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This week's magazine

16 August 2025

Issue 3556

New Scientist issue 3556 cover
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Editor's picks

Senior couple (aged 65-69) hiking together on a coastal path

Health

Why ageing doesn't have to mean years of poor health

Comment
A new measure of health is revolutionising how we think about ageing

Health

A new measure of health is revolutionising how we think about ageing

Features
6 of the most fascinating moments in the life of our solar system

Space

6 of the most fascinating moments in the life of our solar system

Features
How AI poisoning is fighting bots that hoover data without permission

Technology

How AI poisoning is fighting bots that hoover data without permission

Features

Table of contents

Leaders

Senior couple (aged 65-69) hiking together on a coastal path

Health

Why ageing doesn't have to mean years of poor health

A new measure of ageing says today's older people are the healthiest ever – keeping the trend going won't be easy, however

Comment

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Technology

'Universal' detector spots AI deepfake videos with record accuracy

A new detection tool can accurately spot deepfake videos featuring any AI manipulation, from face swaps to completely synthetic AI-generated content

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Life

Giant meat-eating dinosaur skulls reveal ‘bone-crushing’ bite

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Health

You can lose twice as much weight on a minimally processed diet

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Health

Short course of psychotherapy relieves lower back pain for three years

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Environment

We can repurpose retired coal plants to produce green energy

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Health

Laughter therapy really could boost your emotional well-being

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Life

Cockatoos have an impressively wide repertoire of dance moves

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Chemistry

Super-sticky hydrogel is 10 times stronger than other glues underwater

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Humans

Ancient tools on Sulawesi may be clue to origins of 'hobbit' hominins

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Health

Human eggs don't accumulate as many mutations with age as we thought

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Health

Low dose of lithium reverses Alzheimer's symptoms in mice

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Health

Key genetic differences found in people with chronic fatigue syndrome

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Physics

Molecule's tiny quantum jiggle imaged in unprecedented detail

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Space

How we could explore a black hole with an interstellar nanocraft

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Humans

Human bones found in Spanish cave show signs of ancient cannibalism

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Health

Common asthma drug could prevent life-threatening allergic reactions

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Environment

Europe could face weeks of 40°C heat in current worst-case scenario

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Space

We’ve discovered the most massive black hole yet

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Chemistry

How superheavy chemistry could rearrange the periodic table

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Space

Astronomers gather more clues about interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

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Life

Two sneaky viruses may be messing with honeybee flight

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Mathematics

Mathematicians have worked out the optimal strategy for Guess Who?

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China's lunar lander completes key test for mission to the moon

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Aperture

Man looking at the water level in the well M?hammed Kilito?s work ?Before it?s gone? is an ongoing photographic project documenting scenes of oases in Morocco. Morocco has lost two thirds of its oases in the last century to destructive human activities and climate change. To the artist, oases are the perfect model for sustainability, offering an ecological defence against desertification and a refuge for biodiversity. To artist M?hammed Kilito, the oasis is the perfect model of sustainability. Date palms, with their parasol-shaped foliage, create a humid microclimate and retain water in soil. This offers an ecological defence against desertification and a refuge for biodiversity. Before it?s gone is a long-term project documenting the complex issue of oasis degradation in Morocco and its impact on oases inhabitants. Morocco has been in a drought since 2018. Parts of the Sahara did not see rain for four consecutive years, while a flash flood killed dozens in the desert town of Ouarzazate in 2024. Kilito tells stories of farmers, scientists and citizen associations fighting to preserve these islands of greenery against increasingly threatening living conditions. Artist bio: M'hammed Kilito is a photographer and National Geographic Explorer based in Rabat. He is a contributing photographer to The VII Foundation, whose mission is to document the truth to empower communities worldwide to make evidence-based decisions about the challenges affecting their lives. He is represented internationally by Gowen Gallery. His artistic journey revolves around exploring the intricate connections and bonds that individuals and groups form with their environments - be it places of residence, memories, or transit points. M'hammed's work is dedicated to capturing narratives that provide insight into this profound connection, delving into subjects like cultural identity, labor sociology, and the impacts of climate change. M'hammed holds a Bachelor?s degree in Political Science from the University of Montreal and a Master?s degree in Political Science from Ottawa University. His photography has earned awards and grants from prestigious institutions, including World Press Photo Foundation, National Geographic Society, Magnum Foundation, and Prince Claus Fund, among others. His work has been featured in international media outlets such as The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic Magazine, The British Journal of Photography and Vogue Italia, and has been exhibited around the world. He is a co-founder of KOZ, a collective he established with three other Moroccan visual artists to work on stories through in-depth, long-term projects.

Life

Stark images show water's role in human strife and survival

As part of the exhibition Thirst: In Search of Freshwater, photographer M'hammed Kilito's images showcase the importance and fragility of humanity's relationship with fresh water

Regulars

Features

A new measure of health is revolutionising how we think about ageing

Health

A new measure of health is revolutionising how we think about ageing

Life expectancy has increased dramatically over the past century, but our years of good health appear not to have kept pace. Now, a new lens on what it means to age well is reshaping our view of our golden years

Features

Space

6 of the most fascinating moments in the life of our solar system

Features

Technology

How AI poisoning is fighting bots that hoover data without permission

Features

Culture

TOPSHOT - This photo taken on August 16, 2022 shows solar panels among Sichuan pepper field in Bijie, in China's southwestern Guizhou province. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Environment

Bill McKibben makes a powerful pitch for solar in optimistic new book

In Here Comes the Sun, environmentalist Bill McKibben argues that the rapid adoption of solar power should quell our worst climate fears. Is he right, asks James Dinneen

Culture

Mind

Mind-blowing effects of nature on our brains revealed in new book

Culture

Physics

This book could convince you to become an engineer

Culture

Comment

¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ recommends classic zombie film 28 Days Later

Culture

More

A majestic oak tree seen from the base, its thick trunk covered in moss and reaching up into a canopy of vibrant green leaves. The branches spread wide against a bright sky.; Shutterstock ID 2527834681; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Comment

Trees have a microbiome inside them? This is both obvious and profound

Groundbreaking new research reveals something that should have been obvious all along: trees have a vast, diverse microbiome in their interiors, says Graham Lawton

Comment

Health

The surprising exercises that will improve your sleep

Regulars

Humans

Introvert, extravert, otrovert? There's a new personality type in town

Comment

Tom Gauld on the travails of a geologist

Regulars

Twisteddoodles on the incredible formation of a new material

Regulars

Regulars

Is this the best acronym in science? It's certainly the smelliest

Comment

Is this the best acronym in science? It's certainly the smelliest

From AMANDA to COSTAR, coming up with a good acronym will help sell a scientific project. Feedback admires the brains behind a new machine-learning model, the Flavor Analysis and Recognition Transformer

Regulars

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

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