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This week's magazine

30 December 2023

Issue 3471

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Editor's picks

Year 2024 futuristic 3D render. Modern colours. WEB 3.0 colours.

Environment

What 2024 will look like, from moon missions to COP29

Leader

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Cartoon image of a wide-open mouth

Health

Why tending your oral microbiome is the secret to a long, healthy life

Features

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fractal; Shutterstock ID 46182931; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Space

Have we found filaments of pure energy unleashed during the big bang?

Features

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Hannah Ritchie: 'Eco-anxiety on its own is not that useful'

Environment

Hannah Ritchie: 'Eco-anxiety on its own is not that useful'

Features

Subscriber-only

Table of contents

Leaders

Year 2024 futuristic 3D render. Modern colours. WEB 3.0 colours.

Environment

What 2024 will look like, from moon missions to COP29

While 2024 will see more of 2023’s defining features, from record-breaking temperatures to advances in artificial intelligence, the year could also usher in a new space age and even a whole new epoch

Leader

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News

Europa Clipper Reaction Wheel installations Requester: Gretchen Mccartney Photographer: Gregory M. Waigand Date: 2022-10-14 Photolab order: 106955-11.00.00.A04

Space

Europa Clipper will launch to Jupiter in 2024 to explore its icy moon

Jupiter's moon Europa is thought to be one of the best places to look for life beyond Earth, thanks to its subsurface ocean, and in 2024 NASA is launching a mission to take a close look

News

Free

2R2AKY2 Advertising for Wegovy (semaglutide) weight loss injections in the New York subway on Sunday, April 30, 2023. (? Richard B. Levine)

Health

2024 will see a new weight-loss drug that trumps Wegovy and Ozempic

News

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Wide view of the telescope mount inside the dome

Space

Vera C. Rubin Observatory will start scanning the night sky in 2024

News

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The ruins of San Roque church in Villanueva, normally submerged partially in the waters of the Ebro reservoir, in the northern province of Cantabria, are now visible entirely on solid ground due to the ongoing drought that has caused the reservoir to be at 32.72% of its capacity, on August 8, 2023. The Iberian Peninsula is bearing the brunt of climate change in Europe, witnessing increasingly intense heatwaves, droughts and wildfires. The Spanish met office (AEMET) issued maximum red alerts for parts of Andalusia in the south, the Madrid region in the centre and the Basque Country in the far north. (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA / AFP) (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA/AFP via Getty Images)

Environment

2024 will break the extreme temperature records set in 2023

News

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Climate activists protest after a draft of a negotiation deal was released, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 13, 2023. REUTERS/Rula Rouhana - RC25W4A9Z99Q

Environment

Will 2024 see the world finally turning away from fossil fuels?

News

Subscriber-only

https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15112 Typical activity and appearance of a developmentally equivalent (107 day gestation) lamb fetus to a 23 ? 25 week gestation human infant during a run (day 5). SCREENGRAB - Supplementary Movie 1

Health

Premature babies could be treated with an artificial uterus in 2024

News

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KRAKOW, POLAND - 2023/09/12: In this photo illustration a Stability.Ai logo displayed on a smartphone with programing code on the background. (Photo Illustration by Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Technology

AI firms will face copyright infringement lawsuits in 2024

News

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A0XHR7 Fall colored trees reflected off Crawford Lake Ontario Canada

Earth

We might officially enter the Anthropocene epoch in 2024

News

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Illustration of Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lunar lander

Space

International fleet of spacecraft is heading to the moon in 2024

News

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Analysis

Is artificial intelligence about to free us from the curse of Babel?

Technology

Is artificial intelligence about to free us from the curse of Babel?

Artificial intelligence will make it easier than ever to communicate across linguistic borders. But is this a good thing, asks linguist Philip Seargeant

Comment

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A road sign is posted near a parcel of land recently purchased by Flannery Associates near Rio Vista, California on September 15, 2023. A stealth campaign by Silicon Valley elites with a dream of turning a swath of California farmland into a new age city has ranchers who live here challenging their tactics as well as their motives. The project first surfaced when a mysterious buyer started gobbling up parcels of land in this rural outback between San Francisco and Sacramento. The buyer, first revealed by the New York Times in August, turned out to be a secretive outfit called Flannery Associates. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Society

The weird tale of California Forever, a tech billionaire instant city

Comment

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Aperture

?Goleuadau?r Gogledd? ? Mathew Browne Wales, United Kingdom The title of this image, ?Goleuadau?r Gogledd,? translates to ?Northern Lights? in Welsh. Finding the accurate translation proved challenging, as this phrase isn?t commonly used in everyday conversations here in South Wales. Witnessing the aurora borealis this far south is a rare occurrence, and capturing it at an iconic location like Paxton?s Tower adds to its uniqueness. Paxton?s Tower, a hilltop folly with a history spanning over 200 years, overlooks the picturesque Carmarthenshire countryside. For over an hour, the horizon beyond the clouds emitted hues of green and pink. However, for a brief yet magical moment, the sky came alive with impressive pink pillars, visible to the naked eye

Earth

See a dazzling collection of the year's best northern lights pictures

This spectacular selection of images is taken from the winners of the Northern Lights Photographer of the Year competition, run by Capture the Atlas

Regulars

Free

Features

Hannah Ritchie: 'Eco-anxiety on its own is not that useful'

Environment

Hannah Ritchie: 'Eco-anxiety on its own is not that useful'

Climate change and biodiversity loss may seem like insurmountable problems, but data scientist Hannah Ritchie is cautiously optimistic we can solve them

Features

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fractal; Shutterstock ID 46182931; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Space

Have we found filaments of pure energy unleashed during the big bang?

Features

Subscriber-only

Cartoon image of a wide-open mouth

Health

Why tending your oral microbiome is the secret to a long, healthy life

Features

Subscriber-only

Culture

Young woman, wearing a orange jacket, is reading a book on an ebook reader during sunset over Himalayas. She is sitting on the top of a mountain and holding the e-reader.The afternoon sun on the background. Mount Everest National Park. This is the highest national park in the world, with the entire park located above 3,000 m ( 9,700 ft). This park includes three peaks higher than 8,000 m, including Mt Everest. Therefore, most of the park area is very rugged and steep, with its terrain cut by deep rivers and glaciers. Unlike other parks in the plain areas, this park can be divided into four climate zones because of the rising altitude. The climatic zones include a forested lower zone, a zone of alpine scrub, the upper alpine zone which includes upper limit of vegetation growth, and the Arctic zone where no plants can grow.

Comment

20 non-fiction and popular science books to look forward to in 2024

Why is gravity still a puzzle? Do humans make pandemics? Are we all ocean people? 2024’s best reads, by authors from Claudia de Rham to Helen Scales, probe our toughest questions

Culture

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Woman on Color ink illuminating with black light,Using a virtual reality headset

Comment

12 extraordinary science fiction books to watch out for in 2024

Culture

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The 13 best sci-fi series and science shows to look forward to in 2024

Comment

The 13 best sci-fi series and science shows to look forward to in 2024

Culture

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More

Kaizen concept; the continuous improvement in business for efficiency and effectiveness. Kaizen cycle icon on wood cubes; improve, continuous, process, result, standard solution. Quality improvement.

Mind

Think small for attainable New Year's resolutions

Making ambitious goals for the year ahead can set you up for disappointment, so try embracing the concept of kaizen instead, says David Robson

Regulars

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Asset ID: 782705470 New year. Christmas. Snowflakes. New Year's cards.

Puzzle #255: How long will it take for all eight bulbs to be lit up?

Regulars

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Tom Gauld on the boss's grand ambitions

Tom Gauld on the boss's grand ambitions

Regulars

Free

Twisteddoodles: What did the printer say to the radio?

Twisteddoodles: What did the printer say to the radio?

Regulars

Free

Regulars

Celebrating New Year with the otorhinolaryngology crew

Comment

Celebrating New Year with the otorhinolaryngology crew

Feedback enjoys 16 years of adventures - including pyrotechnics - on New Year’s Eve in the otorhinolaryngology department of a single hospital

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Free

Regulars

Letters

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