Earth
2022: The year of rolling polycrisis, but with a few glimmers of hope
News
This week's magazine
17 December 2022
Issue 3417
On the cover
Editor's picks
Physics
How to beat your family at board games with quantum tricks
Features
Environment
The surprising origin of sprouts, the vegetable we either love or hate
Features
Life
How reindeer eyes change colour in winter to help them see in the dark
Features
Space
What our attempts to communicate with alien civilisations say about us
Features
Environment
How a US civil war shipwreck became a template for marine conservation
Features
Mind
Why self-compassion is the first step to being kinder to others
Features
Humans
We have finally found the land of Punt, where pharaohs got their gifts
Features
Environment
Subnivium: The secret ecosystem hidden beneath the snow
Features
Life
Some individual animals are really lazy. How do they get away with it?
Features
Physics
The strange physics of absolute zero and what it takes to get there
Features
Environment
Inside the decadent 鈥� but still ethical 鈥� world of vegan fine dining
Features
Earth
How well do you know your animal poo? Find out with this picture quiz
Features
Technology
Magnetic tape: The surprisingly retro way big tech stores your data
Features
Table of contents
快猫短视频
Space
NASA鈥檚 Artemis I mission has ended as Orion splashed down on Earth
The Orion capsule splashed down off the coast of California on 11 December, completing the Artemis I mission and setting the stage for NASA astronauts to return to the moon
News
Health
Experimental CRISPR technique has promise against aggressive leukaemia
News
Life
Endangered white rhinos’ cells turned into sperm and egg stem cells
News
Technology
Crawling robots will survey ageing US nuclear missile silos
News
Space
LIGO may be able to detect alien warp drives using gravitational waves
News
Health
Sticky plaster for punctured lungs stretches as they expand
News
Technology
Deepfake detector spots fake videos of Ukraine’s president Zelenskyy
News
Life
DNA from 2 million years ago is the oldest ever recovered
News
Environment
Venice may get a temporary respite from rising seas by 2035
News
Chemistry
Biogel armour can stop a supersonic projectile in its tracks
News
Life
Diversity helped mammals survive asteroid that killed the dinosaurs
News
Technology
Heat pump uses a loudspeaker and wet strips of paper to cool air
News
Health
Thousands of genetic variants may influence smoking and alcohol use
News
Life
A surprising number of African animals eat beeswax
News
Technology
Self-healing robot recovers from being stabbed then walks off
News
Chemistry
Building blocks for life may be able to form in radioactive meteorites
News
Life
Ancient yeast used to brew the first lagers discovered in Ireland
News
Earth
Tonga volcano eruption was the most explosive of the 21st century
News
Environment
Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine started a new kind of nuclear war
News
Humans
A family tree of humanity released in 2022 shows how we’re all related
News
Environment
This year’s COP27 set up a major battle for next year’s climate summit
News
Health
Landmark pig heart transplant was a big leap forward in 2022
News
Space
NASA’s asteroid redirection spacecraft was a smashing success in 2022
News
Environment
The Arctic and Antarctic saw record warmth and ice melt in 2022
News
Health
The covid-19 pandemic鈥檚 third year saw countries adopt new approaches
News
Physics
The W boson gave particle physicists a major shock in 2022
News
Space
JWST captured the most thrilling and inspiring space images of 2022
News
Physics
Unlimited energy from fusion became a more feasible prospect in 2022
News
Environment
Extreme drought in 2022 exposed fragility of Europe鈥檚 energy system
News
Analysis
Technology
Why you may never be able to buy your own self-driving car
Despite recent claims of vehicles having full automation, it is no more possible to buy a truly self-driving car now than it was 15 years ago. Will private cars that never need a driver ever reach the market?
News
Technology
Why the tech apocalypse of 2022 was largely a good thing
News
Technology
Is our evolving relationship with tech shifting our view of reality?
News
Humans
This was a terrible year for me, but spending time in nature helped
News
Life
Despite our impact, there were inspiring wildlife wins this year
News
Features
Humans
We have finally found the land of Punt, where pharaohs got their gifts
The land of Punt, a mysterious place where ancient Egyptians bought gold, incense and other luxury items, has been located using DNA from mummified baboons
Features
Environment
Subnivium: The secret ecosystem hidden beneath the snow
Features
Environment
Inside the decadent 鈥� but still ethical 鈥� world of vegan fine dining
Features
Life
How reindeer eyes change colour in winter to help them see in the dark
Features
Physics
How to beat your family at board games with quantum tricks
Features
Environment
How a US civil war shipwreck became a template for marine conservation
Features
Space
What our attempts to communicate with alien civilisations say about us
Features
Technology
Magnetic tape: The surprisingly retro way big tech stores your data
Features
Environment
The surprising origin of sprouts, the vegetable we either love or hate
Features
Mind
Why self-compassion is the first step to being kinder to others
Features
Life
Some individual animals are really lazy. How do they get away with it?
Features
Physics
The strange physics of absolute zero and what it takes to get there
Features
Earth
How well do you know your animal poo? Find out with this picture quiz
Features
More
Regulars
Can you hear the strains of an imaginary Bing Crosby?
Feedback brings you up to date with the latest experiments into whether people think they hear Bing Crosby crooning White Christmas, while also investigating if seasonal holidays bring a rise or a fall in the number of humans
This Week鈥檚 Letters
Letters
