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This week's magazine

26 February 2022

Issue 3375

New Scientist issue 3375 cover
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Editor's picks

Mandatory Credit: Photo by CHINE NOUVELLE/SIPA/Shutterstock (10963111a) Dr. Mohammed Abdul-Hussein (R) and CT technician Hanan Jamal examine lung images at al-Shifaa Center in Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 12, 2020. In a specialized COVID-19 hospital in Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a Chinese-donated CT scan, mobile X-ray equipment, and other medical supplies are saving lives in the front-line battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Already 400 patients have benefited from the important medical donation. TO GO WITH

Health

Long covid – the best thing that ever happened to functional disorders

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We're closing in on the causes of long covid and possible treatments

Health

We're closing in on the causes of long covid and possible treatments

Features
Rising seas could submerge Rio and Jakarta by 2100 – what can we do?

Environment

Rising seas could submerge Rio and Jakarta by 2100 – what can we do?

Features
Illustration of SARS-CoV-2 binding to a receptor on the surface of a B cell. B cells are part of the body's immune system.

Health

DIY treatments and clinical trials – one person’s tale of long covid

Features
Meet the robots that can reproduce, learn and evolve all by themselves

Technology

Meet the robots that can reproduce, learn and evolve all by themselves

Features

Table of contents

Leaders

Mandatory Credit: Photo by CHINE NOUVELLE/SIPA/Shutterstock (10963111a) Dr. Mohammed Abdul-Hussein (R) and CT technician Hanan Jamal examine lung images at al-Shifaa Center in Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 12, 2020. In a specialized COVID-19 hospital in Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a Chinese-donated CT scan, mobile X-ray equipment, and other medical supplies are saving lives in the front-line battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Already 400 patients have benefited from the important medical donation. TO GO WITH

Health

Long covid – the best thing that ever happened to functional disorders

TOO many people are ill and can't be properly treated. They have "functional disorders" like myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), aka chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) , that are life-altering and often disabling, but with unclear causes. Doctors struggle to find anything out of the ordinary in blood tests and other investigations. All they can do is try …

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Semi Submersible Oil Rig during Sunrise at Cromarty Firth in Invergordon, Scotland; Shutterstock ID 554842060; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Environment

Oil giants accused of greenwashing for failure over energy transition

An analysis of BP, Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil finds a mismatch between their rhetoric on low-carbon energy and their actions and spending

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Life

Orangutans can learn how to use stone tools as hammers and knives

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Technology

Google and Waymo used driverless cars to make a virtual San Francisco

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Technology

DeepMind uses AI to control plasma inside tokamak fusion reactor

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Technology

AI can erase tattoos from photos to help face recognition systems

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Mind

We may be unable to grow new brain cells after we enter adulthood

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Technology

DNA computer could tell you if your drinking water is contaminated

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Health

We seem to find people with a strong immune system more attractive

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Environment

Covering crops in red plastic can boost yields up to 37 per cent

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Life

Invasive poisonous toads are killing Madagascar's native snakes

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Health

Lung with switched blood type is step towards universal donor organs

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Physics

Most precise atomic clock shows Einstein’s general relativity is right

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Life

Newly identified dinosaur had teeth that were constantly replaced

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Health

Map of pain neurons may lead to more effective drugs for chronic pain

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Life

106-million-year-old virus found ‘fossilised’ in the human genome

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Humans

We have lost 90 per cent of the original copies of Medieval literature

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Health

People opposed to abortion in the US would still help a friend get one

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Life

Rats can track the passage of time and judge their accuracy

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Life

¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵs want to restore the oceans with artificial whale poo

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Health

Boris Johnson announces 'living with covid' plan for England

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Environment

After deadly floods, can Germany adapt to its climate future?

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Analysis

Bitcoin

Technology

Cryptocurrency crimes have got too big for the US government to ignore

As more money pours into cryptocurrency crimes and scams, government agencies are increasingly cracking down, as the launch of dedicated Department of Justice and FBI enforcement teams demonstrates

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Environment

Are we on the verge of a global initiative to clean up ocean plastics?

Comment

Humans

Science needs to address its imagination problem - lives depend on it

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Aperture

Dust devils' subtle trails across Mars revealed in bold blue

Space

Dust devils' subtle trails across Mars revealed in bold blue

The Martian surface is criss-crossed by little whirlwinds that swirl through its thin atmosphere. Their tracks are revealed in this striking infrared image taken by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter

Regulars

Features

We're closing in on the causes of long covid and possible treatments

Health

We're closing in on the causes of long covid and possible treatments

Tens of millions of people have long covid. We are finally beginning to understand the mechanisms behind the disease - and medicines are probably less than a year away

Features

Technology

Meet the robots that can reproduce, learn and evolve all by themselves

Features

Environment

Rising seas could submerge Rio and Jakarta by 2100 – what can we do?

Features

Health

DIY treatments and clinical trials – one person’s tale of long covid

Features

Culture

Alphabet soup; Shutterstock ID 65325580; purchase_order: 26 Feb 2022 issue; job: Photo; client: NS; other:

Humans

The Man Who Tasted Words review: Inside the odd world of human senses

A new book by neurologist Guy Leschziner looks at the astonishing ways some people’s brains interpret the world, offering insight into how we all experience reality

Culture

Humans

Dual review: The dark side of cloning played straight for laughs

Culture

Humans

Don't miss: The live launch of NASA's latest environmental satellite

Culture

Humans

Severance review: A compelling thriller about dividing work and play

Culture

More

Puzzle #156: If you like puzzles, try our L-ympic challenge

Puzzle #156: If you like puzzles, try our L-ympic challenge

#156 L of a puzzle At first glance, you wouldn't think it was possible to put these three L-shaped tetrominoes together to make a flat, symmetrical shape. And yet, it turns out that there are two different ways to make a shape with mirror symmetry using all three Ls. Can you find them? Hint: one …

Regulars

Tom Gauld predicts a machine revolution sparked by CAPTCHA pictures

Regulars

Twisteddoodles: A guide to lights on artificial intelligence systems

Regulars

Space

The sky-measuring trick that every stargazer should know

Regulars

Regulars

The neoliberal think tank that wants to sell the moon

Humans

The neoliberal think tank that wants to sell the moon

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

Regulars

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

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