This week's magazine
15 January 2022
Issue 3369
On the cover
Editor's picks
Physics
Advances in physics may seem abstract at first but tech often follows
Mind
How to alter your personality: why your character isn’t fixed in stone
How to alter your personality: why your character isn’t fixed in stone
Life
Why cat-like creatures vanished from North America for 6 million years
Physics
The Large Hadron Collider blips that could herald a new era of physics
Table of contents
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Health
How a pig heart was transplanted into a human for the first time
The first transplant of a pig heart genetically modified for acceptance into human bodies raises hopes for a new solution to donor organ shortages
Health
Why is omicron more infectious but less severe? What we know so far
Health
Covid-19 testing in the time of omicron: Everything you need to know
Humans
Ancient humans may have started hunting 2 million years ago
Technology
Outsider wins DARPA challenge to predict where floats drift at sea
Space
Two black holes merged to form a huge one moving at incredible speeds
Life
World’s smallest land snail could fit inside a grain of sand
Life
What dolphins reveal about the evolution of the clitoris
Life
Bacteria form complex structures like those seen in animals
Life
Spider fossil sheds light on Australia’s ancient rainforest ecosystem
Health
One in 12 new cases of asthma in children linked to NO2 air pollution
Humans
Ancient Egyptian mummy of a young girl is first with a bandaged wound
Health
mRNA vaccine technology has helped repair broken hearts in mice
Life
Newly identified tree species named in honour of Leonardo DiCaprio
Earth
Plumes of rock that feed volcanic hotspots are surprisingly cold
Ocean microbes produce oxygen in a way we have never seen before
Life
A type of MRSA evolved in hedgehogs long before the first antibiotics
Life
Fungi that live on eucalyptus roots can control trees’ gene activity
Environment
Extreme air pollution from US wildfires now affects millions of people
Technology
Fire at vital tech factory could worsen global computer chip shortage
Analysis
Health
How bacteria-killing viruses are being used to keep food safe
Bacteria-killing viruses known as phages are increasingly being sprayed on food to keep them free of pathogens, and they could soon be put to work in healthcare
Environment
Energy crisis: What can the UK government do to help cut fuel bills?
Humans
Why everyone should learn some sign language
Mind
How to use little rituals to boost your mental performance
Features
Physics
The Large Hadron Collider blips that could herald a new era of physics
Hints of a new particle carrying a fifth force of nature have been multiplying at the LHC – and many physicists are convinced this could finally be the big one
Life
Why cat-like creatures vanished from North America for 6 million years
Mind
How to alter your personality: why your character isn’t fixed in stone
How to alter your personality: why your character isn’t fixed in stone
Culture
Humans
The Power of Fun review: A user guide to getting more fun in your life
It’s time to strip back your schedule and make time for more fun, according to a new book by Catherine Price
Humans
Emotional review: A new take on the importance of feelings
Humans
Don’t Miss: The Anomaly, a mind-bending French bestseller
Humans
Goliath review: Tourism to a ruined Earth explores the idea of home
More
Space
Help discover the origins of meteor showers by spotting shooting stars
Meteor showers leave clues to their origin in their wake and you can help astronomers unravel the mystery by taking part in the Radio Meteor Zoo project, says Layal Liverpool
Twisteddoodles: lab-level smarts and ‘real-world’ wisdom
Tom Gauld offers climate scientists a much-needed place to vent
Regulars
Humans
Not so lightweight: Hamsters handle their drink better than elephants
Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more