This week's magazine
13 May 2023
Issue 3438
On the cover
Editor's picks
Health
Why the causes of poor mental health may share a common root
Health
The weird truth about calories and why food labels get them so wrong
Physics
Why virtual particles don’t exist but do explain reality – for now
Physics
Why symmetry is so fundamental to our understanding of the universe
Life
Why the origins of life remain a mystery – and how we will crack it
Physics
To create a wormhole that doesn’t collapse, you need exotic matter
Technology
What is the AI alignment problem and how can it be solved?
Physics
Emergence: The mysterious concept that holds the key to consciousness
Humans
What is longtermism and why do its critics think it is dangerous?
Humans
The mental tricks you can use in your lifelong pursuit of happiness
Mind
Why the mind-body connection is vital to understanding consciousness
Health
Ageing is inevitable, but we may soon treat it like any other disease
Physics
How we could discover quantum gravity without rebuilding space-time
Table of contents
News
Environment
14,000 oil and gas wells remain unplugged in the Gulf of Mexico
Thousands of offshore wells have been left uncapped in the Gulf of Mexico, which means oil or methane could leak out and harm marine ecosystems
Health
Stem cells treat diabetes without triggering immune response in mice
Environment
Antarctic ice melt may be reversible due to rising land beneath
Space
Remnants of the universe’s first stars may have been found
Life
Ancient bacteria genome reconstructed from Neanderthal tooth gunk
Health
Brain surgery before birth fixes abnormal blood vessel in fetus
Environment
Lab-grown meat could be 25 times worse for the climate than beef
Life
Gannets’ blue eyes turn black after an infection with bird flu
Technology
How Elon Musk and Reddit are leading a war on AI web scraping
Technology
ChatGPT seems to be trained on copyrighted books like Harry Potter
Environment
Extreme rainfall could lead to ‘big disaster’ for rice yield in China
Humans
DNA from 25,000-year-old tooth pendant reveals woman who wore it
Chemistry
Decades-old mystery about photosynthesis finally solved
Life
Woolly mammoths had testosterone surges like those of male elephants
Technology
Mechanical backpack boosts the sensation of jumping in virtual reality
Health
Ultrasound opens brain barrier so drugs can reach aggressive tumours
Space
We’ve seen a star devouring a planet for the first time
Life
Apes have the same willingness to share food as small children
Health
Australia to ban nicotine-free vapes in push to end recreational use
Analysis
Health
Dozens of countries have tamed malaria, but can we eradicate it?
Many countries and territories have malaria-free status, however, this may be very difficult to achieve in parts of Africa where the parasite is endemic
Society
‘I’ve found my people’: Why being a fan can be transformative
Society
Why we shouldn’t fill our minds with endless tales of dystopia
Features
Health
Why the causes of poor mental health may share a common root
The neat picture we once had about the causes of mental illness has turned out to be wrong, but we are building an understanding of a new single underlying factor
Health
The weird truth about calories and why food labels get them so wrong
Physics
Why virtual particles don’t exist but do explain reality – for now
Health
Ageing is inevitable, but we may soon treat it like any other disease
Physics
To create a wormhole that doesn’t collapse, you need exotic matter
Life
Why the origins of life remain a mystery – and how we will crack it
Physics
Why symmetry is so fundamental to our understanding of the universe
Mind
Why the mind-body connection is vital to understanding consciousness
Humans
What is longtermism and why do its critics think it is dangerous?
Technology
What is the AI alignment problem and how can it be solved?
Physics
How we could discover quantum gravity without rebuilding space-time
Humans
The mental tricks you can use in your lifelong pursuit of happiness
Physics
Emergence: The mysterious concept that holds the key to consciousness
Culture
Comment
Mrs. Davis and Class of ’09 review: AI anxieties abound in TV sci-fi
Hostility, scepticism and general disquiet towards artificial intelligence run through two new sci-fi shows, Mrs. Davis and Class of '09, but they have very different styles
Comment
The Experience Machine review: How our brains predict the daily world
Comment
Don’t Miss: Destination Cosmos delivers a magical tour of the universe
Comment
Silo review: With apocalypses everywhere, can a new TV show deliver?
More
Life
Why watering your plants at midday won’t damage their leaves
It is a long-held idea that midday watering will scorch plants' foliage and damage their health – but this isn’t supported by the evidence, says James Wong
Tom Gauld on failing to open a portal to another dimension
Twisteddoodles on the difference between worms and ladybirds
Regulars
ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´s wonder if space tourists will want to have sex in orbit
Feedback digs into a new paper about "uncontrolled human conception" beyond Earth and sniffs around new research into the aroma of brewed coffee