This week's magazine
19 February 2022
Issue 3374
On the cover
Editor's picks
Environment
A collaborative approach is needed to avoid the next pandemic
Environment
Could ancient viruses from melting permafrost cause the next pandemic?
Health
Why everything you thought you knew about posture is wrong
Technology
Hybrid AI: A new way to make machine minds that really think like us
Table of contents
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Health
How Australia has cut child cancer deaths – and hopes to get to zero
An Australian plan to eliminate childhood cancer deaths using personalised medicine will be made available to all Australian children with the condition from 2023
Space
Huge nuclear explosion in space is so rare we may never see one again
Life
Lichens may take a million years to adapt to 1°C of climate warming
Technology
Drones armed with a small microwave weapon can shoot down other drones
Technology
Facebook policy to stop vaccine misinformation only worked temporarily
Environment
Cold blob in Atlantic may be slowing ice loss from Iceland’s glaciers
Health
Team in China aims to start trial of pig organs in humans this year
Life
Spider webs may act as most sensitive ‘ears’ in known natural world
Humans
Modern humans moved into cave one year after Neanderthals abandoned it
Health
Doing yoga at least once a week may help to lower blood pressure
Technology
US arms maker ends production of controversial depleted uranium rounds
Life
Australian raspy cricket has the strongest bite of 650 insect species
Technology
Fusion energy record suggests we really could build artificial suns
Space
First hints of a planet orbiting in a white dwarf’s habitable zone
Technology
AI driver can beat some of the world’s best players at Gran Turismo
Health
Cell studies suggest a way sleep loss may be linked to Alzheimer’s
Environment
Rare earth elements for smartphones can be extracted from coal waste
Physics
Giving drones barn owl-like tails may make them more efficient flyers
Health
Cutting down meat and dairy could help you live up to a decade longer
Analysis
Technology
The race is on to tackle climate change by pulling carbon from the air
Carbon removal technologies have long been seen as an important solution to climate change, but it is only now that these ideas are becoming a reality
Technology
It is only human to treat the metaverse with scepticism – here’s why
Space
Let’s hear it for the space Cinderellas – Earth-observing satellites
Features
Technology
Hybrid AI: A new way to make machine minds that really think like us
In the quest to make artificial intelligence that can reason and apply knowledge flexibly, many researchers are focused on fresh insights from neuroscience. Should they be looking to psychology too?
Health
Why everything you thought you knew about posture is wrong
Environment
Could ancient viruses from melting permafrost cause the next pandemic?
Culture
Environment
A Blue New Deal review: A radical look at who owns the sea
In his new book, Chris Armstrong argues that to protect the oceans from devastating pollution and over-exploitation, rich nations need to finally learn how to share
Space
Moonfall review: Finally an apocalypse movie that’s fun to watch
Humans
Don’t Miss: A fresh look at the enduring mysteries of the big bang
Humans
Petrov’s flu review: A surreal journey through one man’s delirium
More
Humans
How to create a delicious deep-fried ice cream dessert
To create crowd-pleasing puds like chocolate fondants or hot balls of cornflake-covered ice cream, bring some fundamental physics to the table, says Sam Wong
Twisteddoodles: The unfortunate reality of eureka moments
Tom Gauld creates a telescopic Total Perspective Vortex
Regulars
Humans
Snooze it to lose it: Does sleeping more make you eat less?
Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more