This week's magazine
8 October 2022
Issue 3407
On the cover
Editor's picks
Table of contents
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Environment
Hurricane Ian has left thousands without power and clean water
The destruction caused by Hurricane Ian has left 600,000 Florida homes without power and many without clean water after the storm battered Florida, Cuba and the US east coast
Environment
Nord Stream pipes leaked ‘enormous’ amount of methane into atmosphere
Physics
Nobel prize in physics awarded to pioneers of quantum information
Health
Nobel prize awarded for study of human evolution using ancient DNA
Health
Uganda struggles to contain Ebola variant with no approved vaccine
Space
A long-lost rogue planet could explain unexpectedly distant asteroids
Health
‘Superagers’ with sharp memories in their 80s have larger neurons
Health
Fewer boys born in England and Wales in early stage of the pandemic
Health
Coronavirus vaccines could cut the risk of long covid by two-fifths
Space
SpaceX may help the Hubble Space Telescope boost its lifespan
Space
Earth’s surface may be teeming with trillions of dark matter particles
Life
Newly recognised species of sloth has a head like a coconut
Space
Light from a quasar shows hints of one of the universe’s first stars
Technology
Robotic pill that delivers drugs to gut could end insulin injections
Health
Air pollution raises our risk of a stroke and its later complications
Life
Dogs can smell when we’re stressed from our breath and sweat
Analysis
Environment
How will Germany navigate its gas shortage nightmare this winter?
Germany normally relies heavily on Russian gas for domestic heating, but with supplies cut off and energy usage already above average for the time of year, the government may be forced to introduce rationing
Health
NHS invites 12 million people to have booster to ward off ‘twindemic’
Environment
Could Labour’s Great British Energy firm spark a green revolution?
Technology
Sci-fi author Neal Stephenson wants to build a metaverse open to all
Health
Alzheimer’s drug results are promising – but not a major breakthrough
Technology
Who should own the copyright on AI-generated artwork?
Environment
Why the UK government’s attack on nature cannot be allowed to succeed
Humans
I am planning my wife’s woodland burial, but green funerals are costly
Features
Space
Did magnetism shape the universe? An epic experiment suggests it did
The idea that magnetism helped shape the universe has been dismissed by scientists for decades, but now new experiments involving plasma that is hotter than the sun are prompting a rethink
Humans
Why ancient Nubia is finally emerging from Egypt’s long shadow
Health
How hacking your metabolism can help you burn fat and prevent disease
Culture
Humans
Two eye-opening new books delve into the world of animal communication
Tom Mustill's How to Speak Whale and Karen Bakker's The Sounds of Life explore what we know about the way life on Earth communicates, from whales to coral reefs. They are both must-reads
Environment
Nuclear Now review: Oliver Stone’s paean to a nuclear future
Humans
Don’t miss: Physicist Les Johnson’s A Traveler’s Guide to the Stars
Humans
Has a recent glut of fantasy shows pushed sci-fi out of the limelight?
More
Space
Watch out for three meteor showers set to occur in October
A triptych of meteor showers will pepper the sky this month: the Draconids, the Orionids and the Taurids. Here is how and when to spot them, writes Abigail Beall
Tom Gauld on messages from advanced alien civilisations
Twisteddoodles on Cancer, Leo and Aquarius
Regulars
Lifting the curtain on a century-old theatre trapdoor seating system
Feedback wonders whether Louis J. Duprey’s incredible 100-year-old pop-up seating system might be helpful for covid times, while also delving into research about the exact shape of personal space