This week's magazine
17 January 2026
Issue 3578
On the cover
Editor's picks
Mind
Psychiatry has finally found an objective way to spot mental illness
Mind
Three ways to become calmer this New Year that you haven’t tried (yet)
Environment
The Pacific Islanders fighting to save their homes from catastrophe
Physics
Our elegant universe: rethinking nature鈥檚 deepest principle
Table of contents
快猫短视频
Environment
Key finding could save endangered Darwin’s frog from extinction
The southern Darwin's frog has seen its population fall by 90 per cent in Chile's Parque Tantauco forests due to the spread of the chytrid fungus
Mind
Exercise may relieve depression as effectively as antidepressants
Humans
Hominin fossils from Morocco may be close ancestors of modern humans
Health
Man whose gut made its own alcohol gets relief from faecal transplant
Space
Super-low-density worlds reveal how common planetary systems form
Technology
We’re about to simulate a human brain on a supercomputer
Technology
Some quantum computers might need more power than supercomputers
Health
Microbiome study hints that fibre could be linked to better sleep
Space
‘Knitted’ satellite launching to monitor Earth’s surface with radar
Technology
Quantum neural network may be able to cheat the uncertainty principle
Environment
City-sized iceberg has turned into a giant swimming pool
Health
Weight regain seems to occur within 2 years of stopping obesity drugs
Humans
Hunting with poison arrows may have begun 60,000 years ago in Africa
Humans
Early humans may have begun butchering elephants 1.8 million years ago
Environment
Tree bark microbiome has important overlooked role in climate
Environment
Northern Greenland ice dome melted before and could melt again
Technology
AI chatbots miss urgent issues in queries about women’s health
Space
Weird clump in the early universe is piping hot and we don鈥檛 know why
Features
Physics
Our elegant universe: rethinking nature鈥檚 deepest principle
For centuries, the principle of symmetry has guided physicists towards more fundamental truths, but now a slew of shocking findings suggest a far stranger idea from quantum theory could be a deeper driving force
Environment
The Pacific Islanders fighting to save their homes from catastrophe
Mind
Psychiatry has finally found an objective way to spot mental illness
Mind
Three ways to become calmer this New Year that you haven’t tried (yet)
Culture
Health
As Ozempic goes global, a powerful book reframes how we see obesity
With the market for anti-obesity drugs already worth billions, Aimee Donnellan鈥檚 Off the Scales is a timely exploration of the controversial and life-changing GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic
Health
快猫短视频 recommends Why We Drink Too Much for Dry January
Technology
We’re getting intimate with chatbots. A new book asks what this means
Mind
A new book provides a toolkit to tackle anxiety. Can it really help?
More
Life
Why non-human culture should change how we see nature
Our growing understanding of how other animals also share skills and knowledge will help us chip away at the folly of human exceptionalism, say Philippa Brakes and Marc Bekoff
Mind
What I鈥檒l be doing to help detox my brain in the new year
Mind
The science that will help you feel more fulfilled with your life
Tom Gauld: How to deal with that nasty cold going around
Twisteddoodles: Worried that you’re a hot mess? Don’t be!
Regulars
Let’s quibble about historical accuracy in Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey
Feedback is horrified to discover that a fantastical film featuring monsters and witches fails to get its ancient Greek armour quite right