This week's magazine
5 June 2021
Issue 3337
On the cover
Editor's picks
Environment
Time is running out for big oil companies to reinvent their business
Physics
Andrea Ghez interview: How I proved supermassive black holes are real
Environment
Why your pension may be destroying the planet – and how to change that
Health
The mindfulness revolution: A clear-headed look at the evidence
Table of contents
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Health
The world is struggling to contain the delta variant of coronavirus
The highly transmissible coronavirus variant formerly known as B.1.617.2 has already become the dominant one in the UK, France, Japan and elsewhere
Health
Did covid-19 come from a lab or an animal? This is how we’ll find out
Health
Hannah Ritchie interview: The woman giving covid-19 data to the world
Humans
Stepped platforms in Mesopotamia were the oldest known war memorial
Humans
The human genome has finally been completely sequenced after 20 years
Humans
Ancient jawbone reveals a 2500-kilometre journey from Sudan to Rome
Technology
Drones may have attacked humans fully autonomously for the first time
Physics
Laser pulses travel faster than light without breaking laws of physics
Life
The first complex cell may have had dozens of nuclei instead of one
Environment
Soil microbe transplant could improve tree growth and remove more CO2
Physics
Astronomers have created the largest ever map of dark matter
Life
Monkeys can change their accent to communicate with another species
Environment
Climate change to blame for 37 per cent of world’s heat-related deaths
Technology
Exoskeleton takes strain off legs to reduce energy needed for walking
Environment
Cities like London and Tokyo have their own unique microbiomes
Humans
Non-kosher fish eaten in Jerusalem during early days of Judaism
Analysis
Environment
Are plans for a carbon-negative power plant too costly to be worth it?
UK energy firm Drax wants to transform a biomass power plant in the north of England into a facility to capture and store carbon, but has seen strong pushback on environmental and economic grounds
Environment
Can the UK recycle plastic without dumping it on other countries?
Environment
This smart shift in pesticide use could let insect populations recover
Comment
We need to set up an international body to fight fake news
Features
Health
The mindfulness revolution: A clear-headed look at the evidence
Mindfulness is hailed as a treatment for a vast array of problems and the apps are now hugely popular. But do the claims about its benefits stack up? ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµ investigates
Environment
Why your pension may be destroying the planet – and how to change that
Physics
Andrea Ghez interview: How I proved supermassive black holes are real
Culture
Humans
Drunk review: Could alcohol-induced creativity be key to civilisation?
Could social drinking have created our civilisation by fuelling creativity and innovation? Drunk, an engrossing new book by Edward Slingerland, roams far and wide to make the case
Life
Anthropomania review: Our love of animals and how we live with them
Humans
Don’t Miss: Awake on Netflix is set in a world where no one can sleep
Humans
The best logistics games that make supply chains fun (no, really)
More
Humans
How to make ice cream with no freezer, just ice and salt
Fancy making ice cream this summer? The secret to soft, creamy and delicious scoopfuls of the stuff lies in the complex science of freezing, says Sam Wong
Twisteddoodles spots lone scientists in their natural habitat
Tom Gauld: Could avocados be harming your pension?
Regulars
Humans
The Royal Mail’s ambitious move into three dimensions
Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more