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This week's magazine

18 November 2023

Issue 3465

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Editor's picks

RGAJ63 Caveman painting in a cave

Humans

How archaeologists can decide if prehistoric artefacts count as art

Leader

Subscriber-only
Fresh ideas about the causes of acne are bringing new treatments

Health

Fresh ideas about the causes of acne are bringing new treatments

Features

Subscriber-only
The Makapansgat pebble is seen on display as part of the exhibition "South Africa: the Art of a Nation", at the British Museum in London, Britain November 25, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Heavens FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY - LR1ECBP1AXUYC

Humans

The archaeological finds that show art is far older than our species

Features

Subscriber-only
How AI avatars of the deceased could transform the way we grieve

Mind

How AI avatars of the deceased could transform the way we grieve

Features

Subscriber-only
Cannabis leaf

Life

The cannabis of the future might not come from plants

Features

Subscriber-only

Table of contents

Leaders

RGAJ63 Caveman painting in a cave

Humans

How archaeologists can decide if prehistoric artefacts count as art

To make sense of aesthetically pleasing ancient objects and what they tell us about how their creators thought, archaeologists must temper imagination with science

Leader

Subscriber-only

News

Life

Sea cucumbers surprise scientists with spectacular light show

Ten sea cucumber species have been found to emit light for the first time, and researchers predict 200 more deep-sea species in this group could be bioluminescent

News

Subscriber-only

A woman receiving radiation therapy for breast cancer

Physics

First practical use for nuclear fusion could help cancer treatment

News

Subscriber-only

Health

Just 3.5 minutes of intense activity a day may keep your heart healthy

News

Subscriber-only

Artist's impression of mitochondria

Health

A type of vitamin B3 might treat chronic pain related to inflammation

News

Free

vortices in a Martini glass

Physics

Physicists have invented a new way to shake a martini

News

Subscriber-only

CAPTION Panels A and B show the side-on and underneath view of a hummingbird passing through an aperture sideways. C and D show the same views of the hummingbird passing thorough an aperture like a bullet with its wings swept back. CREDIT Marc Badger https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article-lookup/doi/10.1242/jeb.245643

Life

Hummingbirds have two amazing ways to fly through tiny gaps

News

Free

salt crystals dissolving in beaker with water

Chemistry

Atom-by-atom recordings track what happens after substances dissolve

News

Free

Life

Yeast has half its DNA rewritten in quest for synthetic complex cells

News

Free

Health

Blood tests for Alzheimer’s may be rolled out within five years

News

Free

Environment

Rainforest loss in South-East Asia could extend El Niño and La Niña

News

Subscriber-only

Artistic representation of how the Milky Way-like galaxy ceers-2112 would look from Earth

Space

Distant Milky Way-like galaxy is older than we thought possible

News

Free

Environment

The past 12 months were the hottest ever on record

News

Free

location of distant black hole

Space

Astronomers have found the most distant black hole ever confirmed

News

Subscriber-only

Aaron James with Eduardo Rodriguez

Health

Human eyeball successfully transplanted for the first time

News

Free

Environment

Ancient Europe was half covered by savannah and grazed by elephants

News

Free

A family socialising

Health

Frequently seeing friends and family may cut the risk of early death

News

Free

Space

Plants thrive in lunar soil with help from phosphorus-making bacteria

News

Free

Divers exploring rocky reefs

Technology

Underwater walkie-talkies could work long-distance with radio trick

News

Subscriber-only

Life

Metal pollution may be skewing the sex ratio of sea turtles

News

Free

Technology

DeepMind AI can beat the best weather forecasts - but there is a catch

News

Free

A comet wagged its tail as it flew past the sun

Space

A comet wagged its tail as it flew past the sun

News

Subscriber-only

Robotic chemist discovers how to make oxygen from Martian minerals

Space

Robotic chemist discovers how to make oxygen from Martian minerals

News

Free

Analysis

Technology

Hollywood strike ends – but actors’ battle against AI may not be over

The longest actors’ strike in Hollywood history ended with an agreement that requires studios to get consent and pay performers for using AI-created digital replicas – but AI could still drastically change the industry

Analysis

Subscriber-only

Health

Weight-loss drug Wegovy can avert heart attacks - will this widen use?

Analysis

Subscriber-only

BFERM2 Bulldozer Spread Coal Mine Waste on Impoundment Dam

Environment

Could coal mining waste provide crucial elements for green tech?

Comment

Subscriber-only

Environment

Will global warming continue even after we hit net-zero emissions?

Analysis

Subscriber-only

Ice might be ubiquitous, but we are still discovering things about it

Earth

Ice might be ubiquitous, but we are still discovering things about it

Comment

Subscriber-only

Aperture

Artist's tulip photos capture transience of life

Life

Artist's tulip photos capture transience of life

Kathrin Linkersdorff’s images, part of her Fairies series, are heavily influenced by the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi

Regulars

Free

Features

Cannabis leaf

Life

The cannabis of the future might not come from plants

We can now synthesise THC, CBD and other cannabinoids in bioreactors – these could be used to make new therapeutic compounds with a lower environmental cost

Features

Subscriber-only

Fresh ideas about the causes of acne are bringing new treatments

Health

Fresh ideas about the causes of acne are bringing new treatments

Features

Subscriber-only

The Makapansgat pebble is seen on display as part of the exhibition "South Africa: the Art of a Nation", at the British Museum in London, Britain November 25, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Heavens FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY - LR1ECBP1AXUYC

Humans

The archaeological finds that show art is far older than our species

Features

Subscriber-only

How AI avatars of the deceased could transform the way we grieve

Mind

How AI avatars of the deceased could transform the way we grieve

Features

Subscriber-only

Culture

F0A01R Young woman drinking coffee. African girl sitting at cafe having coffee and looking away.

Comment

Most Delicious Poison review: A lively journey through nature's toxins

From caffeine to curare, evolutionary biologist Noah Whiteman explores plants' myriad toxins and the impact they have had on society, in his new book

Culture

Subscriber-only

2HN6JW3 Jim, a gas lamp lighter engineer from British Gas, works in St John Smith Square, Westminster, London. Over 300 gas fuelled lamps still remain in Westminster and around 1,500 gas lamps, dating back 200 years old, continue to light the capital. Picture date: Monday February 14, 2022.

Comment

Into the Dark review: Intriguing book dissects darkness

Culture

Subscriber-only

TOKYO, JAPAN - JULY 4, 2023: All Nippon Airways B787-9 Pok?mon Jet leaves Hanada Airport. ; Shutterstock ID 2326792475; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Comment

Irresistible review: A charming look at why we find things cute

Culture

Subscriber-only

The Lazarus Project is back, and the fight to secure the future has never been more intense. When the world locks into a time loop in which the world ends every three weeks, the Lazarus team must race against time to find a solution before humanity is wiped out forever. Among their number is resolute Lazarus agent, George (Paapa Essiedu), who???s been left in disgrace after betraying the organisation in the name of love. George is determined to redeem himself and win back the trust of his friends, colleagues, and the love of his life. But when he discovers that the cause he???s fighting is more sinister than it appears, George begins to suspect that the only person he can really trust is himself.

Comment

New Scientist recommends The Lazarus Project and Ark Nova

Culture

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More

New Scientist Default Image

Puzzle #248: How did Poppy manage to slice the pizzas fairly?

Can you solve this week’s arithmetical puzzle, Pizza parity? Plus the answer to puzzle #247

Regulars

Subscriber-only

Pillars of Creation (NIRCam and MIRI Composite Image) By combining images of the iconic Pillars of Creation from two cameras aboard NASA???s James Webb Space Telescope, the universe has been framed in its infrared glory. Webb???s near-infrared image was fused with its mid-infrared image, setting this star-forming region ablaze with new details. Myriad stars are spread throughout the scene. The stars primarily show up in near-infrared light, marking a contribution of Webb???s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). Near-infrared light also reveals thousands of newly formed stars ??? look for bright orange spheres that lie just outside the dusty pillars. In mid-infrared light, the dust is on full display. The contributions from Webb???s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) are most apparent in the layers of diffuse, orange dust that drape the top of the image, relaxing into a V. The densest regions of dust are cast in deep indigo hues, obscuring our view of the activities inside the dense pillars. Dust also makes up the spire-like pillars that extend from the bottom left to the top right. This is one of the reasons why the region is overflowing with stars ??? dust is a major ingredient of star formation. When knots of gas and dust with sufficient mass form in the pillars, they begin to collapse under their own gravitational attraction, slowly heat up, and eventually form new stars. Newly formed stars are especially apparent at the edges of the top two pillars ??? they are practically bursting onto the scene. At the top edge of the second pillar, undulating detail in red hints at even more embedded stars. These are even younger, and are quite active as they form. The lava-like regions capture their periodic ejections. As stars form, they periodically send out supersonic jets that can interact within clouds of material, like these thick pillars of gas and dust. These young stars are estimated to be only a few hundred thousand years old, and will continue to form for mi

Society

Why 'existential humility' may be the answer to today's culture wars

Regulars

Subscriber-only

Tom Gauld on a disagreement about the nature of gravity

Tom Gauld on a disagreement about the nature of gravity

Regulars

Free

Twisteddoodles on a relatable test tube

Twisteddoodles on a relatable test tube

Regulars

Free

Regulars

How much hair is the right amount to cut off? Depends who you ask

How much hair is the right amount to cut off? Depends who you ask

Feedback ponders the importance of a study that asked women to pose as hairdressers in a hair salon, advising female clients about how much hair they should have cut off

Regulars

Free

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

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