Health
The covid-19 pandemic makes plain the consequences of abusing nature
News
This week's magazine
6 March 2021
Issue 3324
On the cover
Editor's picks
Table of contents
快猫短视频
Health
How much of a threat is the Brazil variant of coronavirus to the UK?
The P.1 variant from Brazil that has been detected in six people in the UK can partly evade existing antibodies, but vaccines should still protect against severe disease
News
Health
Repeated coronavirus lockdowns are taking a severe toll on children
News
Health
Face masks needed in the UK until 2022, says poll of disease experts
News
Environment
Most life on Earth will be killed by lack of oxygen in a billion years
News
Technology
Wikipedia has seen a spike in people editing pages during the pandemic
News
Environment
Dolphins that help humans catch fish are being disturbed by ship noise
News
Technology
Virtual computer chip tests expose flaws and protect against hackers
News
Environment
Climate targets at risk as green tech triggers higher energy demands
News
Health
What you eat is influenced by the food choices of people you dine with
News
Physics
A warp drive that doesn’t break the laws of physics is possible
News
Humans
Neanderthal ears were tuned to hear speech just like modern humans
News
Life
A shadow snake has been rediscovered in Ecuador after 54 years
News
Technology
AI smashes video game high scores by remembering its past success
News
Space
Crew of mock lunar ‘biosphere’ grew food and made oxygen for 200 days
News
Life
Pufferfish blink by pulling in their eyeballs and puckering their skin
News
Humans
Earliest human ancestors may have swung on branches like chimps
News
Life
Male lyrebirds imitate a flock of birds to scare females into mating
News
Technology
Electrostatic de-icing could make it easier to defrost car windows
News
Life
Whales and dolphins can resist cancer and their DNA reveals why
News
Humans
Conversations go on too long because people are too polite to end them
News
Technology
Google uses underwater fibre-optic cable to detect earthquakes
News
Humans
Earliest American dog hints pets accompanied first people in Americas
News
Analysis
Health
Coronavirus variant names are too confusing – there is a better way
The names given to new coronavirus variants and bacteria can be difficult to use or understand. Using a pre-generated list of names would be better, says Mark Pallen
News
Physics
We may have to rewrite our understanding of gravity
News
Features
Mind
The hidden rules that determine which friendships matter to us
Evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar has found that our friendships are governed by secret rules, based on everything from your sex to your sleep schedule. Our unique social fingerprints help determine who we are drawn to, which friendships last and why some friends are ultimately replaceable
Features
Environment
How our abuse of nature makes pandemics like covid-19 more likely
Features
Physics
Did time flow in two directions from the big bang, making two futures?
Features
Culture
Humans
Don’t miss: Sci-fi shoot-em-up Boss Level with Naomi Watts
快猫短视频's weekly round-up of the best books, films, TV series, games and more that you shouldn鈥檛 miss
Culture
Humans
From Satanic panics to QAnon: A guide to fake news and conspiracies
Culture
Technology
Netflix鈥檚 Tribes of Europa review: Games of Thrones, but with Brexit
Culture
Humans
For All Mankind season 2 review: The cold war is raging on the moon
Culture
More
Health
Become a dangerous diseases hunter by tracing cell structures online
With the online tool Etch A Cell, you can help biologists identify deadly diseases and make sense of cell images from advanced microscopes
Regulars
Twisteddoodles on the voyage of an unread document
Regulars
Tom Gauld on when autocorrect lacks pizzazz
Regulars
Regulars
At least the Mary Anning coin doesn鈥檛 have a tripod with four legs
Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more
This Week鈥檚 Letters
Letters
How long is 鈥榥ow鈥�, the gap between the past and future? (continued)
Last Word
This week鈥檚 new questions
Last Word
What is the evolutionary advantage of birds鈥� ability to mimic sounds?
Last Word
What is the smallest animal with eyes and could it see a molecule? (continued)
Last Word
