This week's magazine
8 May 2021
Issue 3333
On the cover
Editor's picks
Table of contents
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Health
India’s covid-19 crisis: What happens next and how long will it last?
As cases continue to soar, what does the country need to do to curb the epidemic, how long will the current wave last, and which other countries are at risk of a similar situation?
Health
One in four people in England exercised less during and after lockdown
Health
Covid-19 vaccine side-effects: Here’s everything you need to know
Humans
Remains of a 3-year-old child are the oldest known burial in Africa
Life
Female black widow spider mates with and eats multiple males
Physics
Your finger can feel the change of a single atom in a material
Earth
Japanese bay full of fish scales could mark start of the Anthropocene
Life
Billion-year-old microbe had taken first step towards internal organs
Health
Multiple negative events before birth could lead to poor mental health
Life
A species of yeast produces near-identical clones when it has sex
Environment
Driftwood could be recycled into cleaner electric car batteries
Humans
Arabian cult may have built 1000 monuments older than Stonehenge
Physics
Frozen cloud of molecules acts as a single quantum object
Space
Why billionaires are fighting over who gets to land humans on the moon
Health
A baby’s first poo reveals if they are at risk of allergies and asthma
Health
‘Smart’ immune cells kill tumours and stop them regrowing in mice
Health
Air pollution halved in first UK lockdown but fell less in the third
Humans
Indigenous people may have left the Amazon before Europeans arrived
Life
Mice on opposite North American coasts evolved the same way
Space
We’ve measured the size of Venus’s planetary core for the first time
Technology
Smart sensor measures how itchy you are by how much you scratch
Life
White noise could warn birds to avoid colliding with tall structures
Life
New species of ‘pumpkin toadlet’ poisonous frog found in Brazil
Humans
Discrimination is still a problem in STEM
Analysis
Features
Humans
How to boost your self-awareness and make better decisions
Having good metacognition - the ability to think about our own thoughts - is key to success in many aspects of life. Fortunately, there are things we can all do to get to know ourselves better
Life
The platypus: What nature’s weirdest mammal says about our origins
Life
Alien plants: The search for photosynthesis on other worlds
Culture
Technology
Sisters with Transistors review: Brilliant electronic music pioneers
Sisters with Transistors, directed by Lisa Rovner, celebrates the women whose breakthroughs in early electronic music laid the foundations of modern styles – and whose work has been overlooked by many
Humans
Disco Elysium examines the mystery of how we construct our identity
Humans
Don’t Miss: Netflix’s Oxygen, a sci-fi thriller with a shocking twist
Life
Lucy, the Human Chimp review: The ape that was raised like a human
More
Humans
What to cook if covid-19 has affected your sense of smell and taste
If your sense of smell has been affected by illnesses like covid-19, you can still make food interesting using the basic tastes of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami, says Sam Wong
Twisteddoodles tunes in for the late night show with DJ subconscious
Tom Gauld’s true tales of everyday science
Regulars
Technology
The world is hot enough: MI6 has started spying on climate polluters
Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more