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Table of contents

Leaders

Health

Politicians can’t be afraid of U-turns if we want to keep schools open

  THE start of a new school year is always a significant moment for children, but never more so than this year. When schools in England, the US and many other nations reopen their doors this September, it will be the first time in months that the majority of children have stepped foot in a …

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Space

Earth may have formed with enough water to fill the oceans three times

The rocks that came together to form Earth might have carried more water than we thought Our planet may have been born wet. When and how Earth got its water is an open question in planetary science. Now an analysis of meteorites from the inner solar system hints that water may have arrived along with …

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Environment

Historic California wildfires likely to be fuelled by climate change

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Health

How I launched WHO’s covid-19 response in the Central African Republic

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Health

Body fat transformed by CRISPR gene editing helps mice keep weight off

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Space

Quantum computers may be destroyed by high-energy particles from space

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Society

Letting people in the US vote by mail has little impact on who wins

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Technology

Army of a million microscopic robots created to explore on tiny scale

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Environment

Algae's ability to photosynthesise boosted by light-harvesting plastic

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Space

Travelling through a wormhole without dying may actually be possible

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Life

Watch cells sniff their way around the maze from Hampton Court Palace

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Health

We can train our brain to access our unconscious for a cognitive boost

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Technology

AI removes unwanted objects from photos to give a clearer view

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Life

Best-preserved titanosaur embryo reveals they had nose horns as babies

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Health

What are T-cells and why have they become a political football?

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Health

Human trials of Oxford coronavirus vaccine have begun in the US

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Health

Coronavirus: How to keep children and staff safe when schools reopen

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Health

Coronavirus: Should children returning to school wear face coverings?

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Analysis

Earth

Silicon Valley billionaires want to geoengineer the world's oceans

Ocean alkalinity enhancement could save the Great Barrier Reef SOME of the world's richest people are funding research that could use the oceans to combat climate change. The idea is welcomed by some researchers, but others caution that there is a lack of international agreement about geoengineering the planet in such ways. Should billionaires be …

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Technology

We could soon make cars stop people driving while drunk or on drugs

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Health

A lot of veg is 'toxic' but that doesn't mean you shouldn't eat it

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Aperture

Life

Beautiful blooming phytoplankton create swirling art in the Baltic Sea

This image released by NASA's Earth Observatory shows a giant bloom created by phytoplankton off the Swedish coast

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Features

Physics

The fuzzy law that could break the idea of a mathematical universe

The discovery that a fundamental law of physics cannot be precisely defined challenges the ability of mathematics as we know it to describe reality completely

Features

Health

The moon really may have strange effects on our health

Features

Humans

Joe Henrich interview: Psychology must look beyond Western cultures

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Culture

Humans

Inside the ISS: Astronauts tell their amazing tales of living in space

Real-life accounts of International Space Station crew members Samantha Cristoforetti and Terry Virts capture the extraordinarily ordinary life of an astronaut

Culture

Humans

David Attenborough helps podcast bring climate crisis centre stage

Culture

Humans

Don't Miss: Netflix's Away sees Hilary Swank on perilous Mars mission

Culture

Humans

We are living in the middle of a fantastic Star Trek renaissance

Culture

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More

Puzzle #75: Seventh time lucky

#75 Seventh time lucky? Septa wants to use a cash machine, but she has forgotten the PIN for her bank card. She has made six guesses so far, with no success: 5 7 2 6 7 3 5 8 1 1 9 1 7 6 2 8 4 8 8 2 9 3 0 7 …

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Tom Gauld on how we communicate with computers

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Twisteddoodles on the real reasons honeybees do the waggle dance

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Baboons may have found a new car-vandalising tactic during lockdown

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

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Letters

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The last word