Health
As 2020 ends, vaccines give us a shot at returning to normal life
News
This week's magazine
19 December 2020
Issue 3313
On the cover
Editor's picks
Space
Searching for stardust: How to find micrometeorites in your gutters
Features
Mind
The surprising truth about why adults make children believe in Santa
Features
Technology
Dr Dolittle machines: How AI is helping us talk to the animals
Features
Life
Scat scans: How lasers are teasing secrets from ancient poo
Features
Technology
Hordes of automated bots run the internet 鈥� can we bring them to heel?
Features
Technology
Can chemistry replicate the flavour of vintage whisky overnight?
Features
Health
Why fitness training for worms and flies could make humans healthier
Features
Humans
The reason we love to gather around the TV lies in Stone Age embers
Features
Life
The curious case of the 鈥済lacier mice鈥� that seem to dance on ice
Features
Life
The bizarre reason Skittles taste different in the UK and the US
Features
Wombling, boojums and thunk: Test yourself in our jargon-busting quiz
Features
Life
Why don鈥檛 wildebeest have wheels? Exploring the limits of evolution
Features
Table of contents
News
Health
The first US coronavirus vaccinations have taken place in New York
Roll-out of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has begun in the US as healthcare workers receive the first shots
News
Health
What can the Biden administration do to stop covid-19 in the US?
News
Health
Will vaccines give us lasting immunity to the coronavirus?
News
Life
Ranchers fight US government to corral the last wild horses of Nevada
News
Physics
We may be able to find magnetic fields from the start of the universe
News
Humans
Ancient humans may have hibernated to survive brutal glacial winters
News
Humans
Ancient shell beads may have been the first money used in the Americas
News
Life
Asian honeybees use animal faeces to defend themselves from hornets
News
Technology
Robots learn to get back up after a fall in an unfamiliar environment
News
Space
The Milky Way’s black hole burped out two colossal X-ray bubbles
News
Life
Contagious cancer may cause Tasmanian devils to become antisocial
News
Health
2020 in review: How the coronavirus crisis unfolded month by month
News
Health
2020 in review: How science scrambled to decipher the coronavirus
News
Health
2020 in review: Coronavirus vaccines made in record time
News
Environment
Mass of artificial objects on Earth may now outweigh living things
News
Health
2020 in review: The countries that got covid-19 under control
News
Space
2020 in review: The hunt for life on Venus continues
News
Technology
2020 in review: Nuclear fusion power is slowly getting closer
News
Humans
2020 in review: Calls for universal basic income on the rise
News
Environment
2020 in review: Extreme weather seen around the world as climate warms
News
Space
2020 in review: Earth acquired a minimoon the size of a 6-year-old
News
Technology
2020 in review: Revenge of the Y2K bug as lazy fix takes down software
News
Technology
2020 in review: The year governments slapped down big tech
News
Environment
2020 in review: What happened to all the tree-planting plans?
News
Life
Ancestor of pterosaurs might have been a tree-climbing reptile
News
Analysis
Humans
Together scientists can back Black Lives Matter and boost race justice
This year, scientists took action to support Black Lives Matter. Let 2021 be your year to advance race justice, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
News
Technology
To recreate delicious meals, don鈥檛 treat recipes simply as algorithms
News
Health
Does being around plants truly improve your happiness and well-being?
News
Environment
This year could come to be regarded as a turning point in history
News
Features
Life
Why don鈥檛 wildebeest have wheels? Exploring the limits of evolution
Evolution has produced a stupendous diversity of lifeforms, but there are some adaptations it never seems to produce, like flying plants or zebras with guns. Is there is a limit to its creativity?
Features
Space
Searching for stardust: How to find micrometeorites in your gutters
Features
Mind
The surprising truth about why adults make children believe in Santa
Features
Wombling, boojums and thunk: Test yourself in our jargon-busting quiz
Features
Life
The bizarre reason Skittles taste different in the UK and the US
Features
Life
The curious case of the 鈥済lacier mice鈥� that seem to dance on ice
Features
Health
Why fitness training for worms and flies could make humans healthier
Features
Humans
The reason we love to gather around the TV lies in Stone Age embers
Features
Technology
Hordes of automated bots run the internet 鈥� can we bring them to heel?
Features
Technology
Can chemistry replicate the flavour of vintage whisky overnight?
Features
Life
Scat scans: How lasers are teasing secrets from ancient poo
Features
Technology
Dr Dolittle machines: How AI is helping us talk to the animals
Features
More
Christmas crafts: How to make your own amazing optical illusion
In anamorphic illusions, the image appears distorted until viewed from the one vantage point at which it resolves into a perfect three-dimensional projection. Follow our guide to create your own 鈥� and don't forget to share it!
Regulars
Humans
Learn to love those Christmas sprouts with simple cooking science
Regulars
Twisteddoodles finds a reindeer with a red nose genetic mutation
Regulars
