This week's magazine
19 October 2019
Issue 3252
On the cover
Editor's picks
Health
We live in uncertain times, but we can all take back control
Life
There is an answer to the world’s deadliest human-elephant conflict
Mind
Worried about the future? The science behind coping with uncertainty
Technology
In the age of fake news and manipulation, you are the new battlefield
Table of contents
Leaders
Thank you for coming to ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµ Live and see you again next year
The fourth edition of ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµâ€™s live show in London was a roaring success, says editor Emily Wilson – we’ll be back in 2020, and hope to expand elsewhere too
Health
We live in uncertain times, but we can all take back control
¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµ
Health
High levels of air pollution seem to be linked to early miscarriages
Pregnant women who live and work in places with a lot of air pollution appear to be more likely to experience missed miscarriages
Humans
Eliud Kipchoge’s sub-2 hour marathon may herald even faster times
Environment
Crabs are being found in the Thames with stomachs full of plastic
Space
Plans for UK’s first moon rover announced at ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµ Live
Humans
Lee Berger: We have made another major discovery about early humans
Health
Cannabis extract may work as a treatment for cannabis addiction
Technology
These ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµ-inspired Twitter bots are surrealist art
Humans
You probably score worse than monkeys on questions about the world
Health
Chronic Lyme disease may be a misdiagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome
Technology
UK launched passport photo checker it knew would fail with dark skin
Life
The best of the 2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year winning photos
Space
Quantum weirdness could allow a person-sized wormhole to last forever
Physics
NASA engineer’s ‘helical engine’ may violate the laws of physics
Life
Deep-sea anglerfish may shed luminous bacteria into the ocean water
Environment
US green economy has 10 times more jobs than the fossil fuel industry
Health
Depression may reduce the amount of white matter in the brain
Life
Life may have begun with simple genes made out of urine
Life
Cold-blooded mammals roamed Earth for tens of millions of years
Space
We’ve discovered 20 more moons of Saturn – and you can help name them
Health
Takeaway food packaging may be source of synthetic chemicals in blood
Environment
Real time badger tracking shows culling could increase spread of TB
Life
Bees are better at counting if they are penalised for their mistakes
Humans
Ancient humans planned ahead and stored bones to eat the marrow later
Health
Mini organs grown from tumour cells can help us choose the best chemo
Analysis
Environment
Technology’s future isn’t gleaming, it’s dirty and biological
This changes everything | We’ve always thought of tech as conquering nature, but the climate crisis is changing everything – not least what future advances will look like, argues Annalee Newitz
Humans
These evidence-based strategies may turn the tide on domestic violence
Environment
Extinction Rebellion protests should be embraced, not banned
Features
Life
There is an answer to the world’s deadliest human-elephant conflict
Sri Lanka has the world's highest rate of human-elephant conflict – last year alone, it killed 70 people and 300 elephants. A simple solution can make all the difference, if people are willing to try it
Technology
In the age of fake news and manipulation, you are the new battlefield
Mind
Worried about the future? The science behind coping with uncertainty
Culture
Life
Hunting facts in the classic tale Moby-Dick makes for a strange voyage
New book Ahab's Rolling Sea highlights our destructiveness as it teases fact from fiction in Moby-Dick, the obsessive hunt for a great white whale
Humans
Stunning Tutankhamun show brings pharaoh’s golden afterlife to London
Life
Don’t miss: a bright mind, a dark future and crowd-sourced science
Technology
Why do Borderlands 3’s treasure chests make me feel a dopamine rush?
More
Health
Will the planet ever be free from the scourge of polio?
25 years ago, the Americas were declared polio-free. Most of the world followed – but a mutating vaccine and bioterrorism fears are undermining final success
Space
How to use the Orion constellation to find Sirius the dog star
Space
UK space academy boss Anu Ojha on what finding aliens might mean
Regulars
What makes Donald Trump orange, and other taxing questions
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