Issue 3338 | Magazine cover date: 12 June 2021

This week's magazine

12 June 2021

Issue 3338

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On the cover

Features

What really makes junk food bad for us? Here’s what the science says

Anu Ramaswami interview: How to shape the cities of the future

When time runs backwards: What thermodynamics can tell us about life

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Elephant trunks suck up water at speeds of 540 kilometres per hour

Underwater glue made from silk can cling to surfaces like a barnacle

NASA is sending two missions to Venus for the first time in decades

Right whales born in 1981 grew a metre longer than they do today

How do you travel abroad safely during the covid-19 pandemic?

Google has mapped a piece of human brain in the most detail ever

Two giant icy balls in space could change our understanding of stars

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Health

Should we start testing drugs and vaccines in people who are pregnant?

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Health

Removing junk food from our diets will be no easy task

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Physics

When time runs backwards: What thermodynamics can tell us about life

Features

Humans

Anu Ramaswami interview: How to shape the cities of the future

Features

Health

What really makes junk food bad for us? Here’s what the science says

Features

Leaders

Health

Removing junk food from our diets will be no easy task

ALMOST every month, a new piece of research emerges linking diets high in processed "junk" foods with obesity and poor health. It isn't yet clear if the relationship is causal, and if so, what the mechanisms behind it may be. But insights are starting to emerge from trials that compare diets that are based on …

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Life

Elephant trunks suck up water at speeds of 540 kilometres per hour

An elephant's trunk has astonishing sucking power Extreme suction helps elephants hold water and food in their trunks, allowing them to inhale at speeds nearly 30 times the rate at which we exhale air when we sneeze. Elephants use their trunks, which weigh more than 100 kilograms, in a variety of ways: to forage through …

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Health

Colour-changing tampons could detect urinary tract infections

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Humans

University students with morning lectures tend to have lower grades

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Technology

Quantum memory crystals are a step towards a futuristic internet

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Technology

Underwater glue made from silk can cling to surfaces like a barnacle

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Life

Parasitic ants keep evolving to lose their smell and taste genes

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Space

NASA is sending two missions to Venus for the first time in decades

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Life

Right whales born in 1981 grew a metre longer than they do today

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Life

Puppies are born with the genetic ability to understand humans

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Life

Sharks were almost wiped out in an extinction 19 million years ago

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Space

Cosmic smash-ups may push huge black holes away from their homes

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Health

How do you travel abroad safely during the covid-19 pandemic?

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Health

Devi Sridhar interview: Don't blame the scientists for lockdown

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Mind

Google has mapped a piece of human brain in the most detail ever

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Technology

Cyborg cockroach with camera ‘backpack’ can be steered remotely

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Space

Two giant icy balls in space could change our understanding of stars

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Health

Celebrities call on G7 leaders to donate covid-19 vaccines immediately

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Technology

US Army scientists create a formula for the perfect walking robot

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Environment

European airlines have been lobbying against EU climate plans

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Analysis

Health

Why it's so important we believe people about their mental health

Naomi Osaka at the French Open in Paris When Meghan Markle said she thought of ending her life during her time living with the royal family in the UK, people online said: No, actually, you didn’t feel like that. When British MP Nadia Whittome said she was taking time off because she had PTSD, again …

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Health

Should we start testing drugs and vaccines in people who are pregnant?

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Humans

Amazon buying MGM is just continuing a 40,000-year-old media tradition

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Features

Health

What really makes junk food bad for us? Here’s what the science says

Fun, cheap and tasty, but perhaps not the healthiest option CUT down on fatty food. No, sugar. Aim for a Mediterranean diet. And remember to eat more plants... The variability of healthy eating advice has become a cliché in itself. Yet despite all the contradictions, there is one thing that many agree on: we should …

Features

Humans

Anu Ramaswami interview: How to shape the cities of the future

Features

Physics

When time runs backwards: What thermodynamics can tell us about life

Features

Culture

Humans

Quantum Life review: One man's journey from the streets to the stars

Hakeem Oluseyi, speaking at NASA’s Earth Day event in 2017 A Quantum Life: My unlikely journey from the street to the stars Hakeem Oluseyi and Joshua Horwitz Ballantine Books THEY called him "the professor" because, by the age of 10, he was already reading every book he could lay his hands on. In the sixth …

Culture

Humans

What does the climate crisis mean for buildings – great and small?

Culture

Humans

Don't Miss: Data art with David Spiegelhalter and Stefanie Posavec

Culture

Humans

We Are Satellites review: What brain implants could do to family life

Culture

Humans

The summer triangle is now visible in the sky – here's how to spot it

IN THE northern hemisphere, summer nights are marked by an asterism (a pattern of stars that isn't an official constellation) called the summer triangle. Despite the name, the three stars that make it up aren't just visible in this season: many stargazers in the southern hemisphere also get a glimpse of them in their winter …

Regulars

Puzzle #117: Should a dad gamble on winning a ladybug cushion?

Regulars

Tom Gauld on what Godzilla and King Kong left behind

Regulars

Twisteddoodles generates a new research proposal idea

Regulars

How large is a cubic metre of water?

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

Regulars

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This week's magazine

12 June 2021

On the cover

Health

Should we start testing drugs and vaccines in people who are pregnant?

Health

Removing junk food from our diets will be no easy task

Physics

When time runs backwards: What thermodynamics can tell us about life

Humans

Anu Ramaswami interview: How to shape the cities of the future

Health

What really makes junk food bad for us? Here’s what the science says

Table of contents

Leaders

Health

Removing junk food from our diets will be no easy task

��è����Ƶ

Life

Elephant trunks suck up water at speeds of 540 kilometres per hour

Health

Colour-changing tampons could detect urinary tract infections

Humans

University students with morning lectures tend to have lower grades

Technology

Quantum memory crystals are a step towards a futuristic internet

Technology

Underwater glue made from silk can cling to surfaces like a barnacle

Life

Parasitic ants keep evolving to lose their smell and taste genes

Space

NASA is sending two missions to Venus for the first time in decades

Life

Right whales born in 1981 grew a metre longer than they do today

Life

Puppies are born with the genetic ability to understand humans

Life

Sharks were almost wiped out in an extinction 19 million years ago

Space

Cosmic smash-ups may push huge black holes away from their homes

Health

How do you travel abroad safely during the covid-19 pandemic?

Health

Devi Sridhar interview: Don't blame the scientists for lockdown

Mind

Google has mapped a piece of human brain in the most detail ever

Technology

Cyborg cockroach with camera ‘backpack’ can be steered remotely

Space

Two giant icy balls in space could change our understanding of stars

Health

Celebrities call on G7 leaders to donate covid-19 vaccines immediately

Technology

US Army scientists create a formula for the perfect walking robot

Environment

European airlines have been lobbying against EU climate plans

Analysis

Health

Why it's so important we believe people about their mental health

Health

Should we start testing drugs and vaccines in people who are pregnant?

Humans

Amazon buying MGM is just continuing a 40,000-year-old media tradition

Features

Health

What really makes junk food bad for us? Here’s what the science says

Humans

Anu Ramaswami interview: How to shape the cities of the future

Physics

When time runs backwards: What thermodynamics can tell us about life

Culture

Humans

Quantum Life review: One man's journey from the streets to the stars

Humans

What does the climate crisis mean for buildings – great and small?

Humans

Don't Miss: Data art with David Spiegelhalter and Stefanie Posavec

Humans

We Are Satellites review: What brain implants could do to family life

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