This week's magazine
11 September 2021
Issue 3351
On the cover
Editor's picks
Table of contents
快猫短视频
Space
SpaceX is about to send the first ever all-amateur mission into orbit
SpaceX鈥檚 Inspiration4 launch, planned for 15 September, will mark the first time a flight into orbit has been crewed exclusively by people who are not professional astronauts
Health
Warning over coronavirus measures in England’s schools
Environment
58 per cent of oil must stay in the ground to meet 1.5掳C climate goal
Environment
Will plans for new UK coal mine scupper net-zero ambitions at COP26?
Health
What we know so far about booster shots and the covid-19 vaccines
Health
Will the Texas abortion ban spread across the US?
Life
First full survey of Peru and Chile鈥檚 threatened fog island ecosystems
Health
Men fart more when eating a plant-based diet due to good gut bacteria
Health
Mix-and-match antibiotic prescriptions may help lower resistance risk
Technology
Call centre workers can use AI to mimic your accent on the phone
Environment
Amazon fires have affected almost all the region’s endangered species
Environment
High-res carbon emission maps reveal climate impact of commuting
Life
Zebras rolling in pits help give life to the Namib desert in Africa
Humans
Humans reached Arabia in at least five waves thanks to wetter climates
Environment
Texas cold crisis early this year linked to melting Arctic sea ice
Physics
Large Hadron Collider sticks with reels of tape for vast storage needs
Life
Stingrays鈥 bulging eyes and mouths make them much faster swimmers
Environment
Illegal cannabis farms on the US west coast are poisoning wildlife
Life
Wild cockatoos make utensils out of tree branches to open fruit pits
Space
We have spotted a new kind of supernova triggered by cosmic collisions
Technology
Wooden floors laced with silicon generate electricity from footsteps
Life
Scorpions have strange joints that can simultaneously bend and twist
Analysis
Space
Should we ban space weapons to stop the huge space junk problem?
A group of experts are calling for a ban on anti-satellite weapons tests because the debris they could create may threaten other satellites or even make parts of Earth鈥檚 orbit unusable
Technology
Shipping has made slow progress on climate change 鈥 can methanol help?
Environment
The toxic error at the heart of efforts to curb heavy metal pollution
Health
No, there’s nothing wrong with seedless fruits
Features
Humans
5 fruit and veg, 8 hours鈥 sleep: Should we trust daily health targets?
Many of us aim for 鈥渞ecommended dailies鈥 such as 10,000 steps, 2000 calories or 2 minutes of tooth brushing. But where do these figures come from and are they supported by evidence?
Technology
The world is running out of microchips 鈥 here鈥檚 the solution
Physics
Stephon Alexander interview: Is the universe a self-learning AI?
Culture
Humans
Fuzz review: Witty and amusing science writing at its best
Mary Roach has a way of writing that makes any subject both interesting and fun. Her new book, Fuzz, about human-wildlife conflict is no exception
Humans
In the Watchful City review: An impressive debut filled with folklore
Humans
Don’t Miss: The Dinosaurs 鈥 New Visions of a Lost World
Humans
A New World Order review: A powerful sci-fi movie without dialogue
More
Humans
Why cutting down on digging the garden can actually be good for soil
From novices to hard-core allotmenteers, all gardeners could benefit from the 鈥渘o dig鈥 method. New research suggests it may improve the soil, increase yields and reduce carbon emissions too.
Twisteddoodles on the reality of 21st century fashion
Tom Gauld spots a sticky situation
Regulars
Humans
When two grown men squared off over the size of their trajectories
Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more