This week's magazine
30 July 2022
Issue 3397
On the cover
Editor's picks
Table of contents
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Health
Monkeypox has become a global health emergency, says WHO
The World Health Organization has declared the spread of monkeypox to be a "public health emergency of international concern", its highest alert level
Environment
Even ‘net zero’ aviation could still cause significant global warming
Health
We don’t actually know what ‘growing pains’ are
Space
JWST finds galaxies may adopt Milky Way-like shape faster than thought
Space
JWST has found the oldest galaxy we have ever seen in the universe
Technology
AI art tool DALL-E 2 adds ‘black’ or ‘female’ to some image prompts
Technology
Robot that learns social cues could feed people with tetraplegia
Life
Gene-edited dogs created from cloned skin cells for the first time
Life
Hibernating beetles break down and regrow their muscles on demand
Space
China prepares to launch laboratory module to Tiangong space station
Environment
Ancient Aboriginal rock art may reveal how Australia’s climate changed
Physics
Firing a laser into the sky can redirect lightning’s path
Life
Cambridge lab for clever birds saved from closure by public donations
Life
Ear anatomy shows warm-blooded animals evolved 233 million years ago
Health
No link between depression and serotonin, finds major analysis
Health
Coronavirus may enter the brain by building tiny tunnels from the nose
Health
Coronavirus in late pregnancy raises premature birth risk seven-fold
Life
A fish that evolved to stand up on land went back to living in water
Space
Enceladus’s oceans may be the right saltiness to sustain life
Analysis
Health
Doctors are concerned about the risk of hospital-acquired covid-19
People who go to hospital for non-covid treatment are at higher risk of the virus compared with the general public, which is why high levels of hospital-acquired covid-19 in England are worrying some doctors
Environment
Legal battle over UK’s Net Zero Strategy poses challenge for next PM
Humans
Access to nature needs to be a right, not a privilege
Humans
My quest for an eco-friendly green lawn
Features
Space
Your essential guide to the many breathtaking wonders of the universe
An abridged inventory of everything there is in the universe – from rogue planets and exomoons to supernovae, supermassive black holes and the cosmic web.
Mind
Daydreaming has a dark side – is your fantasising holding you back?
Culture
Space
Two smart books probe multiverses, dark matter – and sexual politics
Is our universe one of a myriad? How hard is it to be a woman in science? Beyond the Big Bang and The Elephant in the Universe explore these questions and more
Humans
Life As Told By a Sapiens to a Neanderthal review: Joyful curiosity
Humans
Don’t Miss: The Sandman, Netflix’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s comics
Humans
The Moonday Letters review: Genre-busting sci-fi extols hope as a duty
More
Humans
Reimagined bicarb volcano could spark your children’s love for science
Homemade science "experiments" are full of spectacle, but often miss the joy of true discovery. Alom Shaha offers a simple solution with his twist on the classic bubble volcano
Tom Gauld on how to spot a scientist having an existential crisis
Twisteddoodles: Does science really never sleep?
Regulars
Humans
The pornography-detection cap that reads your mind
Feedback raises an eyebrow at the cap which reads brainwaves to help China detect pornography, while also investigating secret cannabis facilities in Australia - and grave-robbing badgers