Health
Why the sleep industry has got us worrying about the wrong things
Comment
This week's magazine
28 February 2026
Issue 3584
On the cover
Editor's picks
Table of contents
快猫短视频
Humans
Stone Age symbols may push back the earliest form of writing
Mysterious signs engraved on objects reveal that a form of proto-writing may have been used in Europe 40,000 years ago, tens of thousands of years before the emergence of a full writing system
News
Life
A horse’s whinny is unlike any other sound in nature
News
Health
Fresh understanding of the causes of migraine reveals new drug targets
News
Environment
Atmospheric pollution caused by space junk could be a huge problem
News
Environment
Giant tortoises return home
News
Life
Microbe with the smallest genome yet pushes the boundaries of life
News
Mind
Why some people cannot move on from the death of a loved one
News
Life
New fossils may settle debate over mysterious sail-backed spinosaurs
News
Health
How baby microbiomes in the West differ from those everywhere else
News
Health
Ultramarathons could be bad for your blood
News
Space
Search for radio signals finds no hint of alien civilisation on K2-18b
News
Life
Giant viruses may be more alive than we thought
News
Space
快猫短视频s want to put a super laser on the moon
News
Mind
Dream hacking helps people solve complex problems in their sleep
News
Technology
Data centres could store information in glass for thousands of years
News
Physics
The mystery of nuclear ‘magic numbers’ has finally been resolved
News
Life
More dog breeds found to have high risk of breathing condition
News
Features
Mind
It鈥檚 your perception of sleep that鈥檚 making you feel tired all day
How we feel about a night鈥檚 sleep can have a bigger impact on mood and grogginess than actual hours of rest. Here鈥檚 how to change your mindset to feel more energised
Features
Technology
How Ukraine became a drone factory and invented the future of war
Features
Chemistry
The world鈥檚 most elusive colour is worth billions 鈥� if we can find it
Features
Culture
Space
What to read this week: Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean by Dagomar Degroot
From ice ages to asteroid strikes, an epic book shows how important it has been for humans to look outwards. Alex Wilkins surveys a climate historian's cosmic sweep
Culture
Comment
快猫短视频 recommends the quantum soundscape of Liminals
Culture
Comment
Return of Fallout, Paradise and Silo fuels passion for bunker sci-fi
Culture
More
Health
Ultra-processed foods could be making you age faster
We鈥檝e been missing an important contributor to ageing, says columnist Graham Lawton. Ultra-processed foods are known to be associated with many chronic health problems, but studies have now shown they may also speed up ageing
Comment
Space
Can we ever know the shape of the universe?
Comment
Tom Gauld on whether to disturb the professor
Regulars
Twisteddoodles: Is the sun your boss?
Regulars
Regulars
Health
The Human Flatus Atlas plans to measure the explosivity of farts
Feedback is excited to learn that University of Maryland researchers are measuring farts in a bid to build a Human Flatus Atlas, a project that seems destined for an Ig Nobel
This Week鈥檚 Letters
Letters
Why don鈥檛 orcas attack humans?
Last Word
Why don鈥檛 people own up to their mistakes?
Last Word
Why do we throw our heads back when experiencing emotions? part 2
Last Word
This week鈥檚 new questions
Last Word
