This week's magazine
18 April 2026
Issue 3591
Editor's picks
Mind
How autoimmune conditions can unexpectedly drive mental illness
Physics
Exclusive report: Inside Chernobyl, 40 years after nuclear disaster
Society
My life as a meteorologist in Chernobyl under Russian occupation
Physics
The man who crawls into the perilous heart of the Chernobyl reactor
Table of contents
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Physics
Physicists resolve a long-standing puzzle over the size of a proton
Two extremely precise experiments agree with a previously shocking measurement of just how big the proton is, which may help future searches for new particles
Physics
Particles seen emerging from empty space for first time
Environment
Key ocean current is slowing at locations around the Atlantic
Life
Chimpanzee group’s violent rupture hints at evolutionary roots of war
Space
NASA’s Artemis II mission was a historic success
Health
Mysterious ‘compound X’ clears toxic Parkinson’s proteins from brain
Health
Migraines could be treated by ramping up the brain’s cleaning system
Mathematics
The secret project to settle controversial maths proof with a computer
Humans
Why early humans radically changed their toolkits 200,000 years ago
Physics
Quantum batteries could be charged by reversing time
Physics
Quantum entanglement can be measured in solids for the first time
Life
Emperor penguins added to endangered list after rapid decline
Health
CAR T-cell therapy takes woman from bedridden to ‘perfectly fine’
Life
Hidden fossils reveal secrets of oceans before major mass extinction
Life
Tweaking the smell of cat food can encourage fussy felines to eat
Features
Physics
Exclusive report: Inside Chernobyl, 40 years after nuclear disaster
¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµ reporter Matthew Sparkes secured unrivalled access to Chernobyl's most crucial scientific sites, where researchers are fighting to protect the area and ensure it remains safe amid the constant threat of attack from Russia
Physics
The man who crawls into the perilous heart of the Chernobyl reactor
Society
My life as a meteorologist in Chernobyl under Russian occupation
Mind
How autoimmune conditions can unexpectedly drive mental illness
Culture
Space
What to read this week: Emma Chapman’s mind-expanding Radio Universe
An imaginative and compelling book reveals how radio waves help us tune in to our universe – and even search for alien civilisations, says Karmela Padavic-Callaghan
Technology
¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµ recommends Jamie Bartlett’s insightful How to Talk to AI
Life
Werner Herzog searches for ghost elephants in stunning new documentary
More
Health
Iodised salt has become uncool but many of us need to eat more iodine
Iodine deficiency is on the rise among people in the UK, the US and Australia. A century ago this led to drops in IQ, height and thyroid health – and the modern fancy salt fad may be leading to a resurgence, says columnist Alice Klein
Mathematics
The man who ruined mathematics
Physics
How a century-long argument over light’s true nature came to an end
Tom Gauld on finding fresh audiences for a scientific theory
Twisteddoodles uses Gen Z slang to explain chemistry
Regulars
Comment
Why cloning anyone – even Jim Carrey – isn’t the best plan ever
Feedback discovers that a conspiracy theory has formed that various celebrities have been replaced by clones, and sees just a few small problems with the idea