Issue 3516 | Magazine cover date: 9 November 2024

9 November 2024

Issue 3516

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On the cover

Features

The complete guide to cooking oils and how they affect your health

If an asteroid were heading towards Earth, could you avert disaster?

Before the Stone Age: Were the first tools made from plants not rocks?

News

Quantum 'Schrödinger's cat' survives for a stunning 23 minutes

Oldest tadpole fossil known to science dates back 161 million years

Cloud-inspired material can bend light around corners

A bizarre skeleton from a Roman grave has bones from eight people

Regulars

How can I help a friend who is relentlessly negative about life?

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2HAJ7KN This way to experience the impact - sign on the road to Meteor Crater, Northern Arizona, USA

Space

What preparing for an asteroid strike teaches us about climate change

Comment

Health

The complete guide to cooking oils and how they affect your health

Features

Space

If an asteroid were heading towards Earth, could you avert disaster?

Features

Humans

Before the Stone Age: Were the first tools made from plants not rocks?

Features

Leaders

Space

What preparing for an asteroid strike teaches us about climate change

Averting an asteroid strike will need many of the same skills we must hone to tackle climate change and future pandemics

Comment

News

Technology

Spies can eavesdrop on phone calls by sensing vibrations with radar

An off-the-shelf millimetre wave sensor can pick out the tiny vibrations made by a smartphone's speaker, enabling an AI model to transcribe the conversation, even at a distance in a noisy room

News

Physics

Quantum 'Schrödinger's cat' survives for a stunning 23 minutes

News

Technology

AI helps driverless cars predict how unseen pedestrians may move

News

Health

Flu viruses have evolved proteins that let them break through mucus

News

Environment

Clean energy rollout means China’s emissions may have peaked

News

Physics

Quantum batteries could give off more energy than they store

News

Health

One course of antibiotics can change your gut microbiome for years

News

Space

Astronauts could hitch a ride on asteroids to get to Venus or Mars

News

Environment

The Amazon is teetering on the edge of a climate tipping point

News

Physics

There may be a cosmic speed limit on how fast anything can grow

News

Life

Oldest tadpole fossil known to science dates back 161 million years

News

Health

Michelangelo's 'The Flood' seems to depict a woman with breast cancer

News

Health

Cancer atlas reveals how tumours evolve inside the body

News

Physics

Cloud-inspired material can bend light around corners

News

Mathematics

Chimpanzees will never randomly type the complete works of Shakespeare

News

Technology

One in 20 new Wikipedia pages seem to be written with the help of AI

News

Humans

A bizarre skeleton from a Roman grave has bones from eight people

News

Environment

Lakes are losing winter ice cover at an astonishing rate

News

Health

War-era sugar rationing boosted health of UK people conceived in 1940s

News

Physics

We've seen particles that are massless only when moving one direction

News

Environment

COP29: Clashes over cash are set to dominate the climate conference

News

Aperture

What: This photo shows a spiny toad amplexus, with a female in the middle of several males. When: The photo was taken in May 2024. Where: The image was taken in the Pyr??n??es Atlantiques, France. How it was taken: The photo was taken at night, when hundreds of toads are crossing the roads to reach their egg-laying grounds. It's common to see such clusters of toads at this time of year. How it was post-processed: I made some basic adjustments to the brightness and contrast, as well as highlighting the individuals and applying a slight vignetting, while taking care not to distort the original photo.

Life

See nature in close-up in these stunning photographs

Shortlisted for the Close-up Photographer of the Year contest, these images zoom in on animals in all their glory

Regulars

Features

Health

The complete guide to cooking oils and how they affect your health

From seed oils to olive oil, we now have an overwhelming choice of what to cook with. Here’s how they all stack up, according to the scientific evidence

Features

Space

If an asteroid were heading towards Earth, could you avert disaster?

Features

Humans

Before the Stone Age: Were the first tools made from plants not rocks?

Features

Culture

Society

In satire Rumours, diplomatic communiques collide with the end times

A stellar cast play leaders of G7 countries facing an existential crisis in Rumours, a smart film about communication, diplomatic nonsense and not coping, says Simon Ings

Culture

Physics

What is the price of genius, asks biography of Roger Penrose

Culture

Environment

Why do we burn more coal and wood than ever, asks a provocative book

Culture

Life

New Scientist recommends the Pier 26 Science Playground

Culture

2M2WTDW Islands of floating algae. Seaweed Brown Sargassum floating on surface of the water, sun's rays breaking through the thick grass. Underwater shot

Environment

Could seaweed be the ultimate carbon capture solution?

Our Future Chronicles column explores an imagined history of inventions and developments yet to come. In our latest glimpse into the near future, Rowan Hooper tells how seaweed was a game changer when it came to getting carbon out of the atmosphere in the 2030s

Comment

Mind

How can I help a friend who is relentlessly negative about life?

Regulars

BrainTwister #45: Square differences

Regulars

Health

Conspiracy theorists are turning their attention back to HPV vaccines

Comment

Tom Gauld on getting things to work - or not

Regulars

Twisteddoodles on (another) new method for teaching mathematics

Regulars

An unusual method for avoiding a gap in your résumé

Social networking can keep friends and acquaintances in touch with your career, but Feedback isn't sure how to feel about a cryptocurrency mogul's latest job update

Regulars

This week's magazine

9 November 2024

On the cover

Space

What preparing for an asteroid strike teaches us about climate change

Health

The complete guide to cooking oils and how they affect your health

Space

If an asteroid were heading towards Earth, could you avert disaster?

Humans

Before the Stone Age: Were the first tools made from plants not rocks?

Table of contents

Leaders

Space

What preparing for an asteroid strike teaches us about climate change

News

Technology

Spies can eavesdrop on phone calls by sensing vibrations with radar

Physics

Quantum 'Schrödinger's cat' survives for a stunning 23 minutes

Technology

AI helps driverless cars predict how unseen pedestrians may move

Health

Flu viruses have evolved proteins that let them break through mucus

Environment

Clean energy rollout means China’s emissions may have peaked

Physics

Quantum batteries could give off more energy than they store

Health

One course of antibiotics can change your gut microbiome for years

Space

Astronauts could hitch a ride on asteroids to get to Venus or Mars

Environment

The Amazon is teetering on the edge of a climate tipping point

Physics

There may be a cosmic speed limit on how fast anything can grow

Life

Oldest tadpole fossil known to science dates back 161 million years

Health

Michelangelo's 'The Flood' seems to depict a woman with breast cancer

Health

Cancer atlas reveals how tumours evolve inside the body

Physics

Cloud-inspired material can bend light around corners

Mathematics

Chimpanzees will never randomly type the complete works of Shakespeare

Technology

One in 20 new Wikipedia pages seem to be written with the help of AI

Humans

A bizarre skeleton from a Roman grave has bones from eight people

Environment

Lakes are losing winter ice cover at an astonishing rate

Health

War-era sugar rationing boosted health of UK people conceived in 1940s

Physics

We've seen particles that are massless only when moving one direction

Environment

COP29: Clashes over cash are set to dominate the climate conference

Aperture

Life

See nature in close-up in these stunning photographs

Features

Health

The complete guide to cooking oils and how they affect your health

Space

If an asteroid were heading towards Earth, could you avert disaster?

Humans

Before the Stone Age: Were the first tools made from plants not rocks?

Culture

Society

In satire Rumours, diplomatic communiques collide with the end times

Physics

What is the price of genius, asks biography of Roger Penrose

Environment

Why do we burn more coal and wood than ever, asks a provocative book

Life

New Scientist recommends the Pier 26 Science Playground

More

Environment

Could seaweed be the ultimate carbon capture solution?