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This week's magazine

15 April 2023

Issue 3434

New Scientist issue 3434 cover
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On the cover

Culture
The Power of Language review: What speaking many languages can do
Features
Physicist David Wolpert on how to study concepts beyond imagination
How do we know that therapy works, and which kind is best for you?
The shocking decline of Earth’s microbiome – and how to save it
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An AI dedicated to drawing hands could help all the other AIs improve
Apps that identify plants can be as little as 4 per cent accurate
We don't have any viable way of countering conspiracy theories
Monkeys with human-like hands can be fooled by sleight-of-hand magic
Solar flares made in the lab could teach us about the real thing
Exoplanets with a permanent day side may sometimes flip into night
A macroscopic amount of matter has been put in a quantum superposition
Regulars
How to stop procrastinating and start getting things done
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Editor's picks

Stylish designer chairs with fresh plants isolated on abstract colorful background. Psychologist consultation. Collage banner design. Copy space. Place to meditate, relax or interview; Shutterstock ID 1692412636; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Health

We must treat therapy with scientific rigour to see if it works

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How do we know that therapy works, and which kind is best for you?

Mind

How do we know that therapy works, and which kind is best for you?

Features
The shocking decline of Earth’s microbiome – and how to save it

Life

The shocking decline of Earth’s microbiome – and how to save it

Features
Physicist David Wolpert on how to study concepts beyond imagination

Mind

Physicist David Wolpert on how to study concepts beyond imagination

Features

Table of contents

Leaders

Stylish designer chairs with fresh plants isolated on abstract colorful background. Psychologist consultation. Collage banner design. Copy space. Place to meditate, relax or interview; Shutterstock ID 1692412636; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Health

We must treat therapy with scientific rigour to see if it works

The number of people seeking psychotherapy is on the rise, but the field has long been seen as unscientific. It is time to approach it with the same diligence as we do other treatments

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Technology

An AI dedicated to drawing hands could help all the other AIs improve

Weird hands have become a well-known way to identify an image generated by artificial intelligence, but that could be set to change

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Technology

Ultraviolet camo made from natural plant dyes could help bird hunters

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Technology

Apps that identify plants can be as little as 4 per cent accurate

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Technology

Underwater pendulums could calm waves and reduce coastal erosion

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Life

Wild African elephants may have domesticated themselves

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Mind

We don't have any viable way of countering conspiracy theories

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Physics

Light interacts with its past self in twist on double-slit experiment

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Life

Chimpanzees may have an adolescent growth spurt like humans

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Environment

Ozone-destroying CFC chemicals are on the rise again despite ban

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Life

Three species of extremely primitive spider discovered in China

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Life

Monkeys with human-like hands can be fooled by sleight-of-hand magic

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Life

Broad-nosed ancient shark was one of earliest fish to smell in stereo

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Life

Animals that are social outliers seem to be better at solving problems

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Technology

Shapes 3D printed into living worms could be future of brain implants

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Environment

Climate change is fuelling the spread of viral diseases in plants

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Mind

Your short-term memory can be unreliable after just a few seconds

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Environment

Record-breaking sea temperatures set to bring supercharged storms

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Space

Solar flares made in the lab could teach us about the real thing

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Space

Exoplanets with a permanent day side may sometimes flip into night

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Life

Ancient droppings may help save kakapo parrots from extinction

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Mind

Neural engineering rewires the brain using light to change behaviour

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Life

Male crazy ants have two different sets of DNA in their bodies

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Physics

A macroscopic amount of matter has been put in a quantum superposition

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Health

Keto diet may treat epilepsy by changing the gut microbiome

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Analysis

A child in Seattle, Washington, receives a chickenpox vaccine in 2019. The US, among other countries, offers a routine chickenpox vaccine to children, unlike countries such as the UK and Denmark

Health

Should more countries vaccinate children against chickenpox?

Some countries are concerned that vaccinating children could lead to a rise in severe chickenpox cases among older unvaccinated people. But a new study suggests that routinely immunising children could cut the number of people who die from the infection across all ages

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Technology

How I found a new home online at Mastodon, after giving up on Twitter

Comment

Life

Why we need to be honest with children about the brutality of nature

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Aperture

The sheep return to the stable after grazing at the

Comment

Photos of solar sheep and an eco-winery capture Italy’s green journey

From sheep grazing in a field of solar panels to natural wine chilling, Islands of Energy by photographer Luigi Avantaggiato captures the greening of Italy at every scale

Regulars

Features

Physicist David Wolpert on how to study concepts beyond imagination

Mind

Physicist David Wolpert on how to study concepts beyond imagination

There is probably a plane of knowledge beyond the grasp of human minds. But mathematician and physicist David Wolpert says it is still possible to explore this unimaginable realm

Features

Mind

How do we know that therapy works, and which kind is best for you?

Features

Life

The shocking decline of Earth’s microbiome – and how to save it

Features

Culture

Good day or good morning in different languages; Shutterstock ID 643120366; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Comment

The Power of Language review: What speaking many languages can do

Through staving off dementia symptoms, boosting brainpower and even being a different version of yourself, speaking many languages is a great strategy for life, argues a new book from Viorica Marian

Culture

Comment

Sleeping Beauties review: The strange nature of nature's inventiveness

Culture

Comment

Don't Miss: Mrs Davis, an AI comedy for the GPT-4 age

Culture

Comment

LOLA review: Great sci-fi film is rich in ideas, but poor in budget

Culture

More

Distraught woman having salad for dinner while working on computer in the evening at home. ; Shutterstock ID 1581071689; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Mind

How to stop procrastinating and start getting things done

Procrastination can steal hours of our time, but the latest research has some answers about how to reduce it, finds David Robson in his new 60-second psychology column

Regulars

Puzzle #217: Can Neville escape the deadly, flesh-eating moat monster?

Regulars

Tom Gauld: The infinite monkeys take a break

Regulars

Twisteddoodles: Science has found that 60% of birdsong is rap battles

Regulars

Regulars

Helluva twist: Did Dickens create the first android in literature?

Helluva twist: Did Dickens create the first android in literature?

Feedback explores electrifying new research linking the antagonist of Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield "to the electrically-sparked monster" in Frankenstein

Regulars

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

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