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Table of contents

Leaders

Health

The covid-19 pandemic isn't over – and it won't end any time soon

JUST over two years since the official start of the pandemic, tens of millions of people in China have entered lockdown. It is a striking reminder of how things started, and that, despite the feeling in some countries, things are far from over. At the end of January, the huge global wave of covid-19 caused …

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Technology

Watch emu-inspired robot legs that use less energy to run

Robotic legs that mimic flightless running birds like emus and use just two motors per leg can run more efficiently than more complex devices

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Health

AI analyses drug users’ trip reports to better understand psychedelics

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Environment

Pollen season in the US may start 40 days earlier by end of century

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Life

Inconsistent human behaviour around animals putting wildlife at risk

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Space

Small asteroid hits Earth just hours after astronomers detect it

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Life

Octopus brains may have become complex the same way human brains did

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Humans

Non-pilots think they can land a plane after watching a YouTube video

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Humans

A new reference human genome could reflect our species’ true diversity

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Space

The James Webb Space Telescope has sent back its clearest image yet

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Health

Bionic eye that mimics how pupils respond to light may improve vision

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Health

Another global wave of covid-19 is beginning before the last one ended

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Space

Stephen Hawking's black hole paradox may finally have a solution

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Earth

Tiny magnetic waves have been discovered in Earth’s core

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Environment

Arctic and Antarctic see extreme heat and historically low sea ice

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Analysis

Mind

Brain scanning studies are usually too small to find reliable results

Most studies that have used MRI machines to find links between the brain’s structure or function and complex mental traits had an average of 23 participants, but thousands are needed to find reliable results

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Environment

Russian tanks are devastating an idyllic Ukrainian wetland wilderness

Comment

Environment

How the war in Ukraine will change the way the world uses energy

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Comment

We must recognise science’s unsung global pioneers to alter its future

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Aperture

Life

Vibrant rainbow-hued wrasse is officially named a new species

The newly described rose-veiled fairy wrasse is among the greatest living embodiments of a rainbow seen in nature, as this colourful image shows

Regulars

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Features

Humans

Jim Al-Khalili on the joy of science and how to stay curious

Physicist and broadcaster Jim Al-Khalili discusses the power of wonder, the importance of overcoming our biases and the biggest mysteries in fundamental physics

Features

Humans

How language evolved: A new idea suggests it’s all just a game

Features

Health

We can all benefit from taking care of our pelvic floor – here's how

Features

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Culture

Humans

Bug Out review: A $50,000 insect heist gets the Tiger King treatment

A true-crime series on IMDb TV takes a slightly too po-faced look into a theft from an invertebrate zoo where things weren't quite as they seemed

Culture

Humans

Dreamachine preview: A drug-free hallucinogenic trip

Culture

Humans

Don't miss: A philosopher's take on what plants understand about life

Culture

Humans

Fire of Love review: An intimate account of life, death and lava

Culture

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More

Puzzle #160: How far was the photographer from the Loch Ness monster?

#160 Blurry-Ness Click! The camera shutter opened and closed just as the creature's head ducked back beneath the surface of the lake, creating a large ripple. "I got it! I finally got a picture of the Loch Ness monster!" exclaimed Lily. She looked at the result on her digital camera. "It's blurry!" She hung her …

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Space

A planet-spotting extravaganza is coming, if you are an early riser

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Twisteddoodles: The memes will eventually get away from you

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Tom Gauld reveals the inevitable evolution of headless robot dogs

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Humans

Academics discover we find boring people boring and don’t like them

A scintillating piece of research into the traits we associate with boring people, plus Feedback’s take on whether there are more doors or wheels in the world, and an asteroid half the size of a giraffe

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Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word