This week's magazine
29 April 2023
Issue 3436
On the cover
Editor's picks
Table of contents
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Space
Amazing images of Mars’s moon Deimos snapped by Emirates Mars Mission
The Hope orbiter got closer to Mars’s moons Deimos and Phobos than any probe before, collecting unprecedented images and data that hints at the moons’ true origins
Life
We finally know why insects are attracted to lights
Technology
Wood transistor could let us embed electronics in trees
Health
Stress makes us age faster but the effects can be reversed
Health
Lack of neuron ‘pruning’ may be behind many brain-related conditions
Space
Martian base on Earth set to host first ‘astronauts’
Life
Even a dead wolf is enough to scare a pig
Space
Weird dark matter waves seem to warp the light from distant galaxies
Life
Rats fooled by optical illusion may shed light on evolution of the eye
Health
Women’s small intestines are 30 centimetres longer than men’s
Environment
Geoengineering the seas could be catastrophic for marine life
Life
Galapagos giant tortoise argument may threaten conservation efforts
Life
Carnivorous plants use a sneaky trick for luring different bugs to eat
Technology
Edible computer chips could control digestible drug-delivery robots
Space
SpaceX’s enormous Starship rocket finally launched – and then exploded
Technology
Synthetic spider silk laced with graphene can heal itself when wet
Life
Elephant seals take power naps in the ocean while slowly sinking
Environment
2022 was Europe’s hottest summer but warmer years are likely to come
Space
Distant world breaks record for heaviest element on an exoplanet
Mind
Updated brain map reveals how we control the movement of our bodies
Health
Skateboard helps very premature babies develop their motor skills
Life
Songbirds sing out of tune if they don’t practise every day
Life
Kelp forests capture nearly 5 million tonnes of CO2 annually
Analysis
Life
Was DNA pioneer Rosalind Franklin really a victim of scientific theft?
It is widely thought that Rosalind Franklin was a victim whose work on DNA was stolen, but a letter and unpublished magazine story add to the evidence that this view is misleading
Physics
Why we must inspire people with the magic of condensed matter physics
Physics
How can we prove the world is really quantum mechanical?
Features
Space
What was the universe’s first second like? These particles can tell us
If we could detect them, cosmic neutrinos would paint a picture of the universe in the instant after it began. Physicist Martin Bauer has come up with a plan to do just that
Environment
What we can do to let the UK’s tamed rivers flow wild and free again
Health
How ultra-processed food harms your health and how to fix the problem
Culture
Comment
Pathogenesis review: How infectious diseases have moulded civilisation
From the development of agriculture to the global rise of religions, Jonathan Kennedy's book describes how infectious diseases have been a decisive force in shaping human history
Comment
My Everest review: A horseback journey to the world’s highest mountain
Comment
Don’t Miss: Life deep underground in Apple TV+’s mysterious Silo
Comment
Buying Time review: Podcast explores an attempt to ‘cure’ ageing
More
Space
How to spot Mars travelling through Gemini this week
No matter where you live, Mars is currently taking a little stroll through Gemini, so it is a great time to get to know this constellation with its twin stars, Castor and Pollux, and take a look at the Red Planet too, says Abby Beall
Tom Gauld on the outcome of an experiment
Twisteddoodles: Researchers have made the world’s most powerful laser
Regulars
Study finds it is ‘barely possible to identify a beautiful scrotum’
Feedback nervously leafs through a new study comparing "men’s and women’s aesthetic assessments" of the scrotum and its "perceived attractiveness"