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Editor's picks

Applying sunscreen on beach

Health

Safety of many sunscreen ingredients is in doubt 鈥� should we worry?

Earth from the moon

Earth

Is our technology shifting us and the planet into a different era?

Health

How to trick your mind to break bad habits and reach your goals

James Lovelock

Earth

James Lovelock at 100: The creator of Gaia theory on humanity’s future

women on the ISS

Space

After years of sexism in space we urgently need more female astronauts

particle accelerator artwork

Physics

The age of giant particle accelerators like the LHC may be over

Table of contents

Leaders

Earth from the moon

Earth

Is our technology shifting us and the planet into a different era?

James Lovelock, famed for Gaia theory, suggests that cyborgs will be Earth鈥檚 dominant species. If Elon Musk鈥檚 Neuralink is any indicator, the idea isn鈥檛 so fanciful

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drilling for water

Environment

US groundwater shortage is forcing us to dig extremely deep wells

Groundwater provides drinking water for 120 million Americans and irrigates farmland - but demand in some places, including in California, is drying up wells

Space

India has launched its Chandrayaan 2 mission to the moon

Environment

Deforestation in Brazil has rocketed since Bolsonaro became president

Life

Early life on Earth may have existed as miniature droplets of jelly

Space

Strange stars that go supernova may be dimming because of dark matter

Environment

The UK is spending billions on overseas fossil fuel projects

Humans

Our ancestors may have begun barbecuing 1.5 million years ago

Space

The Milky Way devoured another galaxy and we’ve spotted the remains

Technology

AI passes theory of mind test by imagining itself in another’s shoes

Mind

Strange illusion makes people forget where their teeth are

Humans

Oldest Denisovan art discovered on 100,000-year-old bone fragments

Physics

Tiny pebbles may be the reason most planets spin in the same direction

Health

Experimental Alzheimer鈥檚 drug targets gum disease bacteria

Environment

Journal criticised for study claiming sun is causing global warming

Technology

Thousands of pornography sites leak data to Google and Facebook

Technology

Elon Musk’s plans for mind-controlled gadgets: what we know so far

Health

A type of antibiotics can cause hearing loss – and now we know why

Technology

Artificial skin can sense 1000 times faster than human nerves

Environment

A drastic plan might prevent catastrophic Antarctic ice sheet collapse

Physics

Weird new type of magnetic liquid could be used to control soft robots

Mind

Life鈥檚 winners think success was earned even if it was down to luck

Life

Orangutan mothers tell infants where to go by scratching themselves

Analysis

Emergency treatment for overdoses may be improving

Health

Does the drop in US drug deaths mean the opioid crisis is ending?

Overdose deaths in the US have dropped for the first time in two decades, but many people are still dependent on painkillers and struggling to get them legally

Health

Safety of many sunscreen ingredients is in doubt 鈥� should we worry?

Comment

Adding more bioethanol to petrol is no way to go green

Comment

Internet gifs aren’t just for the lols: Giphy wants to make money too

Aperture

whale shark

Life

Endangered whale sharks strain fish out of the water using huge mouths

Whale sharks can feed on huge numbers of prey at once by opening their mouths over a metre wide. But they are gentle giants and juveniles even swim with divers

Features

Health

How to trick your mind to break bad habits and reach your goals

Our brains evolved to help us survive in an age where food and rest were hard to come by. To help you stay fit and healthy in the modern world, here's how to game your brain

Space

After years of sexism in space we urgently need more female astronauts

Physics

The age of giant particle accelerators like the LHC may be over

Earth

James Lovelock at 100: The creator of Gaia theory on humanity’s future

Culture

Underground food farm

Mind

Don鈥檛 Miss: future food, altered mental states and healing minds

This week, visit an underground urban farm, read about our amazing brains and listen to the latest ideas on the future of psychiatry

Life

Save the planet by reimagining your back garden as an exotic jungle

Technology

Science Museum鈥檚 Top Secret exhibition feeds spy-loving kid in us all

Technology

Why video games struggle to navigate mental health鈥檚 tricky waters

More

Space

What happened when the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet smashed into Jupiter

From the archives: In 1994 comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 hit Jupiter, creating fireballs 2000 kilometres across 鈥� and raising US Congress alarm about what would happen if one hit Earth

Technology

Electronics projects for beginners: Make an automatic plant waterer

Liana Finck cartoon

Technology

Roma Agrawal: The amazing engineer who designed the Shard’s spire

Regulars

Vladimir Putin is worried that wind turbines are disturbing worms

Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more

This Week鈥檚 Letters

Lucky dip: What’s the best strategy for winning the lottery?

Itchy and scratchy: why doesn’t a mosquito bite stop being itchy?

This week鈥檚 new questions

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