

Steven Pinker interview: Why humans aren't as irrational as they seem

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Culture

Humans

Encounter review: A sci-fi road trip that gets lost along the way

Malik (Riz Ahmed, centre) is determined to prepare his sons to fight the aliens Encounter Michael Pearce UK cinemas, Amazon Prime ENCOUNTER brings together three of the most exciting stars in the British film industry: director Michael Pearce, whose debut feature Beast was critically acclaimed on its release in 2017, screenwriter Joe Barton, who created …

Culture

Humans

Dr. Brain review: Scientifically absurd but strangely entertaining

Culture

Humans

Don’t miss: The new science reshaping our relationship with cancer

Culture

Humans

Two dystopian novels explore how language can be used to control us

Culture

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More

Humans

How to make a beautiful gingerbread house that won't fall down

CREATING a gingerbread house is a fun festive activity, but shoddy construction can spoil the party and put any gingerbread inhabitants in serious danger. This recipe and some tips will help you avoid catastrophe. First, create a design. It is helpful to draw the pieces for your house on paper, then cut these shapes out …

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Puzzle #143: Help figure out Spot's final resting place

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Tom Gauld visits elf researchers at Santa’s North Pole Institute

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Twisteddoodles: The fourth state of (what really) matter(s)

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Humans

Finally, a perfume to give you that distinct whiff of Neanderthal

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