This week's magazine

Table of contents

Leaders

Environment

India's next leader will have the chance to lead the world on climate

The future prime minister of this increasingly powerful nation should be prepared to play a key role in global climate policy

News

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News

Mind

Brain activity seems to be more complex in baby girls than boys

When fetuses and babies were exposed to sound stimuli, their brains' subsequent activity appeared to be more complicated in the females than the males

News

Physics

Nuclear fusion experiment overcomes two key operating hurdles

News

Technology

Deepfake politicians may have a big influence on India’s elections

News

Health

Your diet may influence how effective vaccines are for you

News

Life

Modern rose hybrids have a worrying lack of genetic diversity

News

Physics

Quantum forces used to automatically assemble tiny device

News

Health

Two medicines for opioid addiction also help with compulsive gambling

News

Life

Culling predatory starfish conserves coral on the Great Barrier Reef

News

Environment

Toxic chemicals from car tyres can get into soil and contaminate food

News

Space

Supermassive black holes may provide a nursery for mini ones to grow

News

Mind

Rat neuron injection lets mice that can’t smell sniff out cookies

News

Space

Birthplace of red asteroid Kamo‘oalewa pinned to specific moon crater

News

Life

Alpacas are the only mammals known to directly inseminate the uterus

News

Life

Wasps use face-recognition brain cells to identify each other

News

Technology

AI that determines risk of death helps save lives in hospital trial

News

Health

How the US is preparing for a potential bird flu pandemic

News

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Analysis

Technology

Can India build a world-leading computer chip industry from scratch?

India currently has a fairly small chip-manufacturing industry, but prime minister Narendra Modi wants the country to become a dominant player in the sector in just a few years

News

Space

How India has slowly but surely become a major player in space

News

Health

India’s healthcare system falls short despite Modi’s improvements

News

Environment

Plastic pollution treaty would be 'failure' without tackling emissions

News

Environment

India is poised to become a climate leader, but is it up to the task?

News

Environment

The shift to LED lighting is stopping us from seeing our night skies

Comment

Mind

The unexpected effects of nostalgia on our health and at work

News

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Aperture

Life

These stunning close-up photos offer a window onto the world of bees

From an orchid bee to a violet carpenter bee, these images show the insects in amazing detail

Regulars

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Features

Earth

Can these awesome rocks become central Asia’s first UNESCO Geopark?

Long feted by fossil hunters and geologists, if UNESCO recognises the extraordinary rock formation at Madygen in Kyrgyzstan, it will soon be a player on the world stage

Features

Physics

The galactic anomalies hinting dark matter is weirder than we thought

Features

Health

The new drugs preventing allergic reactions to peanuts and other foods

Features

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Culture

Comment

The "science of weird shit" and making sense of the paranormal

Chris French, who runs the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths, explores what lies behind claims of ghosts, aliens and reincarnation in his new book

Culture

Comment

Johann Hari's compelling but flawed look at the new weight-loss drugs

Culture

Comment

Joel Edgerton must escape the multiverse in a gripping sci-fi series

Culture

Comment

New Scientist recommends a play about women in a birth control trial

Culture

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More

Life

Here's an easier way to improve the drainage of heavy clay soil

Digging sand or grit into clay soils is a drainage fix that has been around for years, but James Wong turns to nature to find a less backbreaking solution

Regulars

BrainTwister #18: The arithmetical two‑step

Regulars

Tom Gauld on investing in AI

Regulars

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Regulars

How to make $138,000 from shredded banknotes – if you're in Hong Kong

Feedback is intrigued by the possibilities of a new paper theorising that computer vision could be used to reconstruct shredded banknotes contained in a paperweight souvenir

Regulars

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word