This week's magazine
29 August 2015
Issue 3036
On the cover
Editor's picks
Physics
I’ve taught computers to paint portraits – and how to code
Humans
Our number’s up: Machines will do maths we’ll never understand
Humans
Why being bored is stimulating – and useful, too
Humans
How creative computers will dream up things we’d never imagine
Table of contents
Leaders
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Environment
London’s low-emission zone fails to improve air quality
Charging drivers to enter parts of London did not improve air quality or schoolchildren's respiratory health in the first three years of the scheme
Earth
China crash a sign of nation’s transition to a new economy
Earth
US wildfires continue to spread as high winds foil simulations
Physics
Quantum computer firm D-Wave claims massive performance boost
60 Seconds
Environment
ISIS shows off Palmyra destruction as museums race to save rest
Health
Hidden viral protein brings universal flu jab closer
Physics
High-energy LHC plans held up by UFOs and electron clouds
Life
More than 100 billion billion Earth-like planets might exist
Technology
After Ashley Madison: How to regain control of your online data
Earth
Watery time capsule hints at how life got started on early Earth
Physics
Metamaterial wormhole teleports magnetic fields across space
Health
Hormones boost placebo effect by making you want to cooperate
Life
Octopuses seen throwing things may be using shells as weapons
Submerge a wine glass in water to make an ‘inverted glass harp’
Life
Dainty step gives mosquito legs strength to walk on water
Health
Bed-wetting dries up after magnetic stimulation of lower back
Life
Ant knows how to self-medicate to fight off fungal infection
Health
Aspirin may restore pregnancy sex ratio skewed by inflammation
Earth
Glaciers seed ocean with silicon – and fuel plankton growth
Life
Zoologger: Daring raptors lock talons mid-air and cartwheel down
Health
Genetic switch makes fat cells burn energy rather than store it
Health
Diagnosis without doctors: Deep learning to transform medicine
Technology
Autonomous cars are learning our unpredictable driving habits
Technology
App gives smartphone snaps more than 5 million different filters
Technology
One Per Cent
Technology
Could do better: How to clean up the world of online reviews
Health
I don’t predict a riot: jail smoking ban need not spell unrest
Opinion
Earth
Russia has claimed the North Pole – but it’s not the only one
Even if Russia's revived bid to win extended seabed rights in the Arctic is accepted, there will be many more years of wrangling amid competing claims, says Martin Pratt
Space
Our telescope could give everyone their own galaxy to study
Life
Synthetic biology needs a grand design vision
Features
Humans
Our number’s up: Machines will do maths we’ll never understand
Software is already cracking theorems that humans have struggled to prove. Future computers could take mathematics to places too complex for our brains to follow
Humans
How creative computers will dream up things we’d never imagine
Physics
I’ve taught computers to paint portraits – and how to code
Humans
Why being bored is stimulating – and useful, too
Culture
Health
The Man Who Wasn’t There: Exploring the science of the self
We’re learning a lot about being human from people with a fragmented or distorted sense of self, finds a new book
Technology
Applied minds: Why engineers are the real heroes
Mind
Substituting senses lets blind people take sonic holiday snaps
Regulars
Feedback: Hidden gems of crystal clear advice
Plus a bad moon rising, where the sun doesn't shine, a featherbrained scheme for saving the planet, classy sex toys, and more