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This week's magazine

13 August 2022

Issue 3399

New Scientist issue 3399 cover
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Editor's picks

Resources provided mutual aid and responded to five new fires in the Fairbanks area on Monday, July 25th. Two fires are connected to downed trees on powerlines, one involved a structure fire that spread into the wildland, one was unable to be located, and the fifth report resulted in crews monitoring an area for fire activity. Aircraft drops retardant on (600) Old Ridge Trail Fire in Alaska. Photo by James Lily (DOF)

Environment

What Alaska's record-breaking wildfires mean for the Arctic's future

News
2JHKK31 Manchester, UK. 19th July, 2022. Aerial photo taken on July 19, 2022 shows the partially empty Woodhead Reservoir near Manchester, Britain. A recent report by the European Commission's Joint Research Center showed that almost half of the European Union's (EU) territory and Britain are at risk of drought in July. Drought conditions and water scarcity are affecting energy production and reducing crop yield. Credit: Jon Super/Xinhua/Alamy Live News

Environment

Climate change will intensify UK droughts so we must take action now

News
Illustration of woman sat on musical scale notation

Health

The power of quiet: The mental and physical health benefits of silence

Features
5 mind-bending numbers that could reveal the secrets of the universe

Physics

5 mind-bending numbers that could reveal the secrets of the universe

Features
What Earth’s mysterious infancy tells us about the origins of life

Life

What Earth’s mysterious infancy tells us about the origins of life

Features

Table of contents

Leaders

2JHKK31 Manchester, UK. 19th July, 2022. Aerial photo taken on July 19, 2022 shows the partially empty Woodhead Reservoir near Manchester, Britain. A recent report by the European Commission's Joint Research Center showed that almost half of the European Union's (EU) territory and Britain are at risk of drought in July. Drought conditions and water scarcity are affecting energy production and reducing crop yield. Credit: Jon Super/Xinhua/Alamy Live News

Environment

Climate change will intensify UK droughts so we must take action now

TEMPORARY bans on using hosepipes to fill up paddling pools might seem like a parochial issue. But such modest efforts as most of England nears drought are a reminder that even countries perceived as perpetually rainy will need to get serious about saving water in a warming world. Drought is part of many countries' natural …

News

News

Listronotus elongatus,a South American weevil

Environment

How weevils have become weapons in UK's fight against invasive plants

A weevil designed to kill a problem aquatic weed is the latest biological agent selected to tackle the economic and biodiversity scourge of invasive species in the UK

News

Health

RSV vaccine that may protect against bronchiolitis has promise in mice

News

Space

Gamma ray bursts could help unravel how fast the universe is expanding

News

Space

JWST has released a striking new image of the strange Cartwheel galaxy

News

Technology

If cryptocurrencies are unhackable, how do they keep getting stolen?

News

Life

Labrador dogs gene edited and cloned to prevent inherited hip disease

News

Health

Blood substitute repairs damaged organs hours after heart stops

News

Technology

Using hand gestures can improve your experience of video calls

News

Life

Pitcher plants use raindrop impacts to fling insects into their trap

News

Space

JWST has caught two galaxies smashing together and sparking starbursts

News

Technology

Experimental earphone can ‘hear’ commands user is silently mouthing

News

Physics

Quantum computers would be better at Wordle than classical ones

News

Life

E. coli that is recoded to be virus resistant may aid drug production

News

Life

Early humans may have wiped out many turtles millions of years ago

News

Health

One in 8 people got long covid after infection early in the pandemic

News

Environment

These are the UK supermarket items with the worst environmental impact

News

Health

Transfusing blood from an old mouse to a younger mouse causes ageing

News

Environment

What does the Inflation Reduction Act mean for US carbon emissions?

News

Technology

Artificial neuron swaps dopamine with rat brain cells like a real one

News

Health

Immunity for common cold coronaviruses may ward off severe covid-19

News

Humans

Secrets of an ancient Chinese recipe for bronze finally deciphered

News

Analysis

Villarrica lake, Chile in the summer. It is possible to see the lake, the flag of Chile. Sunny day, mountains in the background. Latin America, South America. Volcano, travel.; Shutterstock ID 1967684629; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Environment

Will Chile's new constitution make it the first truly green state?

If Chileans adopt a new constitution next month, they would be making almost unprecedented commitment to the environment, says Graham Lawton

Comment

Environment

What Alaska's record-breaking wildfires mean for the Arctic's future

News

Environment

Millimetre-wave beams could give us access to deep geothermal energy

News

Aperture

The larva of Ippa conspersa attacks a worker of the host ant, probably Lasius nipponensis

Life

Ants are under attack from outsiders in these intimate photos

These images, taken from new book The Guests of Ants, reveal the behaviour of myrmecophiles, sophisticated organisms from beetles to flies that infiltrate ant colonies to take advantage of them

Regulars

Features

Illustration of woman sat on musical scale notation

Health

The power of quiet: The mental and physical health benefits of silence

In an increasingly noisy world, neuroscientists are discovering exactly what kind of silence has the most dramatic impact on your mental health – from flotation tanks to guided meditation – and how much you really need

Features

Life

What Earth’s mysterious infancy tells us about the origins of life

Features

Physics

5 mind-bending numbers that could reveal the secrets of the universe

Features

Culture

On Sonorous Seas review: What a dead whale can tell us

Humans

On Sonorous Seas review: What a dead whale can tell us

When a beaked whale carcass washed up near her home, part of a mass stranding around the region, Mhairi Killin was inspired to launch an artistic challenge to the military's impact in the area

Culture

Humans

Am I Normal? review: Deep-dive sets us straight on our need for norms

Culture

Humans

Don't Miss: Netflix's new alternative reality drama Look Both Ways

Culture

Humans

Five Days at Memorial review: The hospital hit by Hurricane Katrina

Culture

More

Puzzle #180: Can you help me remember my PIN number?

Puzzle #180: Can you help me remember my PIN number?

#180 Neat as a PIN I sometimes have difficulty remembering my five-digit PIN. I am cautious, so I don't want to write it down, and I use five different digits so it isn't easily guessed. Fortunately, it has a special mathematical property that allows me to work it out if I ever need to. All …

Regulars

Tom Gauld on the ultimate challenge

Regulars

Twisteddoodles: mathematically minded vs mathematically mindless

Regulars

Space

How to spot the group of stars known as the Teapot

Regulars

Regulars

Egyptian mummy’s head discovered in Kent attic

Humans

Egyptian mummy’s head discovered in Kent attic

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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