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This week's magazine

17 February 2024

Issue 3478

New Scientist issue 3478 cover
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Editor's picks

C1R8W3 Maipure Indians, inhabitants of the Upper Orinoco river, grilling the legs of a dead enemy. Italian Engraving 1781. Colored.

Humans

Is it time for a more subtle view on the ultimate taboo: cannibalism?

News
Our human ancestors often ate each other, and for surprising reasons

Humans

Our human ancestors often ate each other, and for surprising reasons

Features
How to take control of your dreams to boost learning and creativity

Mind

How to take control of your dreams to boost learning and creativity

Features
Why string theory has been unfairly maligned - and how to test it

Physics

Why string theory has been unfairly maligned - and how to test it

Features

Table of contents

Leaders

C1R8W3 Maipure Indians, inhabitants of the Upper Orinoco river, grilling the legs of a dead enemy. Italian Engraving 1781. Colored.

Humans

Is it time for a more subtle view on the ultimate taboo: cannibalism?

New archaeological evidence shows that ancient humans ate each other surprisingly often - sometimes for compassionate reasons. The finds give us an opportunity to reassess our views on the practice

News

News

Technology

Minecraft could be the key to creating adaptable AI

Researchers have a new way to assess an AI model’s intelligence: drop it into a game of Minecraft, with no information about its surroundings, and see how well it plays

News

Technology

Quantum computer uses a time crystal as a control dial

News

Health

How menopause can make menstrual cycles longer and more unpredictable

News

Physics

UK nuclear fusion reactor sets new world record for energy output

News

Space

Super Earths that seem to have oceans may actually be covered in magma

News

Earth

Huge deposit of natural hydrogen gas detected deep in Albanian mine

News

Health

Inhalable nanoparticles could help treat chronic lung disease

News

Technology

Cyborg locusts with brain nanoparticles could act as bomb sniffers

News

Mind

Babies in bilingual homes have distinct brain patterns at 4 months old

News

Environment

Air pollution is changing the scent of flowers and confusing insects

News

Physics

Einstein may be wrong about how mirrors travelling at light speed work

News

Mind

Insight into memories may alter our view of eyewitness testimonies

News

Chemistry

Old milk can be used to extract gold and other metals from e-waste

News

Space

SpaceX aims to let astronauts avoid a radio blackout during re-entry

News

Earth

Giant magma flow in Iceland was the fastest ever recorded

News

Physics

Quantum Cheshire Cat effect may separate a particle from its momentum

News

Environment

Half of migratory animal species are in decline – many face extinction

News

Life

Male cuttlefish burst through their ink clouds to impress females

News

Technology

Sensitive prosthetic lets man feel hot and cold in his missing hand

News

Humans

Hominins may have left Africa 700,000 years earlier than we thought

News

Space

Satellite beamed power from space to Earth for the first time ever

News

Analysis

People with long covid, who were not participants in the latest trial, take part in an exercise programme in a swimming pool

Health

Exercise programme helps people with long covid, but it's no panacea

An eight-week virtual exercise programme improved the quality of life of people with long covid, but the effect was relatively modest and it may not benefit everyone with the condition

News

Health

Does Viagra ward off Alzheimer's disease? It's too soon to say

News

Environment

What a trip to far-flung islands taught me about protecting our oceans

Comment

Mind

There aren't five love languages, despite claims on TikTok

News

Aperture

Nima Sarikhani, Wildlife Photographer of the Year.j

Life

Incredible picture of polar bear snoozing atop an iceberg is a winner

Taken in the Svalbard archipelago, Nima Sarikhani's image has scooped the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award

Regulars

Features

How to take control of your dreams to boost learning and creativity

Mind

How to take control of your dreams to boost learning and creativity

Dream engineers are developing technologies that can help you sleep more soundly and use your nighttime hours to your advantage - but there could also be a dark side

Features

Physics

Why string theory has been unfairly maligned - and how to test it

Features

Humans

Our human ancestors often ate each other, and for surprising reasons

Features

Culture

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Xinhua/Shutterstock (14160416a) This photo taken on Oct. 21, 2023 shows the award ceremony for the 2023 Hugo Awards during the 81st World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon) in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. The winners of the 2023 Hugo Awards, the world's top prizes for science fiction literature, were announced on Saturday night, with Chinese author Hai Ya taking home the Best Novelette award for

Comment

Amid (more) Hugo awards controversy, let's remember some past greats

The Hugo Awards are the Oscars for sci-fi and fantasy fans, so any oddities in the voting data for 2023's ceremony in China are bound to be upsetting. But whatever the reality, Emily H. Wilson finds an unexpected upside

Culture

Comment

What is love? A new book finds we still don't really know

Culture

Comment

Two new nature docs have very different takes on caring for the planet

Culture

Comment

New Scientist recommends: Chelsea Physic Garden

Culture

More

2BR41BD closeup of honey bees on honeycomb in apiary in the summertime

Mathematics

How the maths behind honeycombs can help you work a jigsaw puzzle

Maths tells us the best way to cover a surface with copies of a shape – even when it comes to jigsaw puzzles, says Katie Steckles

Regulars

BrainTwister #7: Home primes

Regulars

Tom Gauld on the professor's naps

Regulars

Twisteddoodles on mating calls

Regulars

Regulars

Are left-handed people more liberal? 52 years of data says maybe

Are left-handed people more liberal? 52 years of data says maybe

Feedback investigates research into US voters (and their handedness) between 1964 and 2016, and discovers that conclusions of some sort have been drawn

Regulars

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

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