Issue 3396 | Magazine cover date: 23 July 2022

23 July 2022

Issue 3396

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On the cover

Culture

15 of the best science non-fiction books to savour on your holiday

Features

Historical plagues led to revolutions - could coronavirus do the same?

Scott Bolton on his missions to the gas giants of the solar system

What lab-grown 'mini-brains' are revealing about this mysterious organ

News

Octopus-inspired glove lets you manipulate objects underwater

James Webb Space Telescope releases dazzling first science images

Wild bison released in UK for first time as part of rewilding efforts

What we know so far about how covid-19 affects sperm

Temperature hits 40°C on the UK's hottest day on record

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The sun rises on what is set to be a day of extreme heat with temperatures expected to reach to 40 degrees. Seasonal weather, Dunsden, Oxfordshire, UK - 18 Jul 2022

Environment

The recent heatwave should act as a wake-up call about climate action

News

Health

What lab-grown 'mini-brains' are revealing about this mysterious organ

Features

Space

Scott Bolton on his missions to the gas giants of the solar system

Features

Humans

Historical plagues led to revolutions - could coronavirus do the same?

Features

Leaders

Environment

The recent heatwave should act as a wake-up call about climate action

HOW hot do you want it? That's the question facing world leaders this week as heat records were broken, forests burned, economies were disrupted and people died. The lethal heat should act as a wake-up call for politicians about the urgency of acting on carbon emissions, not least leaders in the UK, which provisionally hit …

News

Technology

Octopus-inspired glove lets you manipulate objects underwater

A glove with artificial suckers inspired by those found on octopuses allows people to securely grip delicate objects underwater, and the technology could be added to robots in future

News

Life

Moving turtle eggs to protect them disrupts brain development

News

Technology

Robot that can perceive its body has self-awareness, claim researchers

News

Space

James Webb Space Telescope releases dazzling first science images

News

Life

Penguins adapt their accents to sound more like their friends

News

Health

Modified pig hearts transplanted into dead people kept on life support

News

Space

James Webb Space Telescope pictures: Your questions answered

News

Technology

Robot made of sticky tape and metal powder could crawl on your organs

News

Environment

Wild bison released in UK for first time as part of rewilding efforts

News

Health

Risk of heart failure may increase with age due to Y chromosome loss

News

Life

Woodpeckers don't have built-in shock absorbers to protect their brain

News

Space

Risk of space rock collisions may limit where JWST can look in the sky

News

Humans

Ancient DNA adds to evidence for Native Americans' east Asian ancestry

News

Physics

New kind of laser uses tiny particle clumps to generate light

News

Health

What we know so far about how covid-19 affects sperm

News

Life

Antarctic bacteria reveal an evolutionary limit to dealing with heat

News

Space

Astronomers are already unscrambling the warped galaxies seen by JWST

News

Space

Red smudge seen by JWST could unlock chemistry of the early universe

News

Environment

Temperature hits 40°C on the UK's hottest day on record

News

Analysis

Humans

Beware the rise of corporate rituals designed to manipulate employees

Companies are increasingly looking to engender loyalty by tapping into our evolved need to belong. But the emotional costs of bonding sessions and other techniques can be high and the sense of belonging false, warns Jonathan R Goodman

News

Humans

Mistakenly calling AIs 'sentient' is more dangerous than we think

Comment

Aperture

Humans

Cameraless photography creates lockdown 'supernovae' at home

These entrancing orbs look like something plucked from distant universes, but they were in fact created by photographer Charlotte Greenwood using her own spin on cliché-verre printing

Regulars

Features

Humans

Historical plagues led to revolutions - could coronavirus do the same?

From an Ancient Egyptian plague to the Black Death and Spanish flu, epidemics have often spurred societal transformations. Understanding why can help us create a better world after covid-19

Features

Space

Scott Bolton on his missions to the gas giants of the solar system

Features

Health

What lab-grown 'mini-brains' are revealing about this mysterious organ

Features

Culture

Humans

Travel the world and universe from home with these video games

If you can't leave the country over the holidays, then video games have you covered, whether you fancy flying a plane with Microsoft Flight Simulator or exploring a galaxy of planets with No Man's Sky, says Jacob Aron

Culture

Humans

15 of the best science non-fiction books to savour on your holiday

Culture

Humans

11 of the best science fiction books for holiday reading

Culture

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Puzzle #177: Can you solve a conundrum about monkey siblings?

#177 Monkeying around Scientists have been studying two rare monkey species in a forest. In one part of the forest live the Equalis monkeys, which are split 50-50 between males and females. In another part of the forest are the Fraternis monkeys, of which exactly two-thirds are male – the evolutionary aspect of this isn't …

Regulars

Humans

How to grow chilli plants in cooler climates

Regulars

Tom Gauld: The robot hands have been trained to peel a banana

Regulars

Twisteddoodles: Fun filters for the James Webb Space Telescope

Regulars

Humans

Let slip the online shiba inus of war

Feedback lifts the veil on the cartoon dogs debunking Russian propaganda, while also checking in on the hunt for the legendary Sasquatch

Regulars

This week's magazine

23 July 2022

On the cover

Environment

The recent heatwave should act as a wake-up call about climate action

Health

What lab-grown 'mini-brains' are revealing about this mysterious organ

Space

Scott Bolton on his missions to the gas giants of the solar system

Humans

Historical plagues led to revolutions - could coronavirus do the same?

Table of contents

Leaders

Environment

The recent heatwave should act as a wake-up call about climate action

News

Technology

Octopus-inspired glove lets you manipulate objects underwater

Life

Moving turtle eggs to protect them disrupts brain development

Technology

Robot that can perceive its body has self-awareness, claim researchers

Space

James Webb Space Telescope releases dazzling first science images

Life

Penguins adapt their accents to sound more like their friends

Health

Modified pig hearts transplanted into dead people kept on life support

Space

James Webb Space Telescope pictures: Your questions answered

Technology

Robot made of sticky tape and metal powder could crawl on your organs

Environment

Wild bison released in UK for first time as part of rewilding efforts

Health

Risk of heart failure may increase with age due to Y chromosome loss

Life

Woodpeckers don't have built-in shock absorbers to protect their brain

Space

Risk of space rock collisions may limit where JWST can look in the sky

Humans

Ancient DNA adds to evidence for Native Americans' east Asian ancestry

Physics

New kind of laser uses tiny particle clumps to generate light

Health

What we know so far about how covid-19 affects sperm

Life

Antarctic bacteria reveal an evolutionary limit to dealing with heat

Space

Astronomers are already unscrambling the warped galaxies seen by JWST

Space

Red smudge seen by JWST could unlock chemistry of the early universe

Environment

Temperature hits 40°C on the UK's hottest day on record

Analysis

Humans

Beware the rise of corporate rituals designed to manipulate employees

Humans

Mistakenly calling AIs 'sentient' is more dangerous than we think

Aperture

Humans

Cameraless photography creates lockdown 'supernovae' at home

Features

Humans

Historical plagues led to revolutions - could coronavirus do the same?

Space

Scott Bolton on his missions to the gas giants of the solar system

Health

What lab-grown 'mini-brains' are revealing about this mysterious organ

Culture

Humans

Travel the world and universe from home with these video games

Humans

15 of the best science non-fiction books to savour on your holiday

Humans

11 of the best science fiction books for holiday reading

More

Puzzle #177: Can you solve a conundrum about monkey siblings?

Humans

How to grow chilli plants in cooler climates